Why You Should NEVER Buy Dr. Martens 

Growing up in the punk scene as a youth i had saved all my money from crushing cans, polishing other skins boots and random odd jobs and bought a pair of oxblood 1460s and i was determined to get my moneys worth. I sized up thinking id grow into them, i didnt. I was 12 yrs old wearing a size 10 pair, running everyday in p.e. With them, but i loved em. A year later i got a pair of made in england 1940s, which were 14 eye steel toe haircell leather and by god i loved those boots. Every show and every pit, every odd job and fight, i wore them. From age 13 to 21 i had the same pair, theyre spray painted, almost flat sole, and the left boot is beyond ripped in the shaft, literally dangling i have to tie it together to hold up the shaft, so after 8 years of constant daily wear, i got a new pair and oh boy you said it right. Wearing a brand new pair of the 1940s and lacing them up tight and neat, was like catching up with an old friend. I got my vintage fryes and a bunch of leather military surplus boots laying around because my 14 eye steel toe docs will always be an extension of me. Absolute units.

Another good video. Props for not being a boot snob.

Thanks for the great video. Appreciate knowing the history of these boots and shoes.

Nice overview of the history and background of Doc Martens, Carl. Very informative and interesting video. I learned a lot about a shoe I’ve hear so much about, yet knew so little about. I’d like to say that I’m going to go out and buy a pair, but my wife hasn’t recovered from my accumulation of 6 pair of Allen Edmond’s boots. As things settle down, I may be tempted though...thanks for sharing such a nice production!...Ed

Hey great review, and thanks for the invite to share a story! I’ve been wearing Docs for almost 35 years. One frustrating thing I discovered was that in cold climates (I live in Northern British Columbia) the treads would freeze up and it would be like walking around with blocks strapped to your feet. So my docs started being worn only in nice temperatures. Well last year they introduced “Wintergrip”, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to my winter wardrobe! The new grip has a meaty rubber portion meant specifically to grip in colder temperatures! I actually wrote an email to thank them for this seriously useful evolution.

Happy holidays Carl. All the best for you, your family and your wonderfull channel!

Carl leave it to you to do a COMPLETE history of a subject! Another outstanding video!! By the way, I agree with you on the laces, they need to be heavy duty like leather.

Great video! Very informative and entertaining. 👏 Thanks for sharing!

I’m crazy for the 1460’s, love mine. Great video! 👍🏼😊

Thanks for the video carl! great review. Can you please review the Red Wing 4473? Also, happy holiday by the way!

Merry Christmas carl great review!

I have a large sneaker collection... mostly New Balance but thanks to your vidoes I went straight to a pair of Iron Ranger 8111. Also have a pair of Danner moc toe with a wedge sole.

I own a pair of Docs Made in England more than 25! years and they are still in great condition.

These were my favorite when I was in Highschool and then in the Army way before I had kids. I was always told the first thing people look at and what makes the biggest impression are your boots or shoes

Love my Winch steel toe. Soft leather, protective steel toe, light in comparison to other boots, and the price point is awesome. Not to mention that pvc sole has so much flex it’s crazy. I do have to condition them occasionally to prevent the leather from splitting, but a well made affordable work/every day boot

