R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman Review: Tried and Tested

Apparently I’m the last person in the world to discover that AC/DC is Australian. 

I brought this up to an Australian friend of mine, and all he had to say was, “to the corner with you.”

So I had no options left. I had to pay my penance. 

To give my respects to the great nation of Australia, and to formally apologize for thinking AC/DC was Irish, I bought a pair of R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman Chelsea boots. 

R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman Overview

As you can likely guess, R.M. Williams is an Australian boot brand that’s been around for over 90 years. They’re wildly popular in Australia (some go as far as to say that every single dude in AUS owns a pair).

The Comfort Craftsman is one of three boots in R.M. Williams’ Craftsman line.

There’s the Craftsman, which is the classic—it’s similar in shape, but has a leather sole, so it’s the dressiest of the three options.

There’s also the Dynamic Flex Craftsman, which has a blended rubber and leather outsole that’s designed to bend more. It also has a removable insole, so it’s the boot I recommend if you need a custom orthotic. 

And then there’s the Comfort Craftsman, which is the brand’s top selling boot. It’s what I consider an “everyday” Chelsea boot: it’s easy to wear all day at work, even if you have a few mile/km walk as part of your commute. The rubber sole is tough, and the insole has a lot of padding for a boot.  

Things to Consider Before Buying

What are you looking for in a new boot? 

If you want something you can wear pretty much every day, something that looks great in the office but doesn’t leave you with sore feet, then the Comfort Craftsman is one of my top recommendations for a Chelsea.

But if you’re looking for something that’s dressy and you’re only going to wear it once a week for more formal meetings, you may want to consider the standard Craftsman with the leather sole. It’s less comfortable, but the leather sole makes it a more formal choice. 

And you might want to consider boots outside of R.M. Williams—I have two great alternatives to the R.M. Williams toward the bottom of this article, which you may be interested in if the price of the Comfort Craftsman makes you sweat. 

My Hands-On Review

First Impression

When I first slipped the R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman on, I was immediately impressed. I picked up the Rum yearling leather option, which is a deep, rich brown. 

I’ve read that the Chestnut has some burgundy and even purple tones, and I noticed that the Rum, too, has a hint of deep purple in it.

Probably my favorite thing about the style of the Comfort Craftsman is the iconic squared toe. 

The toe isn’t so square that it looks like a cowboy boot or anything like that, but it makes for a refined and elegant style. These are a perfect choice for a business casual wardrobe, and the boots can make jeans and a t-shirt look like a million bucks. 

I’ve been loving that pretty much any outfit I wear looks refined when I slip these Comfort Craftsmans on. 

Leather Quality and Care

You can find the Comfort Craftsman in several types of leather (including chinchilla, which is awesome if you want a boot made out of Picachu’s), but the most popular and standard is the yearling leather. 

Yearling leather is a fantastic middle ground between calf and steer: it’s tightly grained, so it’s supple and creases gently like calf leather. But it has a little more rugged durability than calf leather so it can take its knocks while pounding the city pavement. 

The Comfort Craftsman is a wholecut Chelsea, which means the upper of each boot is crafted from one piece of leather. 

I’d venture to say that the Comfort Craftsman costs what it does because of this type of leather selection. There are no blemishes on either of my boots, which can’t be easy (or cheap) to find in a single piece of leather. 

Folks typically like the wholecut style of Chelsea because it can have a more streamlined, sleek look to it, especially as it breaks in. 

These are my first wholecuts, so I can’t compare to others, but I definitely see the appeal. 

As for care, the leather doesn’t need much attention. R.M. Williams suggests conditioning every 2-4 weeks, which is way too often. The yearling leather is rich and supple, and I think a reconditioning every three months is plenty if you’re wearing these often and want to keep them scuff free.

I conditioned mine early on with Venetian Leather Balm to penetrate deep into the leather and give a good base of protective oils and waxes. 

I’ll likely use Bick 4 whenever I start to accumulate little knicks and scuffs from regular wear—Bick 4 doesn’t penetrate very deeply, nor does it change the color at all, but it’ll bring back the original depth of color well. 

Sole

The sole is the defining characteristic of the Comfort Craftsman. With 270-degree Goodyear welt construction, the leather welt is attached to a rubber outsole.

The Comfort Craftsman features a synthetic padded insole, a stacked leather heel, and an oil-resistant hardened rubber outsole. 

Note that the heel cap (or top lift) is a different, softer rubber than the outsole. The outsole balances shock absorption, grip, and durability really well. 

It’s a harder rubber, so most of the comfort actually comes from the insole and the shape of the boot, but I prefer that anyway because it means your boot will last much longer. 

