Thursday Cadet Boot Review: One Boot Made Two Different Ways

Today, we’re diving into a review of Thursday Boot Company’s Cadet boot and seeing how it stacks up against other popular Thursday models, including the President and the Captain.

I’ve tested all these boots on my YouTube channel, so you’re going to get a realistic look at how I wear the Cadets, how they compare to the brand’s other boots, and where they might fall short for you.

Something important to note up top: Thursday made the weird decision to release their Cadets with two different types of construction: about half are Goodyear welted and the other half are Blake stitched. The former is easier to resole, the latter is lighter and more flexible.

I happen to own both, because I picked up two pairs — so this is about as detailed as a Cadet review can get!

Pros & Cons: Thursday Cadet Boot

Here’s a quick summary of the highlights and potential considerations:

What I like:

• Out-of-the-Box Comfort: The foam insole make these softer underfoot than traditional boots
• Versatile Silhouette: Sleek, not too tall, and available in a half dozen leathers to suit almost any situation
• Quality Materials & Construction: Uses good quality leathers and a resoleable construction
• Stylish Appearance: Offers a classy, refined look distinct from chunkier work boots
• Choice of Construction: About half the Cadets are made with (tougher, heavier) Goodyear welt construction and half are made with (lighter, harder to resole) Blake stitch construction, giving you an unusual choice of builds based on your needs.
• Excellent Value: Priced at $190, this is a steal for a resoleable boot and it’s even cheaper than Thursday’s bestsellers
• Wide Sizes Available

Downsides (but not deal-breakers):

• No Speed Hooks: Unlike the President or Captain, the Cadet relies solely on traditional eyelets, which makes lacing them up take a bit more time
• (Some) Not Goodyear Welted: Half the Cadets are Blake stitched, which is water resistant and durable, but it’s harder to get resoled. Then again, you can just pick a Goodyear welted one!
• Lace Type: Uses premium cotton laces (dressier) instead of the Kevlar blend found on more rugged models
• Lack of Sole Options: Thursday’s more popular boots have different options for soles and speed hooks along with offering more leathers, while the Cadets are all identical besides the leather upper

How I Tested / Initial Impressions

As always with Thursday Boot Co., the unboxing experience is top-notch. You get a quality control card, signed by the person who inspected and packaged your boots. It’s a small detail, but I love that reassurance; it shows that the boots do get handled and assessed by a real person, not just a conveyor belt in a factory.

Right off the bat, I have to say they feel very comfortable. My first pair are the Mocha suede, which are Goodyear welted, but it differs from most boots with that build by using slightly thinner materials and a foam insole instead of leather, which makes them far easier to break in.

But if you want something even lighter and more flexible, you have the option of getting a Cadet with Blake stitch construction — and I did! They’re even more comfy, though it’ll be a little harder to find a cobbler who can resole them.

Whichever model you get, the best part for me is the look of this boot. It doesn’t have the usual six-inch height, but it isn’t as short as a chukka boot either. It ends just above the ankle, which allows for more ankle movement.

Leather

Let’s talk about the different leathers I have experience with in the Cadet and other Thursday models:

Mocha WeatherSafe Suede

This specific suede is Thursday’s “WeatherSafe” variety, meaning it’s treated to be resistant to water and stains; it’s a bit less fuzzy than regular suede, but it’s a lot less stressful to wear!

Walnut Hand-Finished Full Grain Leather

I also have the Cadets in the Walnut color. As a smooth leather in Thursday’s “Classic” collection (as opposed to their more outdoorsy “Rugged and Resilient” oil tanned leathers), the Walnut has just the right amount of shine to let it dress up if you want, without being too glossy for casual wear.

As I understand it, all of the Cadet’s leathers come from Leon in Mexico, broadly considered the leather and shoe making capital of the Americas. Nick visited a tannery there and made his own leather a while back if you want a closer look; the sustainability practices are world class.

The Cadet’s Construction

• Two options: about half are Blake stitched, half are 360° Goodyear Welted
• Goodyear welts are more durable, water resistant, and easy to resole, though they’re a little heavier and less flexible
• Blake stitched boots are lighter, more flexible, and require less breaking in, though they’re a little less water resistant and a little harder to resole
• Studded rubber provide good grip for everyday wear

If you’re new to boots, you might not know that the way they’re built is very different to sneakers. Sneakers are usually made with cemented construction, which basically means they’re glued together. Higher quality footwear tends to be Goodyear welted or Blake stitched.

The Cadet is the only Thursday boot I know of that offers both options. If you prefer the comfort of Blake stitch (often chosen for dressier wear) you can get that. Appropriately, the Blake models are made with their smoother, dressier leathers.

Meanwhile, if you want a pair of boots more geared toward durability and casual wear, the Cadets made with more hardwearing leathers are sold with hardier Goodyear welt construction.