I can add some more, I know a bit of the history hailing from the UK. These were work boots in the 1960s, they were cheap, available in most British high street shops. They were just another brand of boot, to be honest. There were many out there. What made them popular was the UK, football thug's. They were not able to wear steel toe cap boot's into football matches in the UK, would not be allowed in wearing a pair. So they started to wear Dr. Martens which were not. Many of these guys were mid to late 1960's mods. They were nothing like the Peacock Mods from Carnaby Street in suits and smart shoes. They were the working-class mods who held on to their working-class identity by shaving their heads, wearing jeans and boots. They came from the council estates in inner London, were black and white. They also listen to Jamaican dance hall music, as well as The Who, Small faces, traditional mod music. These were the same mods who would fight the rockers on bank holiday weekends at various seafronts in the UK. It was after one of these fights that a national paper first used the made-up word skinhead as a front page headline to report on the weekends fighting that took place which had been a riot. This was the first wave of skinheads, who were out for a fight, but were a mixed group in a racial sense. It was a melting pot of two youth groups, Jamaican rude boys, working-class mods. Dr. Martens became the boot of choice for these groups. A political group called the National Front highjacked the Skinhead sub-group in the early 1970s. It changed everything about the movement in a few short years, killing off an interest for many early members. They started wearing white laces for white pride. They were hated by most decent folk. The thing to remember, the boot was always known for high quality, rather than high fashion. They were £12.99 when I was young in the 1980s. Everyone could afford them. You had to go to school in them in the 1970's/1980's. Made in England Doctor Marten boots are now £196.00 As you said, the boot then spread out amount many subgroups and cultures in the UK, Skinheads, Mods, Travelers, Punks, crusty to name but a few. But never bikers. They remembered the early mods waring DM's charging at them on the beachfront in Brighton. The boots since the post-rave days 1990s are now worn by everyone. They dropped off like you said, were all made out of the UK. I cannot remember when, but they started remaking them here in the UK as well. They are a decent boot, use better leather, take longer to break in. Still a great boot. My footwear of choice for work, the cheaper ones " yep, a gardener" and made in England for an everyday ware.

Got my first pair of 1460 black in 1988. Still have them and wear them from time to time. I now have 9 different pairs of Docs. Love them and always will! And yes, it pays to spend the extra on the England made!! Love them!! Btw, great video!!

I was going to buy these but before I did I went to Red Wing shoes and left with a pair for about the same price and made in the USA. They also clean and polish for free. Great review through!

Would love for you to compare these to the Solovairs. Must admit I find the Solovairs have better quality and feel more like my old Doc’s

I used to work for the Griggs factory, in my village in Leicester in 1990 when I left school. They’re not designed to work on building sites or woodlands, the soles are too soft, they are designed for flat floor factories or warehouses. Theirs a difference in leather used for these boots, and most people will wear the rigid leather boots, that are a pig to wear for the first few months. I’m 46, and I’ve worn dr martens since I left school at 16, but 3 years ago, I purchased a cheap copy from Amazon to travel to Poland. These boots have turned out to be more hard wearing than 90% of the docs I’ve owned.

I lived in Docs for just about all my 20's. Had them all from cheapo to made in England. I found the best quality docs were the for life version. Unfortunately, those are discontinued and docs replaced it with a crappier hard life model. If for life were still available, I'd jump on that in a heart beat again.

im your age, from the Northeast, and still own my 1992 purchased OG 1460's Made in England ,of course. Love them. Wearing them right now. So soft. No break in time. Excellent quality. And I just swapped out my black for yellow DM laces. Love the look. Screw the hard core boot guys these are classics!

Great video! I'm guessing I'm around the same age as yourself & actually JUST snagged my 1st pair of Dr Martens a couple weeks ago (lightly used off Poshmark) and quickly snagged another pair... and another! lol. I'm not a fan of sneakers - yet have back issues (scoliosis/kyphosis) and found these boots to be so much more comfortable then I thought they'd be - plus they are a fun 'flashback' statement item in my wardrobe - being a teen in the 90s. I loved hearing their history - so thanks so much for sharing!! I look forward to wearing these for many years to come - and have QUICKLY found out why people who wear them tend to have a 'collection of docs'! =) Blessings, Sommer

Like you, mid / late 90's East Coast HC shows are where my Docs spent much of their time too. Was always partial to the shoes rather than boots.

They were really popular in the early 80s when I was at high school. We used to put either red or yellow laces in them. I remember they were awful to break in but so comfortable once they were. I have a pair of Dr. Martens ' church ' boots which are their monkey boots. The leather is really thin and they didn't need breaking in. However I got them for £75 on eBay and I don't wear them too often so I'm happy with them. Great Iron Heart shirt by the way.

