Thursday Boots vs Blundstone: It’s a Clear Choice

Blundstone boots are wildly popular—seriously, just go into the closest coffee shop and look at the feet of the barista. 100% guarantee they’re wearing a pair of Blundstones right now. 

A few months ago, I checked out Blundstone’s myself and a lot of comments I got on my YouTube Blundstone review asked about how Blunnies compare to Thursday boots. 

Well, Thursday has long been one of my favorite brands, and when I tried Blundstones, I was seriously underwhelmed. 

If you want a short answer on the debate of Thursday Boots vs Blundstone: get Thursdays. 

But there are a few legit reasons why Blundstones might be a better choice, and I’ll cover all the details so you can decide which brand is going to be worthwhile for you. 

Thursday Boots vs Blundstone Overview

Thursday Boots

Thursday Boot Company was founded in 2014, and since launching with their popular Captain boot, they’ve become one of the biggest stars in the boot-world. 

In fact, I picked up the Thursday Captain five years ago—it was my very first high quality boot—and I’ve been obsessed with boots ever since. 

I think to really compare Thursdays and Blunnies, it’s best to pick a specific boot, so I’ll highlight the Thursday Legend: it’s a Chelsea boot with a heavy rubber lug outsole and is the closest thing Thursday offers to the classic Blundstone Chelsea. 

Thursday boots feature a 360-degree Goodyear welt, which is basically a strip of leather that gets stitched to both the upper leather and then through the sole. A Goodyear welt accomplishes two big things: they’re very water resistant, and the sole doesn’t split apart from the upper. 

Also, you can get a Goodyear welted boot resoled easily, though the cost for resoling either a Thursday Boot or Blundstone is prohibitive (i.e. most likely will cost more than just getting a new pair). 

Thursdays also feature a variety of fantastic full grain leathers—usually a thick 2mm upper with a 0.5-1mm lining. That’s a lot of leather for a $200 boot—and the leather is good quality, too. 

Overall, the leather quality, durability, and construction quality of Thursday boots is better than Blundstone. I also happen to like the style better because Thursdays generally have a more narrow, slim toe, though style preference is subjective. 

Blundstone

Blundstone has been around since 1870. That’s before light bulbs even existed. So that’s pretty nuts. 

They’re a huge brand, and I’d say they’re in the top-three most popular boots of all time next to Dr. Martens and Timberlands. Maybe the Clarks Desert Boot sneaks in there, but my point is the same: it’s common to see someone wearing Blundstones. 

Blundstone has their collection numbered, which can lead to some confusion—I tried to clear up some of that by comparing the Blundstone 500 to the 550.

Of all the Blundstones available, the 550 has that iconic look most people are after, and it’s marginally better than the 500 (the Original) for only about $20 more.

I’ll get into specifics later, but after looking at both the Blundstone 500 and 550, Blundstones are overpriced. 

The materials and construction is similar to what I have in boots that cost between $100 and $150. It’s ok. And I don’t doubt anyone who says they’ve had their Blunnies for five years and are still loving them. I just don’t think they’ve experienced what quality actually feels like. Sorry for the saucy take, but I’m just being honest.

I think the best reason to get a pair of Blundstones is for the style and for the specific look. There’s no other boot that has the same exact style as Blundstones. 

Some people recommend Redbacks and Jim Green’s, and while those boots are objectively better made, they don’t look the same. 

If you place value in the popularity of products, then Blundstone is worth it. A good example is with Dr. Martens: they have that yellow stitch. Those boots are pretty terrible. But people know right away that they’re Docs. 

Does that make them worth it? Only you can decide. The same is true with Blundstone.

Thursday and Blundstone Features Face to Face

Style

You’re likely already familiar with how Blundstones look—I’m sure you’ve seen several people wearing them. You probably even had a friend recommend them to you. They’re super popular.

Blundstones are fairly wide, especially around the toe. They’re a Chelsea boot style, with two elastic gore panels and pull tabs in the front and the back of the boot. 

I’ll say this: Blundstones are the only boots I think actually look cool with a pair of shorts. 

Thursday boots are more slim and narrow through the toe. They look much more refined when paired with a slim fit pair of jeans. 

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll really focus on the Thursday Legend, which I think is the closest comparison to the iconic Blundstone Chelsea. Most things about the Thursday Legend are true about the brand’s entire line (at least regarding leather and construction quality—the style is the only major difference). 

You can check out how both of these styles look on me in this side-by-side:

You get more work-vibes with Blundstones compared to Thursdays, but Thursdays are much more versatile. 

Leather Quality

Thursday uses one of three different types of leather: Thursday Chrome, Rugged & Resilient, and WeatherSafe suede. These are all full grain leathers (besides the suede, which is…suede), which is generally known as the highest grade of leather.

Blundstone uses genuine leather, which is a grade below full grain. 

Thursday’s boots have a 2mm upper with a 1mm lining (that varies depending on style, but is true in 90% of their line), which gives you a whopping 3mm of leather. 

Compare that to the Blundstone 500, which has about 2.5mm of leather in the upper and no lining. 

But my biggest issue with Blundstone leathers is that they’re not dyed all the way through, meaning that as you scuff and scrape the boot through normal use, the natural leather color shows through. You might not mind this look, but if you get a smooth brown leather, it looks pretty beat up within just a few short months. 

In my experience, Thursday’s leather is far better than Blundstones.

Sole Quality and Construction

The construction of these boots is really the defining aspect: Thursday boots employ a 360-degree Goodyear welt, and Blundstone boots have mold-injected soles that are glued to the upper. 

If you’re not familiar with those terms, I’ll break them down this way: for Thursdays, the leather upper is attached to the sole with a stitch that runs through a strip of leather (called a welt). The strip of leather is also sewn into a leather midsole, and is also sewn to the rubber outsole. All of these parts are also glued (aka cemented).

Goodyear welting is known for its durability and water resistance. Many of the best boots in the world use this method of construction.

Blundstones use mold-injected soles, which is basically where they pump polyurethane into a mold that’s attached to the boot in a highly mechanized and pretty cool process. 

But there are two big problems with mold-injected soles: the first is that they fail often—even if your boots are waterproof, there’s a good chance that within six months, you’ll notice water creeping in between the sole and the upper. 

The second issue is if you put your boots away during the spring and summer—polyurethane outsoles experience something called hydrolysis when they’re not worn for a few months, and the rubber can start to crumble and crack. 

Don’t worry about hydrolysis if you’re wearing your boots often—regular use keeps the structure strong (why? IDK, science?). But if you decide on Blunnies, make sure you’re wearing them at least once a week to avoid that hydrolysis. 

Again, comparing the soles and construction of the two brands, Thursday Boots win easily. 

Which is Best for You?

There’s only one reason to get Blundstones: you like the look, and you don’t mind overpaying to get that specific style. 

Don’t get me wrong: I see the value in doing that. Sometimes you just want to be part of the trend—there’s no shame in that. 

But in every objective quality sense Thursday Boots are better. 

I also think Thursday Boots are more stylish and versatile because of the slimmer toe box. 

Given that Blundstones are more expensive than Thursdays, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher that Thursday has far better leather, and a much more sturdy construction method. But I guess that’s branding. 

If you can only get one boot, get a pair of Thursdays. 

If you can get two boots, get two pairs of Thursdays. I’d skip Blundstone altogether. 

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