5-Year White’s Boots Review: Why the MP Sherman Is My Favorite Boot Ever

White’s is one of the most storied bootmakers in America, famous for their ultra-tough firefighting boots but just as celebrated for their everyday casual boots — like my MP Shermans we’re reviewing today.

I first encountered these boots long before I was a writer for Stridewise and was a regular viewer of the YouTube channel. I saw my editor Nick’s review of the Shermans in 2018 and realized they were exactly what I’d been looking for: a boot that’s high quality and robustly made, but versatile enough for regular city wear.

After six years of wear, I’m ready to give my review of my all time favorite boots. Nick regularly sends me boots to review, but after I’ve worn them in enough to provide one, I always return to my White’s.

Note 1: In summer 2019, White’s changed the name of this boot from the MP Service Boot to the MP Sherman Boot.

Note 2: Both the editor and myself own a pair of these boots, so some of the photos in this review are of Nick‘s Sherman Boots in a different leather (Cinnamon Waxed Flesh).

White’s Service Boot Pros and Cons

Got somewhere to be? Here’s the long and short of this review and what you need to know if you want to pull the trigger on these boots I’ve worn for the past six years.

What I like

• Very versatile: a rare balance of tough and sleek
• Uncommonly skillful construction: hand lasted and hand sewn stitchdown are very rare, even for resoleable boots
• Made in the USA
• 5 widths to choose from: B, C, D, E, EE
• Very comfortable: Lots of leather underfoot means it eventually feels like a custom boot
• Brand name components: Horween leathers and Dainite soles
• Gusseted tongue boosts water resistance
• A cheaper version is available that’s made with machine-sewn stitchdown, a thoughtful option for customers

Downsides, not dealbreakers

• Pricey: They jumped from $550 to $750 in the six years since I bought them
• 3-month order time, but that’s pretty fast for brands like this
• Tough break in: a necessary buy-in for the eventual comfort
• Mine developed a squeak that had to be fixed (more on that later)
• Not American-owned: they’re American-made, but owned by a Japanese corporation, if that matters to you
• Celastic toe box stiffener is technically a synthetic component, which some enthusiasts avoid
• Maybe not a great “first boot”: the lack of shock absorption, high price, and tough break in might turn off guys who aren’t that into boots

About White’s

White’s is a Spokane-based company with roots in West Virginia, where Otto White’s father and grandfather made caulk boots (spike-soled boots) for the logging industry before the Civil War. In 1902, Otto and his dad moved west to Spokane with the goal of making the best boots in the world. A modest goal, right?

The company is very well known for its trademark Smokejumpers, extremely serious footwear designed to be worn by firefighters, but they also sell well-known, lifestyle-focused options. Of those, their MP-Sherman Boot is their best known. The guys on Reddit’s goodyearwelt sub are constantly talking up this shoe and often mention it in the same sentence as Viberg and Alden.

In 2014, White’s was sold to LaCrosse Footwear in Oregon, who are in turn owned by Japan’s ABC-Mart. The boots are still American-made, but if your priority is American-owned, that might not fit your criteria.

White’s MP Sherman Boot: First Glance

• More streamlined than most Pacific Northwest boots
• Closer to a service boot: low profile toe, sleek look, low arch, and low heel

These boots have been through a lot: over six years, I’ve walked thousands of miles in them and even had them resoled once — in fact, they’re due for their second resole. If the house were on fire and I could only save one pair, I would have to say these are the boots that I’d get.

“MP” stands for “Military Police,” but these boots aren’t severe or militaristic, at least not in the black army boot way you might be thinking. They’re a little closer to military parade boots: very tough, but relatively sleek.

If the house is on fire and I can only save one pair, I have to say these are the boots that I’d get.

White’s sells boots made on 16 different lasts right now (a last being the foot-shaped mold the boot is built on that dictates the fit and shape). This one is called the MP last, and it’s the first one they came out with that they considered a “dress boot last.”

This might be a surprise for guys who know their dress boots, since the toes are usually a lot more tapered than the Shermans, but the fact remains that it’s pretty sleek for a work boot brand. More than evoking a work boot, this low-profile toe evokes the more versatile service boot, which was the original name of this boot before Viberg trademarked it.