I have two pairs of 1460s , I recently discovered a made in America classic ww2 era boot way more comfortable than Dr Martens. cant go back anymore. And they are Corcoran Jump Boots

Great video thank you

Great review Carl on a classic boot, massively popular here in the UK, super stylish reasonably priced and comfortable, been wearing them since the 70s...

Thx for the links!!

So many footwear companies are moving production to China and elsewhere. I have two pairs of Merrell's I use for work (winter and summer versions) and they cost me $150-200 each. Look on the tongue and there it is "Made in China"... Glad to know I'm paying hundreds for what cost them nickles. For comparison, I purchased a pair of Corcoran 985's for a little bit more and they are made in the USA. Great boots thus far.

I'm Thai people but the thing is I went to England 5-6 years ago and I went to Dr. Martens shop to get my new favorite pair of boots. I hope in England there will be a Dr. Martens that was made in England for sure. I picked the first boots and look into it but that was made in Thailand. I tried to find some of them that made in England. Then I found nothing. So, Dr. Martens are still my favorite boots tho.

I got their (unfortunately discontinued) Leo boots for my first 'big boy' pair after I graduated highschool (they'll be 7 years this fall), and they took all the abuse a careless teenager could throw at them. They were my primary snow, hiking, and all around shit kicking boots for ~3 solid years before I got another pair for my rotation. The insides smell like wet death, the leather and welts have a few cracks, and the lugs on the sole are half their original size and polished smooth and shiny, but I can't bring myself to toss em. On top of all the memories I've made in them, they've developed an absolutely gorgeous patina that could make even an elitist boot snob take a second glance. Docs aren't really my style anymore, but they'll always near and dear to my heart 💜

I got the tall ones, the toungue twists extremely bad. I detected a defect on the first pair i almost bought, the stitch connecting the tongue and the upper was defective. Buyer beware. I go through the air padding if i jump or stomp or carry too much weight also.

I've got some wingtip docs that I wore doing dirtwork for the Hwy Dept. Guys would mess with me a lot and say it was a dress boot. I would go into detail how a wingtip with brogueing was the original MUC BOOT.. Brogueing was holes punched into the boot so it drained water for those working in the marshes etcetera. The wingtip and heel caps was to add leather to make it stronger. I would piss them off with knowledge and call their Muc brand boot imposters while I had the original Muc... Great Video on the Docs. You should do a history video on Brogueing and Wingtips. I bet it would get a lot of views

Great video! Life doesn't have to be a zero sum game, though you would never know it from the vitriol spewed by some in the comments. I've had numerous of these over the years and agree that there is a place in the boot collection for at least one pair. Please keep up the good work.

I bought my first pair of Docs in 2018, it was a pair of 1914 that I would wear with long coats and black jeans and I love them but it turned out that Dr Martens weren't the durable boot that I thought they were and began having little leather failures here and there but still wearable. They were also my first pair of boots ever and I wanted to preserve them so I decided to invest in something that was actually made tough so I bought a pair of Iron Rangers (I was even inspired to do so by watching your videos) and I use those as my daily drivers and even though I now know what a 'real' and higher quality boot is, something about Docs still makes me want to wear them I think it's their spirit and look so I recently bought a pair of 1460 Abandons like these but in black so that I could wear something between my Iron Rangers and 1914s

I got a pair of Dr. Martens Winch steel toe as a work boot. Worn for about a week, but they're honestly one of the most comfortable boots I've ever had. The outsole is really grippy and doesn't slip on any of the fat and oils at work and feels good while climbing ladders. Only issue is I can feel the toe when I'm on my knees. I bought a pair of Red Wings and will compare.

high school years were simpler... i still remember a girl in my high school at that time had a crush on me, and I always wore docs, so she bought a pair of docs too. those days... are gone

Please do a review on the Solovair ones RU-vid does not have that many on them. Thanks

Never had a pair of Docs.... however the way you describe them reminds me of my Blundstone 550s. My 8 year old pair as still going strong though I probably need a resolve. I still wear them working in all sorts of conditions.

