Benzein is without question among the top bootmakers from Indonesia—an absolute hotbed of hand-welted bootmaking that sometimes seems to make quantum leaps in quality and craftsmanship every hour.
And Benzein’s new engineer boot—the Keeper Type 2—is good. Very good. So let’s take a quick little dive into it.
First, and most importantly as far as I’m concerned: the new last. The Kapak last has a lower overall profile and a flatter toe that sports more of a kinda-square-but-also-kinda-rounded front. It reminds me a bunch of the Motor Patrol toe on my Wesco Mister Lou engineers, but more svelte, or at least a little less severe. And definitely portraying a way slimmed down silhouette, especially when constructed with an unstructured toe. It’s really darn appealing.
To me, the heart of any laceless boot (and who are we kidding, really any boot) is the last, and this looks like a damned good one. Moderately aggressive, and most importantly, legitimately interesting—something Benzein consistently does a fantastic job of with their lasts.
The vintage-inspired roller buckles all around as also new—they’re a bit flatter and quieter in a really nice way that lets the rest of the boot do the talking—as well as a simple but very appealing backstay stitching to give things a little pop and flair (until you put your pants on).
Also very cool: my man Jeff aka @thedenimdentist helped a ton with the development of boot, in between root canals, presumably. He’s really earning his lifetime appointment to Stitchdown Surgeon General.
Fine work, all. Keep scrolling through the pics for more of a taste (including Benzein head man Adi’s personal pair that’s got some wear on it right below)…
Basically everything from Benzein is made-to-order, so if you’re interested in their work, check out their Instagram and start up a conversation.
