Beckett Simonon Gallagher Boot Review | 3 Years Later

The boot world at the $200 range can be a luck of the draw. Between a sea of lackluster anchor store brands and worn out Aldens, you get contenders like the Beckett Simonon Gallagher, a handsome, robust and well-priced option.

Is the Gallagher worth your hard earned cheddar?

20% OFF!

Beckett Simonon's Gallagher Boots

These lean moc toes are an unusually dressy take on the style, making for a remarkably sleek, versatile boot. Use the code "STRIDE" at checkout for 20% off.

Get the Discount!

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Beckett Simonon Gallagher Boot Pros and Cons

Got somewhere to be? Here’s a summary of what I love about these boots and what I wasn’t so crazy about after three years of putting them through my paces.

Pros

• Superb value
• A firm and soft-to-the-touch tempered leather
• An surprisingly durable leather outsole
• The footbed molds nicely to the foot, despite there being no filling
• That patina; this leather ages beautifully
• The last is supportive, spacious, and comfy

Cons

• Not water resistant
• They take a couple of months to be made and sent to you
• There’s some loose grain on one boot, meaning the leather is inconsistent
• Leather outsoles are pretty ugly after wear

Who Are Beckett Simonon?

Beckett Simonon isn’t your usual boot company. Crafted in Bogota, Colombia, their business model is making fine leather products under fair conditions of their employees, facilities, materials and construction. Their practice isn’t just marketing speak: they recently earned their B corporation badge, an enormously difficult to acquire certification that denotes a companywide commitment to standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

A big part of their low environmental impact is also what makes their footwear so inexpensive: each boot is made under a batch process, where they open orders for a month and deliver them straight from their factory in a 8-10 week period. This saves on storage space and labor, and so long as you have the patience, they can make an affordable, high quality product that’s sold direct to consumer. 

Beckett Simonon Gallagher Boot: The Look

• A slim, dressy moc toe boot
• Flat leather sole
• 5 leathers available

The Gallagher is an understated moc toe, something akin to Thursday’s Diplomat, albeit much dressier. The boot really reminds me more of an apron-style, a much sleeker design that can be dressed up easily — a rare quality in a moc toe.

The boot displays few panels, tight stitching all around the upper ,and absolutely no flaws when they came out the box. Beckett Simonon’s quality control is tight as can be, as I’ve seen worse mistakes from my Alden Indy’s when I first got them.

Finally, the color I chose in Oak is rich in person; so much depth and character was already in them.

[Further Reading: Our list of the best moc toe boots you can buy]

Beckett Simonon’s Leather

• Full grain calfskin
• Tanned in Arzignano, Italy
• Tannery has gold rating from Leather Working Group for sustainable environmental practices
• Conditioned with shea butter and carnauba wax before sending

After a few lovely years with these boots, they have aged quite well. This comes from a time when BS (we’ll shorten Beckett Simonon from now on) was using Argentinean calfskin; these days it’s a well-sourced, full grain Italian leather, so no sacrifices have been made! As time has passed, my boot’s leather has become slightly darker and softer, albeit with some unsightly creasing. It has also been surprisingly tough, as I’ve put in countless hours of gravel parking lots, cocktail spills, and the occasional muddy trail walk. The Oak color aged really well due to decent care (more on that in the next section) and an out-the-box handsome leather.

Other areas that have done well are the inside guts – the lining still has its lustrous light mustard-ish color and is as soft as ever. The boot’s fiberboard-based footbed molded to my foot after great wear and tear and sweaty bar hopping.

The heel has been surprisingly durable; whatever rubber compound is used for them, it’s tough as nails! If there is one area that has been a little unsightly, it has to be the outsole. That’s simply because it’s made of leather: while they have a lot of pros, like softness and comfort, leather sole aren’t very durable and acquire scratches very quickly. This gives them grip — better grip than you’d think — but some guys find them a bit unsightly.  I will say it has some life left, but when I re-sole these, I’ll opt for rubber. But I can’t give these leather soles too much crap though, as these were dressier boots first and foremost, not for high city use.

[Further reading: The Pros and Cons of Leather Soles]

Beckett Simonon Leather Care

Caring for a leather like this, regardless of the older vegetable-tan models or newer Italian full-grain leather, is simple! You first have to dust/clean them off with a decent horsehair brush, give them a light conditioner like Bick 4, brush vigorously again to buff out the conditioner, and if you feel fancy, you can even give them a good polish with some clear shoe wax. I tend to do this about once every few months with light wipings with a microfiber whenever I spill something on them or they are a little dusty.