Hey Carl - thoughts on the Doc Martens Chelsea Boots? Could you do a review?

Hey Carl! How about a video comparing them to the similarly priced Timberland 6 inch icon boots? Thanks

I do heavy equipment repair and have considered getting these as a summer work boot and to have something that can be cleaned up and worn out for the night. I end up on the same job sites you more than likely worked on when you did construction but I'm out of the mix and working on the broken equipment. What's your opinion?

Bang on the money with sub cultures, i grew up in the uk in the 70`s 80`s. I`m 57 now and still have DM shoes made in England.....Nice video mate

I got my first pair of Doc's back in November of 2011, so 9 years ago this year and I've loved them ever since 😁❤️. Since then I've got a mini collection of doc's, I have 2 pairs of 1460 my first pair of doc's and a for life pair, 1 pair of 1461, 1 MIE 1914 in oxblood colour, 1 pair of 1490's, 1 pair of Jadon's, 1 pair of 8761 BXB and I also have a pair of Doc's Fenton Sandals too 👌 So as you can tell, I love Dr Martens load's, I'll wear Doc's for the rest of my Life 👍 I do have the a pair of heritage 6 inch Timberland boots which have the smooth leather but they sit in my wardrobe mostly, as I'm in my Doc's 99.9% of the time 😊👍 I love the Grainy Leather on your Doc's, it looks absolutely awesome 👌 I don't know about yourself but I love the smell of Leather, especially when you get a new pair of boots/shoes or a leather jacket 😊 Hope you're well and are staying safe during this Covid-19 pandemic 🙏 Sending you a hello from me here in the UK 👋

What I enjoy is the original Made in England with Lug sole, if I can find a pair, either NOS or lightly used. The new style sole just does not last long, they ware out really quickly.

Video suggestions the stock wesco jobmaster's, and a comparison between wesco, whites, and Nick's boots

I got my first pair of Doc. as the 1460 Vintage Made in England, and instantly fall in love with it ... surely after weeks of pain and bleeding. ;)

Less than a minute in and we have the 1901 Griggs family in front of a 1968 Daimler - time travel is real..Lol!! I've been wearing Docs since the early 70's and I'm under no illusion that they're no more than fashion. They have no shank so are useless for digging with shovels for example. I still wear them now at the age of 59 but only because of comfort, not as work boots.

Thanks for the review. I agree, not a top of the line boot but very dependable. I'm 49 yrs old and currently have 4 pairs in my wardrobe: the 1460 Nappa (black), 1460 Smooth (black), 1460 St. Patrick's 2018 edition & 1460 Combs (oxblood). The Nappa & Combs are by far the most comfortable. I'm a mailman in rural Maryland and wear my Nappas on a regular basis for work. Love the look and comfort. There are better boots on the market, but I'll stick with the Docs!! Have a great holiday

bought a pair when i turned 13 and love them saved up the entire year

I use the Icon 2295 as a mechanic and they are amazing.

Merry Christmas

I wish I could actually wear these comfortably however, the fact that they're not offered in a wide width makes them impossible for me to ever wear. Hopefully they'll address that sometime soon.

I’m 25 and most people I know wearing Docs are women mid 20’s and younger. I have a cheap pair of their outsourced boots that I wear sometimes but they aren’t great.

I remember my 1st pair of docs, they killed me but once we got aquainted they lasted me for years. I was one of those goths back in the earaly 90's and it was almost signature of who you were. I was also wearing bomber jackets too so many people didnt come near me....that was deliberate. Now everyone is freakin wearing them.

Wearing Docs at school a lot of kids lol at them and said they were "stupid". I didn't care I wore them anyway. A few months later they were in fashion and everyone was wearing them. Docs for me are special and timeless and unique. It suits what I wear I like style over fashion.

