hvydrt wrote:Whats a sewn welt? Do any boots come with that, or you get that when you replace the soles?
The welt is where the upper meets the sole (there's a midsole in there somewhere, too). Traditionally, welts were sewn, that is, the upper was sewn to the sole. In the last 20 years or so, cemented (glued) welts have grown in popularity, especially with lower-end trail boots.
In general, you cannot resole cemented welt boots. Once the sole is worn, you trash the boot (or, more likely in my experience, the cement degrades and the sole literally falls off the boot). Some boot manufacturers may resole their cemented welt boots if you send the boots to them, but I've tried this and there's always some reason why they can't do it with
your boots.
Today I only see sewn welts on higher-end mountaineering boots, but I'm not always sure. Back in the day, the style of welt (Norwegian welt, Goodyear welt, etc) was one of the important specifications for a boot; now I can't find the welt on the specifications charts. The children who work at REI look at you funny when you mention the welt. You used to be able to see the type of welt by looking at it; now even some sewn welt boots have a layer of rubber covering the welt so it looks like a cemented welt.
Whether any of this is important or not is open to discussion. Personally, I like to buy a product that will last me a long time and that can be refurbished when necessary, so I prefer a sewn welt (the only other real advantage of a sewn welt is the sole will not come off without plenty of warning; I have seen cemented welt boots disintegrate in the middle of a hike, and I am sure most of us have seen those boot soles laying by the sides of trails and wondered how the hell the people who left them behind got out).
On the other hand modern consumer and product development philosophy seems to favor disposable everything. Use it up and throw it away and buy another. The advantages of this approach are, a) You don't have to worry about boot welts; and b) you are always using the latest and greatest technology because you are replacing your gear periodically.
I hope to replace my boots this year. After 27 years and two resoles, they have had a pretty good run.