Mister Freedom® ROAD CHAMP Engineer Boots, brown.
NOS Nitrene rubber sole edition, Spring 2017
Made in USA.
The Mister Freedom® “Road Champ” engineer boots are the result of 2½ years of research & development that started sometime in 2006. By the end of 2009, after a painstaking process of designing, last carving, sourcing, custom leather tanning, color testing, hide selecting… the first batch of RC was finally released.
Followed many more batches throughout the years, in a wide range of brown hues. Our hides are vegetable tanned and individually hand-dyed at the factory. Fluctuation in color came with the territory, adding quite an interesting uniqueness to each pair.
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MF® Road Champ 2009
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MF® RC 2009
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MF® RC 2011
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MF® RC 2012
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MF® RC 2012
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MF® RC 2012
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MF® RC 2013
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MF® RC 2015
After an appearance in jet black hand-dyed leather in 2015, the classic Mister Freedom® Road Champ engineer boots are now back in the original brown cowhide leather of the initial release. We added the New Old Stock Nitrene rubber sole and heel of the BRC issue for good measure.
These vintage Nitrene half soles (a limited stock introduced with the MF® Trooper Boots) have proved to be longer-lasting on asphalt than Cat’s Paws. They boast a “Non Marking – Oil Resistant – Long Wearing” quality. Rubber soles are definitely less slippery than the full leather soles of the original RC.
The last, pattern, MF® signature green top, sizing, price of these 2017 brown Road Champs all remain identical to our first 2009-released RC.
The production is still a slow process, but it appears that we are mostly caught-up with the wait list now! The Mister Freedom® Road Champs are still made in very small batches, so size availability will continue to be limited and stock status quite erratic. Again, this is not a marketing strategy on our part, nor a way to aggravate customers with an artificial hype, but rather the result of us striving to keep quality standards.
We never claimed to do it best, just try to do it right.
On a broader scale, and in this golden age of disposable wares, cheap imports and reckless consumerism, we’re just happy there still is footwear manufacturing activity in the USA.
Vintage engineer boots enthusiasts will make sure to check out our friend USMC John “VEB” V.’s blog for valuable info, historical references, brand reviews and pertinent updates related to this iconic footwear category.
NOTE: The worn pair of Road Champs featured in the photos in about three years old. If the leather color and grade is the same, the soles of that old specimen were originally full leather, and feature a non-slip thin rubber pad that was added during a later custom resole.
SPECS:
* The Mister Freedom® Road Champ boots are the result of 2 1/2 years of R&D in California, and were originally released in 2009.
* Featuring an original Mister Freedom® panel pattern and original hand carved last.
* Inspired by 1930′s to 1950s American engineer and work boots, popular amongst motor-cyclists/servicemen/workers/engineers.
* Old school low-toe profile, à-la Johnny “Wacha got” Strabler.
* Vegetable tan cow hides, carefully selected from a reputable American tannery.
* Custom leather treatment and coloring process. Hides are not dip-dyed but individually hand-dyed. Flesh side is natural, skin side treated with 3 layers of colors for a dark chocolate brown appearance. Guaranteed to beautify with wear. The leather will develop a ‘vintage’ patina with a range of reddish brown/chocolate/olive/black tones… according to use and personal choice of oil treatment and conditioning. When conditioning is needed, we recommend Pecard Leather Dressing.
* Original MF® olive-color top roll band and shaft strap gusset, aka “green tops”.
* Vintage style steel roller buckles.
* Curve pattern instep strap, adjustable to cinch ankle and heel. Un-cinch to pull boots on.
* Vintage limited supply of USA-made NOS ‘NITRENE’ rubber half sole and heel combo, boasting a “Non Marking, Oil Resistant, Long Wearing” quality.
* Mid rise welt (approx. 10½ inches)
* Approx. 1¾ inch heel height
* Made in USA
SIZING:
The general consensus is to size down ½ a size from your usual sneaker size. From customers feedback, if you are a size 10 in sneakers, a size 9½ Road Champ is likely to work for you.
Fit also depends on one’s foot profile and proportions, and obviously sock thickness. Wearing a thin insole with thin cotton socks for summer, and no insole with thick wool sock for winter is an option for some.
Available Sizes (according to stock):
US 7
US 7½
US 8
US 8½
US 9
US 9½
US 10
US 10½
US 11
US 11½
US 12
US 13
Retail $ 949.95
Available from www.misterfreedom.com and our Los Angeles brick & mortar store.
Email sales@misterfreedom.com or call 323-653-2014 with any questions unanswered above.
Thank you for your support.
Christophe Loiron
Mister Freedom®
©2017
Mister Freedom® Black Road Champ (BRC) engineer boot.