My first pair i bought in 2011, for a very long time it was the only pair of boots wore and one point i owned. It took 10 years without conditioning to pop a hole, the tread is still good but I bought other models since 2019. I'm still in disbelief with the leather of the veg tan horween 1460 made in england one, it absorbs water when it rains, drys quick, and its fine.......mother of god......

i got some as rain boots and water leaks in. ah well whatca gonna do. still look good

Great vid do. How do I get the UK made models? Thanks.

Are they true to size

Never had a pair , where is the best place to start my story? Any advise? Im Not interested in knock offs.

I just got the 1460 in kudu cf stead leather

When I was in Junior high everybody wore Dr. Martens with flannel shirts and ripped jeans.

Are there any with hooks for the top laces?

I graduated HS in ‘95 - Doc Martens were it in the mid 90s. I still love the look of the classic 1460 and will not be shamed for wearing them 😉. That said, I only own and wear the Made in England☺️; hope they keep making them.

I love Dr. Martens! I had 4 pairs in high school, the black 14 holes were my favorite! I wore DM til they literally fell apart, I haven’t worn any in many years, but lately I’ve been seeing them everywhere including an all dr martens store in the mall, I probably won’t ever wear them again, but ya never know, I’m still a gay punk at 44, that’ll never change!!!!

I swear there are more Doc Martens than Nike shoes on my University campus

Do these have a gusseted tongue?

I lost one of my 1460's in a mosh pit in Seattle in about 92 ... never saw the shoe again..=\ it was quite a shite walk back to the car as it was November and raining and about 35F degrees after the show.. Sadly the docs made now are really not very good much worse than the 80s / 90s ones even the made in England ones the soles are bad now also the lack of 1/2 sizes make them unworkable for me a 10 is too small and a 11(US) is too big... I'm reasonably certain I'm getting a pair of Solovair's for xmas which do offer the 1/2 size I really need.. Assuming I get the Solovair's and they are as good as I've heard I'm likely done with Docs unless they really really turn their lagging quality / start making 1/2 sizes again.

At this point, the most notable thing about Doc Martens as a brand is they were ultimately responsible for launching the biggest footwear channel on RU-vid (Rose Anvil). 😂 He cut them in half, told the world they were hot trash, and it was off to the races. Although arguably it was the five or six more videos where he did basically the same exact thing that made sure his channel broke orbit on the way to the stars. Now he pays a team to do the work, runs "Collabs" omce a week, and gets so many pairs of $600++ boots sent to him that he can't even track them all. As far as not wearing them to work, I agree if you're in a specialized work environment that requires certain specs from your footwear. Aside from that, I'd much rather go to work for my concrete floor job in my pair of 25-Year-Old Dr. Marten Oxfords then my year old pair of 79 last Trumans. For now anyway, I'm not sure how many work sessions are left in the life of the two pairs of DMs I bought in London on a vacation there in the mid-1990s. Within another 25 years, I should be able to figure out why the title and tone of this video appear to be completely 100% opposite each other when compared vice versa. 😆 Have a great day y'all. Cheers. 🍷

I walk all day in the city and although I have many pairs of Thursday boots, Dr M are the most comfy

Is that okay if i would buy docs made in Thailand?? Is the factory/factories there working not like nike company? I thought all of docs were made in uk actually

Any alternatives to doc martens? I like the look of the last, but I would like something with better quality leather and quality clicking and welting.

I have a pair and I love it.

