Craft, Culture, and the Adventures Good Boots Take You On

Greetings from Bangkok,

I’m sipping my coffee down by the river this weekend, enjoying the mild weather between bouts of utter downpour chaos. Just part of the excitement of living in Bangkok.

We’ve got an adventure-packed Naang Journal for you this week. Harry’s back with another episode from Papua New Guinea; a 76-year-old blacksmith is exploring the world on foot; we look at a crew traveling Yosemite by motorcycle; and a 3,252km hike through Colorado.

On the blog front, we tackle bad sizing advice, compare boot laces, and look at a damn near 800-year-old boot that someone cared enough to repair. We’ve also added our Resole and Refresh service to the shop.

There’s red dirt from Oklahoma, a sneak peek at our handmade merino hat, and a few finished pieces from the workshop.

Grab your coffee. Let’s get into it.

-dana

From the Naang Blog

Three new articles hit the Naang Blog this week.

First, we look at why sizing up to get more width is downright bad advice. If your boots are too narrow, extra length won’t fix the fit.

Next, we break down the pros and cons of different types of boot laces, from everyday textile laces to leather and paracord, to help you choose what works for your boots.

Lastly, we take a look at a damn near 800-year-old boot with evidence of repairs. Someone wanted to keep that pair going. It’s a good starting point for talking about how we build boots today.

All Three are Linked Below: Knowledge is Power!

New in the Shop

This week, we added our Resole and Refresh service to the shop. When your Naang boots are ready for a new sole, send them back to us for a resole, cleaning, and conditioning.

The price includes return shipping back to you.

Headed Out For A Walk

At 76, Kazakh blacksmith Sarsenbay Kotyrashov is working his way around the world on foot. He first traveled outside Kazakhstan at 73. Since then, his journeys have taken him through the Caucasus, into China, and across Europe to Paris. Not bad.

Along the way, he’s met fellow craftspeople and shared traditional Kazakh skills, even delivering a handmade iron bell to UNESCO in Paris. Between trips, he returns to blacksmithing to help fund the next stretch.

Next up is a planned walk from Florida to California in 2027. He says he wore out seven pairs of shoes in six months on his travels. That’s a hell of a lot of walking.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

The PNG Journey Continues

Our friend Harry continues his journey through Papua New Guinea, with the second episode of his series dropping this week. It’s a wild one. And his Winnfields are still going strong.

Grab a coffee and settle in for the next stretch of his adventure.

WATCH IT HERE

Where a Bike Can Take You

Motorcycles are amazing. They can take us to places we might otherwise never see, and this three-day ride around Yosemite is a good example.

The ADV Pulse crew covered roughly 340 miles, much of it on dirt, exploring old mining roads and camping with views of Half Dome. Just miles from the busy valley, they found stretches of country almost entirely to themselves.

It wasn’t all easy riding. A mechanical failure sent one rider home early, and some rocky climbs had the others parking their bikes and continuing on foot. Plenty of adventure packed into three days.

Some Naang Dantes would have been better suited to this type of trip that included hiking and riding than a typical ADV boot would be.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Trail Breaking Through Colorado

After hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail, Donovan Rice kept thinking about the mountains and ridgelines he’d passed without exploring in his home state. So he put together his own route.

The Great Colorado Route is a 3,252km loop linking existing trails with off-trail stretches through all 11 of Colorado’s national forests and three national parks. Rice spent 141 days hiking it this year, finishing on October 1.

Now he’s working to publish maps for all 29 sections so others can tackle the whole thing or choose a smaller stretch. With scrambling and off-trail navigation, this is demanding hiking. But you don’t have to commit to nearly five months on foot to explore part of it.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Naang Boots in the Wild

This week, our friend Seth in Oklahoma is kicking up red dirt in his Zero Drop Winnfields, putting those snakeskin kilties to good use and clocking those dusty miles.

What’s the next adventure your Naangs are taking you on? Send us a photo. We’d love to see where your boots end up.

In The Works

I’d hoped to share some prints from our Thai art collaboration this week, but they need a few more tweaks to get them where we want them. Soon, I promise. I’m keeping the rest of the details under wraps until we’re ready to share.

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the merino wool knit hat we’re developing. Each one will be handmade; there will be limited numbers, and we’ll likely make just five this year.

In the Workshop

This week, we’ve got a finished look at those blacked-out Zero Drop Winnfields. I think they look damn good. The all-black build gives them a stealthy feel.

We’ve also been making more Stacked Leather Handled Boot Horns. They’re in stock and ready to ship.

Join The Journey

Want to see what’s happening at Naang Boots? Follow us on Instagram and YouTube to stay up to date with new drops, behind-the-scenes builds, and everything your pair of Naang Boots can do!

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Ready For Your Next Pair of Boots?

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