There’s a new Nicks Boots engineer in town.
The latest pattern to hit the Nicks catalog, the Pullman engineer boot is named after the city of Pullman, Washington, about a 90-minute drive from Nicks Boots’ base of operations in Spokane, and the home of Washington State University (Go Cougs!).
While the Renegade is an all-around solid engineer pattern, the Pullman is more of a distinctive throwback style. Nicks CEO Shuyler Mowe noted that the Pullman takes cues from a mid-20th-century engineer made by the now-defunct Knapp Bros. footwear company (check out this post over on the Vintage Engineer Boots blog for more details and photos of Knapp’s engineers.) In contrast to the Renegade, the Pullman features an angular heel counter panel, a slightly taller vamp “tongue,” and slanted shaft openings.
Clocking in at a ten-inch height, the Pullman is built on Nicks’ 55 last, offering plenty of arch support. On the bottom, you’ll find Vibram’s beefy 100 lug sole paired with a logger heel. The classic configuration features a soft unstructured toe, and offers Nicks’s stable of Seidel leathers (MaxSupport, Weathershield, and 1964 tannages) in various colors. More leathers and other customization options are available, though at a slightly higher starting price ($649 vs $629).
On a bittersweet note, the design of the Pullman couldn’t have happened without the help of Tom Mattimore of Mattimore Harness, a Laramie, Wyoming-based bootmaker. Mattimore specialized in recreating historical footwear, particularly Civil War-era boots—his work was featured in the 1989 film Glory. A couple years back, Mattimore decided to retire, and Nicks was given the chance to purchase some of his equipment. Mattimore had accumulated decades of boot designs, and Nicks also managed to snag a design inspired by the classic Knapp engineer. In a sense, they’re helping to keep Mattimore’s replica work alive.
Anyway, the Pullman is just an absolutely badass boot. We don’t blame you if you start humming George Thorogood while wearing them.
