Two Australian boots, both pull-on, both with a reputation for outliving the person who bought them. Ask
around and you will get firm opinions in both directions, usually from someone who has only ever owned one of the two.

The useful answer is not that one is better. It is that they were built to solve different problems, and the
difference shows up in the sole, not the badge. Once you understand how each one is put together, the choice more or less makes itself.

The short answer
Choose Blundstone if you want a boot you can pull on for anything, wear straight out of the box, and not think about. Choose R.M. Williams if you want one pair of boots for the next twenty years, you are happy to break them in, and you want them to sit comfortably with a jacket.

Everything below is why.

Where each boot comes from

Blundstone has been making boots in Tasmania since the 1870s. The elastic sided work boot it became known for was never a fashion object. It was made for people on their feet all day, and the design has stayed stubbornly practical ever since, which is exactly why it ended up on building sites, in vineyards, and eventually in cities all over the world.

R.M. Williams started in 1932 in South Australia, making boots for stockmen who needed something that would survive a working life on horseback. The company still runs a repair workshop in Adelaide, and still builds the boot the same way, which tells you most of what you need to know about its priorities.

Both are genuine heritage brands. Neither is trading on nostalgia alone.

How they are built, which decides everything else

This is the part most comparisons skip, and it is the only part that really matters.

Blundstone: molded for comfort
On the classic Blundstone ranges, the sole is formed by injecting polyurethane directly onto the leather upper in a mold. It creates a light, flexible, shock absorbing boot with no break-in period worth mentioning. It also means the sole and the upper are effectively one piece. When the tread is gone, the boot is generally at the end of its life, because there is no clean way to separate the two and stitch on a new sole. Blundstone says this openly.

The classic models carry a TPU outsole and a cushioned midsole system, which is what people are describing
when they say Blundstones feel easy from day one.

R.M. Williams: welted for repair
The Comfort Craftsman is Goodyear welted. A strip of leather, the welt, is stitched to the upper and the insole, and the outsole is then stitched to that welt. When the sole wears through, a cobbler cuts the stitching, takes the old sole off, and stitches a new one on. The upper, which is the expensive part, is untouched.

The upper itself is cut from a single piece of leather, so there is no seam running up the back of the heel. Fewer seams means fewer places to split. R.M. Williams runs its own repair service and will take a well worn pair back for anything from a new pull tab to a full rebuild.

How they fit

Both brands size in UK sizing, which works in your favour locally. Your normal shoe size is the starting point
for both.

Blundstone runs unisex, and the fit is roomy through the toe with a snug heel. The elastic gives generously, so a boot that feels slightly firm at the instep on day one will settle within a week. If you are between sizes, take the smaller one. The leather relaxes, the elastic does not tighten back up.

R.M. Williams should feel snug when new, closer to a dress shoe than a work boot. The leather gives a little
over the first five or six wears, but not enough to rescue a size that is too small, so tingling toes in the shop are a no rather than a maybe. The Craftsman also comes in more than one width fitting, standard and wide, which matters more than most people realise. If you have always found boots pinch across the ball of your foot, ask which fitting we have in before you order.

Our boot collections list the sizes we have in stock live, and if you are near Somerset West it is worth trying both on in the same visit. Ten minutes in store will tell you more than any sizing chart.

Comfort now, or comfort later

A Blundstone is comfortable immediately. That is the whole design. You can buy a pair in the morning and walk all day in them, which is why they get packed for travel more than almost any other boot.

An R.M. Williams takes a few weeks. The leather has to mold to your foot, and for the first while it will feel firmer than you expect. Then something shifts, and it becomes the most comfortable thing you own, because it has been shaped to your foot specifically rather than to an average of everyone's. The Comfort Craftsman shortens that curve with a cushioned removable insole, but it does not remove it. If you want comfort today, that is a real answer, not a compromise. If you want comfort for a decade, the wait is the price.

Which one lasts longer

R.M. Williams, and it is not close, provided you resole it.

Because the Craftsman can be resoled repeatedly, its lifespan is limited by the upper rather than the tread.
Owners passing the same pair through twenty and thirty years of wear are ordinary rather than remarkable. A
Blundstone, worn hard, will typically give you a few good years before the sole is finished, and at that point it is done.