I chose the Shermans (again, back when they were called White’s Service Boots) because they weren’t too dramatically accentuated in any one way or another: the toe box wasn’t too bulbous or too narrow, the counter cover on the heel wasn’t too rounded, it’s not too casual, but it’s not too sleek. This was really a ‘Goldilocks’ boot for me.

And there are a lot of beautiful little details that I really like: the back strap on the heel, quadruple stitching on the toe box, and the Dainite outsole, among them.

White’s MP Sherman Boot: Leather

• Currently, 10 leathers to choose from
• All made by Chicago’s Horween Leather Company
• Mine are Chromexcel, Nick’s are Cinnamon Waxed Flesh
• All leathers are hardwearing and age beautifully

Right now, this boot is available in ten different kinds of leather, including my Chromexcel and the Cinnamon Waxed Flesh that Nick reviewed — apparently, at the time it was Reddit’s favorite leather for this MP “Service” Boot.

There are a few other waxed flesh colors, so I’ll explain that it’s roughout: regular boot leather sewn inside out, so the smooth side is on the boot’s interior, and the fuzzy, suede-looking side you see on the inside of an unlined boot is now on the outside.

Roughout is scratch resistant and needs next to no care, and many like to wax it to increase the resistance to water and stains. In these pictures of new waxed flesh, it looks relatively smooth and mottled; as it ages, the wax wears away uniquely and distinctively, making for a very cool patina.

Meanwhile, I’ve got Chromexcel: the most beloved boot leather on Earth. We did a whole article about Chromexcel here, but in short, it’s the perfect boot leather: full of oils and waxes to give it great durability and patina potential.

White’s MP Sherman Boot: Soles

• Ours have a Dainite outsole: good mixture of grip, flexibility, and durability
• Also available with mini lug soles that have more lugs, but none of the Shermans have chunky Commando type soles or smooth leather soles

I picked a Dainite outsole, a famous rubber that’s very common in pricier boots. It rose to prominence because it’s flat when viewed from the side but it has recessed lugs that offer grip, despite the flatness: a “best of both worlds” scenario.

Many brands come up with their own version of Dainite soles to keep costs down, but enthusiasts insist that none of the imitations have Dainite’s balance of density, grip, flexibility, durability, and shock absorption.

There’s also a “mini lug” version that looks less flat when viewed from the side, but none of the Shermans have that big chunky sole you might associate with extra outdoorsy boots.

White’s Boots Construction

• Handsewn stitchdown
• Hand lasted
• Leather shank

White’s MPs use a stitchdown variation called rolled welt construction. The upper is rolled back on itself, hand-stitched to the insole, then folded over the midsole and trimmed before being machine-stitched through the midsole and outsole.

That was a complicated explanation: these boots are made with hand-sewn stitchdown construction. Almost everyone stitches stitchdown boots with a machine, and it takes a serious amount of skill to do that. Hand sewing this kind of build is very rare, especially outside of Asia.

The Shermans are also hand lasted: most brands use one to three machines to pull the leather over the last. But lasting by hand is closer to an artform — it’s been described to me like that by multiple bootmakers in different workshops I’ve visited where hand lasting is the norm.

Machines stretch leather uniformly, but hand lasting allows the bootmaker to sense how much stretch is ideal for each piece of leather on each part of the last. Many bootmakers have told us that this produces a better fit.

When you understand just how highly skilled all that manual work is, you’ll start to be very impressed by the boots’ price. If you’re not quite so interested in hand-sewn stitchdown that you’re willing to pay extra for it, White’s also offers the boot with machine-sewn stitchdown for $100 less.

The Biggest Problem With My White’s Boots

Unfortunately, after just a year, my boots developed an irritating squeak.

Some boots will be made where there is fabric wrapping the underside of the boot when the sole is put on, which helps keep a leather shank from squeaking. In White’s defense, I think I had been wearing the boots too much: you actually should let your boots rest a day between wears so that your sweat can dry out of them. If you don’t let them rest, moisture can build up and reduce the boot’s longevity.

Anyway, it seems like I got some moisture in the boot that worked its way into a seam, and my White’s started squeaking. To remedy that, Nick took them to Bedo’s Leatherworks, a world-famous cobbler, and the two resoled them in the excellent video above.

