Irish Setter Mitchell Upland Special Boots
Newfangled boots get schooled by a classic design
First impression:
Right out of the box, the Irish Setter Mitchell Upland Special boots look like a good-quality pair of bird chasers. Basically a down-scale version of Irish Setter’s classic upland boot the Wingshooter. All the seams were sewn well and look sturdy. These are old-school boots in their construction: The 9″ uppers are heavy leather with a waxy oil finish that repels water well. The soles are Goodyear leather welt construction that will allow them to be resoled.
A nice modern touch: the tongue is gusseted with nylon – a good idea, as leather gussets can be bulky and create pinch points if they bunch up when lacing.The tongue and collar are padded and the boots lined with a cambrelle-type synthetic material. The boots feature Irish Setter’s Dry-Plus technology and are promised to be 100% waterproof and breathable.
A quick fit-check showed the boots were sized well, and fairly flexible, so with a pair of Cabela’s polypropylene liner socks and mid-weight merino wool socks under them, off we went for a test “drive.” I took the dog for a couple-mile walk down the local nature trail to test them out on terrain varying from asphalted gravel to sandy clay to deep sand near Buck Creek. Add to that it has been raining almost continually for a week, so it all was coated with wet fallen leaves.
The Mitchell Upland Special boots feature Irish Setter’s classic Wingshooter DSS (Dynamic Spine System) outsoles that feature a different rubber compound and pattern in the center of the heel and forefoot. The main sole has a wave pattern of traction bars while the softer inserts have bobs. Irish Setter claims the Wingshooter DSS sole “minimizes impact shock by absorbing stride energy and redistributes it through the sole” to reduce fatigue.
For being old-school Goodyear welt construction, the boots do have substantial shock absorption, and were comfortable walking even on hard concrete sidewalk. The soles had good grip on all but the slipperiest combination of wet leaves and sand/clay mud, which is a test for any footwear. The all-leather construction on the outside of the uppers means there will be a longer break-in period for these boots than the newfangled leather/nylon composite uppers that have the more-flexible nylon in the bend zones across the instep. I had a bit of slip in the heel cup, but once the leather breaks in, I expect this to diminish.
One drawback of the traditional design – newer boots feature a midsole that can offer a lot more support for your arches than welt construction. I may need to get some arch supporting insoles to wear in these boots. But, since the insoles are removable, it should be a piece of cake to slip them in.