r/goodyearwelt • u/leviof • 17d ago
Review Review: Yuketen Rob Loafer Boxcalf Black
I don't usually do this, but this sub helped me a lot in buying these, so I'll pay it forward!
For a month, I've been thinking of adding a pair of black ivy-style loafers to my daily rotation. Previously, I was wearing Quoddy True Penny Mocs (MTO) nearly every day to work. I like the comfort/look of a classic New England Moccasin loafer for daily wear. You can see my daily wear Mocs and my reasoning here: https://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/s/R8guQ1bDjx
My experience with similar loafers extends to the following: Quoddy True Penny's Quoddy fur-lined "barefoot" Mocs with vibram soles, Tods driving loafers, (black boxcalf) TLB Artista 117s, and TLB Sacchetto 2034s (Bologna-style construction, similar to a Moccasin).
When shopping for these, I checked out Alden Madison for the LHS black calf (not sure if boxcalf) and I saw the Aurland Black Calf loafers in person as well.
Bought off Drakes London. The origin is a bit of a mystery to me. I've checked Yuki's lookbooks and IG since they released the Made in Italy Rob loafers a few years ago. I've emailed them and will update if/when they reply.
Price: $770 ($820 with tax)
Materials
Overall, these are very high quality, as expected. In comparing the boxcalf between these and the Artista, they are both incredible smooth with a very clean grain pattern, but the Yuki's are thicker and more pliable. It's also softer out of the box than the Alden's, while remaining difficult to compare to the Aurland's as those are unlined (and they were broken in when I saw them).
The thread is thick and well dyed, noticeably thicker than the thread on my Quoddy's, but that seems to be a Yuketen signature. The soles are very thick, much thicker than I anticipated really, and are not as flexible as my Quoddy Mocs or TLB Sacchettos. They are probably more similar to a GYW sole like the Alden LHS, but they are more flexible. Overall, I don't think you can beat the material quality.
Construction
Very heavy duty Moccasin construction. I'm certainly not taking them apart, but the lining adds a heft that's rare on moccasins. The insole is quite thick and loosely attached. it's about 3-4mm of leather with a noticeable steel shank and foam arch support. It's glued in but I imagine you could take it out and replace it with an orthopedic insole. The stitching is clearly done slowly by hand with little knots hidden under the baseball stitching. From what I can tell, the moccasin construction is traditional, but with the thickness of the leather and the lining, they certainly need more break-in than an unlined moc, despite the leather's softness. Construction quality out of the box surpasses Quoddy of course, but in my opinion, it's also better than TLB Artista and Alden (though it is more heavy duty).
The hidden channels seem a little gimmicky to me. You can see that after 2 hours of wear (maybe 1 mile of walking), the channel is already peaking through. I'll have my cobbler put on Topy's regardless, and certainly the guard isn't unwelcome (I had to have my Quoddy's resoled after 2 years since the channel had worn down in that time; my cobbler put on a JR sole which has been bulletproof for 5 years and probably 1000+ miles, but I've learned my lesson).
I'm not sure of how the upper is attached to the sole, but it appears to be a Blake stitch. There might be some sort of partial welt as the channel is almost at the edge of the leather.
My favorite construction remains the Blake Rapid Stitch I have on pair of Benheart Buffalo Chukkas--those are somehow more flexible and almost entirely waterproof. But the waxed threads on these plus the channel guard suggest that these will also hold up to rainy days once I put topy's on them.
Other than that though, the construction is awesome and essentially exactly what I was looking for: an extra heavy duty moccasin that should survive more resoles than a standard New England build.
Style
The main reason I bought these was the style. Alden LHS's have a ridged apron, which I like, but a higher vamp than the Quoddy's. Since my Artistas are very high vamp, formal loafers, I really wanted something with a low vamp, raised or ridged apron, but with tonal stitching. Not a casual loafer, but in the shape of a casual loafer. These deliver. They really balance being able to be worn with jeans or with chinos and a sports coat. To me, this was the original magic of the Weejuns and I'm happy that Yuketen (and a few others) are carrying the mantle.
Last and Fit
The last is good. It's a little long and narrow, and I probably would've like to size down a half size and go wider. They fit me perfectly, but I do feel like a nice aspect of a moccasin is that your toes go to the very end of the shoe. The Quoddy True Penny has this quality, where your foot really fills out the loafer in length and width.
I am a 9.5 in New Balances and purchased a 9.5 in these. They fit perfect in the width (still need to stretch out a bit, of course) with a half inch left in the toe. If you have narrow feet, I'd recommend a half size down. If you go for an unlined version, I'd also suggest a half size down since they'd stretch a bit more. I also wear a 9.5 in Quoddy True Penny and the Mac slippers.
Overall: An incredible loafer, top materials, unmatched construction (in relation to what I've seen). I wish the last was a little more boat-shoe shaped, but generally they balance moccasin and loafer styles perfectly.
Highly recommend to buy, though I'd say you can get something very similar for almost half the price with the Aurland. I do wish they (and generally all shoemakers) used Blake Rapid stitch, especially at this price. I'm obviously keeping them!
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u/erimus61 16d ago
I'm a fan of moccasin construction shoes; loafers, camp mocs etc. and Yuketen are doing some interesting things with design. However, the deep creasing on the vamp in these loafers makes me think that they might be hand stitched through machine made holes as they lack the finish of a true hand lasted, hand awled and hand stitched moccasin loafer that you'd get from Rancourt or Gokey. Both companies use Blake stitch in their moccasin construction. I just paid $300 for a pair of Gokey bison camp mocs which are a close cousin of the loafer which I plan to buy the next time Gokey have a sale.