When we posted the video of this article, we actually had a few guys in the comments who experienced the same issue with the squeaking. A couple of people said this issue is less common now, so perhaps they altered the construction.

White’s MP Service Boot Fit & Sizing

• Size down a half size from your Brannock
• 5 widths available
• “MP” last has a low arch and heel to minimize break-in

While White’s website only offers D and EE widths for this boot, I wrote to them and confirmed they can make them in B, C, D, E, and EE widths. It’s very unusual for a brand to offer anything narrower than the standard D, and they deserve props for that.

The MP last is described as featuring a low arch and a shallow and narrow toe box, a look inspired by the Barrie last that Alden Shoe Co. uses for many of its boots, including the famous Indy boot.

I had an odd experience sizing these boots: I’m a 9D Brannock, but I had to size all the way down to 7.5D for my MP Shermans. But I appear to be the only guy who had this issue: Nick and everyone else online did just fine following the typical advice for sizing boots: order a half size down from your Brannock size.

If you don’t know your Brannock size, go and pretend you need a new pair of shoes from any local footwear store and get sized on theirs. Subtract 0.5 and make sure you’ve confirmed your width as well — White’s can accommodate more widths than the vast majority of brands we’ve reviewed.

The White’s Bite: Break-In and Comfort

These boots can be a shock if you’re used to leather sneakers or Doc Martens.

If this is truly your entry to the boot world, they wear very differently from other footwear you may have encountered. When you’re standing on leather, it takes a toll on your foot at the beginning: leather softens when it’s heated and when it’s worn, but since your hot feet haven’t worn the boots yet when they’re new, the leather is stiff.

You’ll probably get blisters during the early period when the leather hasn’t softened and gotten accustomed to your foot’s shape yet. That’s called the breaking-in period. During the break in period, I recommend always leaving the house with a pair of sneakers you can change into once your feet get too sore.

But trust me: after a few wears, you’ll be able to wear them without pain, and then they’ll only get more comfortable as the leather keeps molding to your foot’s shape. Eventually, your boots’ interior will be pretty close to your exact foot shape, bringing with it a kind of comfort you’ve never experienced.

But they are not comfortable on day one — you’ve got to earn it.

White’s Service Boot Price

My pair cost $560, but today they cost a good $750. 

They’re sometimes a little cheaper if you get them from Baker’s Shoes, especially from their Final Few section, that sells returned boots and seconds, though you can only buy what’s there. (Thanks to William Taylor on YouTube for pointing that out.)

I only waited about 6 weeks for my boots, but they can take up to 4 months. That might sound crazy, but it’s pretty fast for a made-to-order brand in America. Compare that with…

How White’s Compares to Competitors

“Why are these boots worth $750?” you ask. Because they’re made in America with a lot of leather and with uncommon skill, like the hand-lasting and hand-sewn stitchdown I mentioned.

Nicks vs White’s

When looking at other Pacific Northwest boot brands, White’s is often compared with Nicks, who sell the chunky-but-similar Americana boot for $669.

But Nicks takes a lot longer to make boots after you order (at least six months and often nine, in our experience), and while Nicks are handlasted, they aren’t made with handsewn stitchdown construction that boot purists love about White’s. And remember: if you don’t care about that angle, you can get machine-sewn stitchdown Sherman boots for $650, which is cheaper than Nicks.

Nicks has more widths and more options for customization though.

Red Wing vs White’s

“But Red Wings are made in America and cost $350,” you protest.

Well, they’re made with Goodyear welt construction, a machine-led process that’s different from stitchdown construction and much cheaper and faster. They’re also machine lasted, made with cheaper leathers, have a lot less leather underfoot, and are available in fewer widths.

I could keep going, but I think by now you can grasp why White’s is a pricy boot.

Wrapping Up

These are my all-time favorite boots. They genuinely become more comfortable every time I wear them: if you can endure the break-in, you’ll be richly rewarded with a boot that gets better looking and better fitting with every wear.

The main downsides are the cost and the wait time, but I think both are very fair if you understand the skill and labor required to make a pair of these very special boots.