[Further reading: The 5 Best Leather Conditioners for Boots]

Beckett Simonon Gallagher Boot Sole and Construction

• Blake stitch construction
• Leather outsole, midsole, and insole

Gallagher’s construction is rooted in simplistic European designs, being a Blake stitch construction. This is when the stitch that holds the sole of the boot goes directly from the outsole to the insole; so yes, the stitched leather welt displayed is nothing but a decorative touch!

The great thing about a boot built this way is their light weight, flexibility, and ease of break in relative to a Goodyear welt. It’s a little harder to find a cobbler to resole a Blake stitch, but it’s far from impossible; the main downside is they’re not very water resistant.

Beckett Simonon Gallagher Boot Sizing

• Order true to size

I think the best part about them is the fit. I know it’s great fitting when I slide them on and a satisfying “shoomp” sounds out.

The last provides good space for average to slightly wider feet and I found that I can stand and walk around in them for 8-12 hour periods when new, and they’re even easier to wear for long periods now that they’ve conformed to the shape of my foot. If you’re curious on your exact size, BS has a sizing tool on their chart that makes things clear; I took mine in my Brannock/actual size of 10.5 medium width.

Note that most boots require you to size down half a size, but that’s not the case here. If you’re, say, a 10 in Red Wings, you’re a 10.5 in Beckett Simonon.

Beckett Simonon Gallagher Boot Price

• $249 ($199 with discount code)

At the current price of $249, or $199 with the code STRIDE, you really aren’t spending a whole lot to receive a very high end shoe. I really can see these going for $400 as listed in a high-end retailer at the local mall. 

The primary downside of that extremely low price is the wait period: expect a good two months before they arrive at your door, freshly made just for you.

20% OFF!

Beckett Simonon's Gallagher Boots

These lean moc toes are an unusually dressy take on the style, making for a remarkably sleek, versatile boot. Use the code "STRIDE" at checkout for 20% off.

Get the Discount!

We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

How I Wear This Boot

Gallagher is a looker. When you see it, you just know it’s going to be a versatile piece.

The shape and profile of the boot inherently lends itself to some slick outfits. I’ve found them to pair well with a pair of dark denim jeans and a sweatshirt for most casual uses. It’s riskier with light denim, but it can be done for a summer look. I really believe, these Oak colored Gallagher boots shine during peak fall and early winter times with dark forest-colored chinos, slim gray wool trousers, and most types of business casual get ups if the cold front hits.

Other colorways can do similar results from their full grain line; I really love their Bordeaux, the name for their burgundy. 

Beckett Simonon: The Downsides

There are really only two things that bother me on these boots, but they matter.

The construction of them, being a Blake/McKay Stitch, is not the most rugged. I have traversed these in deep rain and as a result, felt some moisture peer through the outsole and on my socks. So, if you’re looking for something that is this handsome and rugged, this may not be the one. Traverse in light rain only.

This next point is resole-ability. If you’re like me and love to run your clothing and footwear to the ground, resole-ability is great. I love a boot with character and the idea of having something for as long as possible. And although I’m going to resole these Gallaghers, I know that some people out there will see the price of the boot (~$200) versus a resole (~$120) and they’ll think to themselves, why would I bother paying for a resole when it’s so close to the cost of a new pair of shoes?

Some guys see a pair of sub-$200 boots and think, since they’d rather buy new boots than resole them, why not make the Gallaghers even cheaper and go with cemented construction? They’d be even cheaper, lighter, and more flexible, and while they wouldn’t be very water resistant, the Gallagher’s Blake stitch build is already not very water resistant. 

But perhaps this is nitpicking. A resole is still cheaper than buying a new boo4t, it’s less wasteful to resole instead of buying a new pair, plus old insoles are more comfy than new ones.

Wrapping Up

From many angles, I’ve found my experience with the Gallaghers great. It’s a great boot to start your journey on and if you desire the look of a rugged character, these look great worn out.

For those looking for a boot to dress up, you’ll find that the Gallagher with a shine can make a great business casual get up.

Don’t expect them to be to full work boot duties though, as the boot can be delicate under some circumstances. If you need to do dressy things but the weather calls for boot things, here’s your pick.

Overall, consider these beauties if you are limited on the budget end but require something better than the mall stuff; you won’t regret the Gallagher!