That is not a mark against Blundstone. It is a different proposition: a well made boot at a sensible price that you replace when it wears out. Plenty of people would rather do that than commit.

What they actually cost

An R.M. Williams Craftsman costs roughly three times what a Blundstone does. Spread that over the life of the boot and the gap closes considerably, because you are comparing one pair that gets resoled against several pairs that get replaced.

That said, cost per year is an argument people make after they have already decided. The honest version is this: if the upfront figure is uncomfortable, buy the Blundstone and enjoy it, because a boot you resented paying for is not a better boot. If it is affordable and you like the idea of owning something you maintain rather than replace, the Craftsman rewards that.

Which one for which day

• Game drives and lodges. Either works. Blundstone is easier to get on and off at the tent, which matters more than it sounds.
• Farm, smallholding, garden. Blundstone. Easy on, easy to hose off, no guilt about the mud.
• Office and smart casual. R.M. Williams. The sleeker profile and leather sole heel sit properly under a
  trouser leg.
• Travel. Blundstone, comfortably. One pair, no laces, walks all day, dresses up enough for dinner.
• Weddings, races, anything with a jacket. R.M. Williams in black or chestnut.
• Cape winters. Both handle wet weather. Treat the leather before the first proper rain.

Looking after either pair

Leather boots fail from neglect far more often than from use. The routine is the same for both, and it takes five minutes.

Brush off dirt while it is dry. Wipe with a damp cloth, never soak. Let them dry away from heaters and sunlight, because direct heat is what cracks leather. Condition every few months, more often in a dry summer. Rotate between two pairs if you can, so each gets a day to dry out properly.

For the Craftsman, the R.M. Williams leather conditioner and saddle dressing are made for this leather and are worth using over a generic polish. For Blundstone, a water resistant treatment before winter does most of the work.

So which should you buy

If you want a boot that goes with everything, needs no thought, and is ready the moment you put it on, buy the Blundstone. The 585  in rustic brown is the one most people end up in, and the 550 in walnut is the same boot in a warmer shade.

If you want one pair of boots to own properly, to break in, maintain, resole, and still be wearing when the price has long stopped mattering, buy the Comfort Craftsman.

Plenty of people end up with both, and that is not a cop-out. They do different jobs.

Both ranges are in stock online and at our Somerset West store, where you can try the two on side by side and settle it in ten minutes. If you want a hand with sizing, get in touch before you order.

Common questions:

Which is better, Blundstone or R.M. Williams?
Neither is better outright. R.M. Williams is the better boot if you want something you can resole and keep for
decades, and it dresses up more easily. Blundstone is the better boot if you want comfort immediately, no break in, and a pair you can wear anywhere without worrying about it. The deciding question is whether you want to maintain a boot or simply wear one.

How do Blundstone and R.M. Williams boots fit?
Both use UK sizing, so start with your normal shoe size. Blundstone runs unisex with a roomy toe and a snug
heel, and the elastic relaxes within a week, so size down if you are between sizes. R.M. Williams should feel
snug but not tight when new, gives a little over the first five or six wears, and is available in more than one
width fitting for wider feet.

Which boot lasts longer?
R.M. Williams, because the Goodyear welted construction lets the sole be replaced as many times as needed
while the upper carries on. Classic Blundstone models use an injection molded sole that cannot practically be replaced, so the boot's life ends when the tread does, typically after a few years of hard wear.

Can Blundstone boots be resoled?
Generally no. The soles on the classic ranges are molded directly onto the upper, and Blundstone itself advises that these cannot be reliably resoled. Only their Goodyear welted Heritage models are built for resoling.

Are Blundstone or R.M. Williams boots waterproof?
Neither is waterproof. Both use water resistant leather that will handle rain and wet grass comfortably, and both benefit from a leather treatment before winter. For standing in water, you want a gumboot, not a Chelsea boot.

How long do R.M. Williams take to break in?
Two to four weeks of regular wear for most people. The leather softens and molds to your foot over the first five or six wears, and settles from there. They should feel snug when new, but never painful. If your toes tingle in the shop, the size is wrong and wearing them in will not fix it.