Made in USA
We have always looked forward to the day we would reply “Yes!” to the formidable “Do they come in black?”
Obstinacy be praised, that day has come, the champs are back, and they’re back in black.
We understand some of you on the Road Champs waiting list have been beyond patient (I hear some put their name for a specific size two years ago!). Sincerely grateful for the support, we truly apologize for the frustration. Thankfully, there are today more options than when we first introduced our vintage-inspired RC engineer boot, sometime around 2008. Several quality contemporary brands are now offering similar flat toe profiles and BRMC Brando-style models, in a range of colors and leathers. Reviews of what’s out there today can be found on John V’s Vintage Engineer Boots blog, along with valuable info, knowledge, facts and myths around this specific style of work boots. Don’t forget to check John’s leather crafting skills on his VEB store.
Manufacturing the Road Champs in the USA has always been a real challenge for us, a very long chain of events that involves many ‘special’ people, each one a crucial link. At the end of the high-end footwear manufacturing journey, QC (Quality Control) must be unforgiving. As with the rest of what we do, we don’t claim to do it best, just trying to do it right.
As a result, we are a bit behind with our Mister Freedom® footwear output… One of the many reasons production has been backed-up is raw material issues. Faced with color inconsistency in our stock of RC uncut vegetable tanned hides, custom ordered from Horween Leather for the past eight years, we decided to make lemonade with lemons. We had a batch of Road Champ brown hides professionally hand-dyed to a beautiful and rich shade of black. After this treatment, the black-dyed cowhides went through the painstaking boot-making process… all the way to the QC verdict.
We just received the first small batch of these special edition Black Road Champs, and I have to admit I was quite disappointed… not to see my size!
🙂 The BRC look mighty sweet in person, if I may say. The underlying brown tones will resurface with normal wear, creating an attractive natural patina over time. You too will then develop an urge to take photos of your feet several times a day, mesmerizing your friends on Instagram.
For the BRC, we are also updating the sole option by mounting vintage New Old Stock rubber soles and heels. We were fortunate to find some limited stock of Nitrene which, from experience with the MF® Trooper Boots, have proved to be a bit longer-lasting on asphalt than Cat’s Paws. These old Nitrene half soles boast a “Non Marking – Oil Resistant – Long Wearing” quality. I am not one to believe any kind of advertising, but rubber is definitely less slippery than the leather soles of the original RC.
The last, pattern, MF® signature green top, sizing, price of the BRC all remain the same as the original RC.
The production of the RC has always been trickling slowly, and it is likely not to change as we continue to be regarding and selective with what bears our name. These new Mister Freedom® engineer boots will continue to be made in very small batches, and size availability will continue to be limited. This is not a marketing strategy on our part, nor a way to aggravate customers, just the result of us keeping quality standards.
In this golden age of disposable wares, cheap imports and consumerism, we’re just happy there still is footwear manufacturing activity in the USA.
This first batch of BRC will be dispatched according to the current waiting list, for those interested in a black version of our Road Champ boot. It is possible that more original brown Road Champs be available in the future, but we do not have a timeline for that.
For further info or updated order status, please contact sales@misterfreedom.com.
Thank you truly for the continued support,
MF®
Many thanks to the very patient folks on the “Road Champ” waiting list…
These are going to some of you, hope you like them as much as our friend Mr Yoshiaki Oyamada from Hinoya does 🙂
Thank you for the support.
A slightly anticipated (by us) batch of the “Road Champ” moto boots is being processed…
Just sayin’
We decided not use our original cardboard boxes for packaging anymore. Instead, the new boots will be coming in a re-usable simple raw selvedge denim bag that you can take along for grocery shopping. Saves you from answering the “paper or plastic?” million $ question every time 😉
Mister Freedom ® Original “ROAD CHAMP” Boots: The Evolution…
First off, our apologies to all of you cats on the waiting list. Production is very slow and the boots are trickling in at a rate of about two pairs a week, when we’re lucky. Thank you for your patience and support.
These are my own pair after about 6 months of wear and lotsa miles… They have been greased up several times with Neatsfoot Oil (they were worn in the snow and rain last December in France). I also just polished them with BLACK Lincoln Shoe Polish, and old school spit shine. The colours constantly change and there are shades of chocolate brown, burgundy, olive and black… I added an extra hole to the strap and the boot fits very snug around the instep/heel/ankle.
Do I need to say they are my everyday slippers…and i LOVE ’em!
Check out the original post for all the specs.
(Sold New in Box, Full Sizes and Halves from US7 to US12, Retail $ 949.95)
Call (323) 653-2014 or mail john@misterfreedom.com for enquiries and availability. We ship world wide.
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