Both of these builds much longer lasting and more water resistant than cemented sneakers, though Goodyear welts excel in those areas. But Blake stitches are more flexible and lightweight.

I think it’s really cool that Thursday offers both options, here. The only criticism I might voice is that Blake stitches are cheaper to make, so I’d have liked to see a lower price on the Blake models. Still, it’s hard to complain when the Cadet is so inexpensive to begin with — and it’s even lower in price than most of their boots.

Finally, the Cadets feature studded rubber outsoles. They provide good grip for everyday wear while maintaining a relatively sleek profile. Overall, I’m consistently impressed with the construction quality, especially considering the price point.

How to Wear Thursday’s Cadets

Let’s discuss how these boots actually wear and feel on foot. I absolutely love the shorter shaft: Traditional boots, even more versatile service boots, can sometimes feel more “work boot” than I’d like. The Cadet has a sleek, lower profile that is classier and much more versatile, and they don’t have the two pairs of eyelets that chukkas have that put them in a completely different category of footwear, in my opinion.

I can easily wear the Cadets casually or to the office with a suit, so long as I’m using one of the smarter leathers on the Blake stitched models. Suedes and oil tanned leathers are too casual for a suit, though I think they’d be fine business casual. That’s the beauty of the shorter height.

Thursday Cadet Sizing & Fit

• Order a half size smaller than your sneakers
• Wide widths available in limited leathers

As far as sizing goes, order a half size smaller than your sneakers, no matter which build you get. (This is worth noting, as Blake stitched and Goodyear welted boots usually size differently, but Thursday has made sure you can get the same size in both.)

Thursday’s official line is to subtract 0.5 from your sneaker size, and since exchanges are free, it’s not a big deal if they don’t fit right when they arrive. But to minimize that inconvenience, I’d recommend going to a shoe store and getting your foot measured on the official sizing device, which is called a Brannock — then subtract half.

I’ve tried a lot of boots in my time, and I know a big part of Thursday’s success in the space is that they designed their boots to be as easy to resole as traditional brands, but with leather and insoles that limit tough break ins. Even the Goodyear welted Cadet was comfortable out of the box.

As I wore them in, I noticed that the cork bed filling beneath the insole was doing its job at conforming to my foot’s shape, which is a lovely element of owning good boots.

It’s true that the sensation isn’t quite the same as you get with boots that have a leather insole, but I think the balance Thursday managed to strike with combining modern and classic materials works out well. No, it’s not the feeling of a vintage work boot, but this softer experience has definitely resonated with the market.

Thursday’s Cadet vs President vs Captain Comparison

• The Cadet is the dressier and more versatile option
• The President, with its absence of toe cap, sits between the other two in terms of dressiness
• The Captain is the most rugged option, but this depends more on which sole you get; it’s the only one of these three with an option for a chunky lug sole

Let’s break down how the Cadet stacks up against two other popular Thursday models, the President and the Captain, using the Tobacco colorway as a common thread.

Similarities (All Three Models):

All three are available in Thursday’s deep brown “Rugged & Resilient” Tobacco leather. I believe that the brand’s most popular brown leather goes back and forth between this one and the more medium brown Arizona Adobe, which isn’t currently sold on the Cadet or President.

All three models sold in this leather have the same construction underfoot; only the Cadet has the option of Blake stitch.

Differences:

The most significant distinction between them lies in their silhouette.

The Cadet stands apart with its versatile mid-top profile. Out of the three, it is the most versatile for my uses, especially since my Presidents and Captains came with kevlar cord laces instead of flat waxed cotton laces.

My Tobacco President looks plenty outdoorsy with its cord laces and oil tanned leather, but if you got this boot in one of the Classic leathers and with flat waxed cotton, it would fine for smart wear — generally, a cap toe (like on the Captain) is considered a sign of durability, so it dresses a boot down a little.

I should emphasize that the Captain is sold with a flat sole and dressy leather, but I got a very outdoorsy one: Tobacco leather, cord laces, and a luggy Commando sole. This makes it the most casual of the three.

Price: Are Thursday’s Cadets Worth It?

• $190 is not only great value for a resoleable bot, it’s inexpensive even for a Thursday boot

Most Goodyear welted boots cost over $300, even if they’re not made in the USA. Thursday’s Captains and Presidents cost $199, which is a jaw dropping price. The Cadets, perhaps because they use a little less leather or because half of them are made with Blake construction, come in at just $190.

For under $200, you’re getting boots made with high-quality materials, featuring that durable 360° Goodyear welt. To me, considering the quality and longevity (I have Thursday boots that are over two years old and still going strong), it’s a no-brainer.

While they won’t endure lumberjacking in the Pacific Northwest like some brands are built for, Thursday’s boots are more than tough enough for the regular guy who doesn’t need them for a jobsite. Getting this level of quality for under $200 is, frankly, a steal.

You’d be hard pressed to find a better value option, especially since you can wear this shorter boot in more places than most — that means you can get even more wear out of it!