Another thing to keep in mind with Docs especially, coming from a history standpoint, is the lace code, kind of like the hanky code. Whilst it’s not observed as much now as it was back in the day, the colour of your laces said a lot about your beliefs and your political and ideological views, and which groups you aligned yourself with. Some examples are blue lacing being c*p k*ller, white and red were (from memory) the neo-n*zis/n*zi sympathiser types, and as far as I remember, yellow was anti fascist/anti racism. There are still places you can look up this code if it’s a) something that interests you, and b) perhaps you live in an area where it may be more commonly held to. As an Australian living in the capital city of my state, there are small pockets that take notice more than others, but *generally* no one takes any notice of lace colour (save for perhaps at human rights protests) but there may be areas near you that do still observe this. Great content as always, just something that I figured I’d add as it was one of the biggest warnings I got when buying my first pair of Docs a couple years back, I thought it was important to pass on to potentially help someone else avoid an uncomfortable situation due to simply not being aware Stay safe out there, and good luck for 2022!

I like Docs and their copies but only those that are low. Wouldn´t mind having high Solovair Astros or Rufflander 94OR, but 1460s are worn all around by girls.

Maybe they are not the best work boots, but they are the best for long walks. The only problem with them is the resole.

I love me docs eventually I want to get a pair of nick though

I bought 2 pair at a Ross, turned out to be synthetic leather and looked freaking horrible as the leather pealed off. But I guess they were pretty decent for the $35 I payed for them and they fit my general punk aesthetic. I'd much rather have Solovairs if given the option though.

These boots are good for those who are working on there feet all day like in a shop or a job where you dont require safety boots

that shop is camden wow never knew that existed

Great history and review! Glad you aren't a boot snob about these classic styles. Of course they aren't as hardy as a pair of Redwings etc - but hey, I have a pair of Made in England DMs and a pair of Made in England Solovair, and they were combined cheaper than my pair of Iron Rangers. Ultimately they are urban fashion boots, especially modern DMs. That chunky silhouette is classic. I have heard worrying things though about the quality of non MiE DMs, and online it does seem that the Solovair boots are becoming the 'conniseurs' choice.

i could never get the tongues on my DMs to stay in the front

Just didn’t like the National Front/skinhead attachment with them. My daughter has some and loves them. They’ve been her go too for years now. Fashion not safety though.

keep your Dr. Martens, Soloviar for me, please

Check out the recent videos from Rose Anvil where he cuts these in half. They’re...junk.

IIRC, doesn't yellow laces have to do with an affiliation of skinheads? SHARP if memory serves. Someone feel free to correct me as I know that I'm quite possibly wrong.

The guy who tells me about my boots is a metal head....sweeeet

i recently bought a pair of 1460 cherry red smooth boots they are really comfortable but braking them in has been a bitch, I'm going to get some mink oil to soften the heels a bit haha!

Should I size down for doc martens?

I’ve had two pairs of DMs, both of which I bought within the last 7-8 years or so, and both were made in China. The biggest issue with them was the longevity of the soles (the pattern being like in this video, BTW), they wore out very quickly. In fact, you can start noticing the first clear signs of wear in just a couple of weeks, and after a year or two of frequent use you have to throw them away because the soles become completely flat and cracked and unusable. It’s a shame, because the upper part is still in a good condition. I’ve recently bought a new pair (made in Vietnam) with their new Wintergrip sole, which looks completely different with more rubber in it, so I hope it will last much longer. We’ll see.

I had a pair of 1460 black MIE that I wore all through the 90’s up until around 2001 when I graduated high school. The ones on the market now are just trash. Because of this, I am now wearing black Danner MOC toes bull run.

So what you’re saying is the solovair are the real doc martens?

loved doc's as a kid, but ever since 2003 their quality went to crap. Now I rock Solovair and love em!

Forget Doctor Martins go for a pair of Solovair if you want a proper pair of Docs. The Docs of today are not the same. Pay a bit more and get Solovair instead.

I'm So Lucky I Had 36 Pairs Dr Martens Made In England

you know people from thailand are not taiwanese right?? nice video

The UK Royal mail gave them to there workers

Is there any difference in leather quality and shoe construction between Made-in-England and Made-in-China ones? I get what you said about the heritage, but I wonder if it is just about the label or not.