One Year in the 2690 Engineer Boots by Sean

Not long after I started wearing the 3530, I found myself wanting a pair in another colour. If you love engineer boots, you want to wear them with more of what you own, and sooner or later your eye drifts toward other colours. Black is the most versatile, no argument there. But sometimes you want a colour to put you in a different mood.

The colour almost nobody picks

That is when the 2690 in burgundy came into view. It is our least popular colour. To my eye it was the most attractive one, and maybe the fact that so few people choose it made the rarity pull a little harder. I enjoy mixing colours more than most, and I could already picture the outfits I would build around burgundy.

My taste for colour shows up on the bike as well. The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 I bought in its first year of release, and still ride today, has an orange tank. It is a colour you rarely see now, but at launch the vintage feel of it won me over. So when it came time to shoot photos for this review, I wanted the bike in them.

Riding season in Seoul

When I first started wearing this pair, Seoul was at its best for riding, and I took the Interceptor out to cafes and parks all over the city. As I write this, autumn in Seoul is still spectacular. A jacket, a pair of boots, and a bike through the city: there is no better time for it.

Riding throws grit from the road at the front of your boots, and the scratches come quickly. You can see those traces here and there in the photos.

The marks that show up fast

I have said this more than once in the 3530 reviews, and I think my friend and partner Marcus has said it too: this boot is at its best when it has only just started to be worn. Look at the scuffs scattered across it, and especially the inside of the heel, where the leather has been rubbed back from pushing one boot off with the other in a hurry.

Even without daily wear, the leather starts recording the owner's habits almost immediately. I think that is the real charm of this boot. The patina is not something you wait years for. It begins the first week, and it is yours alone.

Leather, last, and an honest confession

The leather is as tough as our other tea-core boots, and it softens pleasantly with use. On the last: the 2690 is noticeably roomier than the 3530 overall. That makes it a very good choice for someone with a thicker ankle or a slightly shorter foot.

I will confess that I wore this pair hard for the first two months or so, and then did not reach for it as often. Why? Not because the colour is unusual. It is simply that, on my own foot, the 3530 fits a little better. Even so, this is a boot I think about every so often, and one I would miss if it were gone.

We do not always choose what is easiest

We do not always go for the most comfortable option. Isn't that true of everyone who loves boots and leather jackets? Sneakers and a soft wool sweatshirt would be the easiest way to get through a day. And yet we put on leather boots and leather jackets that ask more of us. In that spirit, I would encourage you to try a colour or a model you are not used to, at least once. I think this 2690 in burgundy could be that opportunity for you.

A word on what is coming

On a different note, I expect to have good news for you soon. The half sizes and the wide last we asked about in our survey are close to launch, and the brass buckle so many of you have requested will be available. We are working to give you new options this autumn, before the deep cold sets in.

The boot in these photos is the 2690 engineer boot in burgundy: full-grain vegetable-tanned tea-core cowhide, Goodyear welt construction, and your choice of a standard rubber or VIBRAM outsole. Rounded toe, forward-leaning shape, 10.6 inch shaft, 1.3 inch heel, and a roomier ankle than the 3530.