Trade shows, like SHOT or the NRA Show, take a toll on your feet, especially if you are working the show and not afforded the opportunity to do much sitting.
Going into this year’s SHOT Show I was looking for a good pair of comfortable boots that could keep me going all four days of the show, including having to hoof it back and forth between the hotel and the venue.
Last November, Irish Setter, the makers of some pretty good boots, reached out to media members about a limited number of pre-production pairs of their new but yet to be released Setter Fifty boots that would be available to test drive ahead of the official release.
These 6-inch boots are designed for casual wear and are of a lighter weight, with their sustainable ExtraLight® sole platform made from 51% recycled material.
In preparation for SHOT Show all I cared about was lightweight and comfortable. Having had no experience with Irish Setter boots in the past, I emailed their media contact about whether or not she thought a pair of the Setter Fifty boots would be a good choice for tackling the half-million miles of SHOT Show displays.
OK, there aren’t a half-million miles of show floor, it only feels that way when you wear the wrong shoes. Believe me, I know. I went into my first SHOT Show, in New Orleans, wearing a brand new pair of dress shoes. At some point on day two or three I could have sworn I was on the Bataan Death March, my feet hurt that bad.
Ever since I have been cognizant of the importance of having a really good pair of shoes when attending a trade show.
The good news was that the Setter Fifty boots looked like the ideal fit for the job. The bad news was I would not be able to get one of the sample pairs in time.
Somehow I made it through SHOT, though wearing less than ideal boots. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t close to my first choice.
Of course, shortly after returning from SHOT a package showed up from Irish Setter, because that’s always how the world works.
The pair I requested was the men’s 3918 which is listed as being mango in color on their website but brown in the press release. Mango, brown, apparently it’s pretty much the same thing, but for simplicity let’s just call them brown.
Ignoring the color debate, what isn’t debatable is that these are very comfortable boots. The lightweight construction has a lot to do with it but the white wedge sole is where the comfort really comes from.
While a white sole on a brown boot isn’t my first choice in color combos, I have to say these boots do look good. I’ve been kicking around in them, mostly with a pair of jeans, and I can’t say a bad thing about the combo.
Now, you’re probably thinking wearing boots around the house all day isn’t exactly like running the trade show gauntlet. And it isn’t. But from the jump these have been a very comfortable boot and I have yet to experience even a hint of fatigue.
I plan to put a few more miles on these to see how they hold up, though I am not exactly in a hurry to trash them because they are a good looking boot. Thankfully here in Arizona one doesn’t have to contend with a lot of rain or mud, just ungodly amounts of dirt and dust with a few months of 100+ degree heat thrown in for good measure.
Though I can’t yet definitively declare these an ideal choice for working trade shows, or any job that has you on your feet most of the day, I can say these are definitely worth checking out.
Irish Setter offers the Setter Fifty in men’s sizes 6-12, 13, 14 in D widths, and sizes 8-12, 13, 14 in EE widths, in black, brown (aka mango) and a dark brown. Women can choose from either a gray/taupe or a black pull-on Chelsea wedge boot, in sizes 5-10, 11 in B widths and sizes 6-10 in D widths. All five options carry an MSRP of $169.99.
Later this May I plan to rock this pair of Setter Fifty boots at the NRA Show in Dallas, where I expect I will be pleasantly surprised by how well they feel on my feet. At least that’s what I am counting on.
— Paul Erhardt, Managing Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network