There’s a lot of synthetic padding in the heel and throughout the footbed. This definitely makes for a comfortable experience, though synthetic materials never last quite as long as leather insoles. I haven’t heard anyone have issues with durability on this front, but it’s something I’m going to watch for. 

And in the midsole, there’s a fiberglass shank. Fiberglass makes this boot a little lighter, and ensures it won’t set off a metal detector, but you still get all the arch support you would with a steel shank. 

The entire insole and outsole construction add up to a very comfortable boot. The Comfort Craftsman is one of the most comfortable boots I’ve ever worn. 

Fit and Sizing

Getting the fit and sizing correct can be a little tough if you’re shopping with a third party retailer, but I highly recommend going directly through R.M. Williams’ site because they make getting the right size easy, whether you’re in the US, AUS, or in the EU. 

Australian sizing generally is the same as UK sizing, which runs a full size larger than US sizing. 

So I’m normally a size 10 in all my boots. I picked up the size 9 AUS R.M. Williams and they fit really well. 

As for widths, the standard Australian width is G. G width is analogous to US D widths. So my R.M. Williams 9G fit me well, and I’m a US 10D. 

R.M. Williams offers a tremendous sizing range from size 2.5 US all the way to 18 US, and they offer in narrow, standard, and wide (F, G, and H widths for Australians—B, D, and E widths for Americans). 

The Comfort Craftsman is quite narrow. I have to wear fairly thin socks to keep my feet from getting tingly in these boots, though the leather has stretched a decent amount and given my feet a little more breathing room. 

I wear a size 10D in most boots like Red Wing, Thursday, Wolverine, and Grant Stone. I think R.M. Williams is likely closer to sneaker size (where I wear a 10.5). 

While the 9G AUS (10D US) fits me fine, considering the narrow toe box and slim waist of the boot, I probably could’ve gotten a half-size larger (9.5G AUS, or 10.5D US).  

I know these different sizing conventions might seem confusing, but R.M. Williams has made the process very easy on their site. You can choose to order in US sizes, EU sizes, UK sizes, or the R.M. Williams size (AUS size, which is the same as UK). 

As for widths, even if the lettering system is different, it clearly states whether the width is narrow, standard, or wide, so it’s hard to mess up. 

Break-in Period

Even with thinner socks, I had absolutely no break in period with the Comfort Craftsman. These are good to go for a several mile walk brand new out of the box. 

Between the supple yearling leather and the padded, cushioned insoles, I’ve never felt any soreness while wearing these boots. 

What do Other Reviewers Say?

It says something that these boots have been around for 90 years and are arguably more popular now than ever. 

Reading through the crowdsourced reviews, I found a clear trend: reviewers love the quality and comfort of these boots. And nearly all the negative reviews are due to the buyer picking up the wrong size from a third party retailer, thinking they’re buying US sizing (so their boots are a full size too large). 

Just be careful on the sizing (I really recommend you buy through R.M. Williams’ site to make it much easier), and you’ll likely count yourself among the dozens of other reviewers loving these boots. 

R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman Alternatives

Thursday Boot Company Duke

Chelsea boots are one of my favorite styles, so I’ve bought a ton of them and have done my research. And through that, I’ve determined there’s a category called the “everyday” Chelsea. 

They’re stylish and slim, but comfortable and easy to walk longer distances in. 

The R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman is the nicest and most comfortable I’ve tried in this category, but it’s also the most expensive. 

I really like the Thursday Boot Company Duke as a budget alternative. It has a more rounded toe and less distinctive look compared to the Comfort Craftsman, but it’s also under $200, which makes it much less than half the price. 

The Duke is comfortable and built really well. It doesn’t have the same luxury feel to it as the Comfort Craftsman, but it’s a fantastic alternative if you can’t afford to fork out close to $500 for a pair of boots. 

Grant Stone Chelsea Boot

Grant Stone makes their boots in a traditional manner, with full leather insoles and midsoles. In terms of value-for-money, there are few other brands that are as consistently excellent like Grant Stone.

Their Chelsea boot isn’t necessarily better than the R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman, but I’d say the material and construction quality is the same at a lower price (they run either in the high $200s or low $300s depending on the model you get). 

But the Grant Stone Chelsea isn’t nearly as comfortable and it’s also more rugged looking. I’d wear the R.M. Williams in more dressy situations rather than the Grant Stone. 

If you’re looking for another fantastic Goodyear welted Chelsea, the Grant Stone Chelsea is worth a peek. That said, I own both and I’m glad I do.  

My Thoughts Overall

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