CABoot advice

[halowarmor]

I am reposting this here because I inadvertantly posted it in the wrong section.

I am thinking on rolling the dice and buying a pair of brown Pirates II Capt. Jack boots to oficially start my COTBP Captain Jack costume. emailed the following to CAboots the other day regarding a set of stock Jack Sparrow boots

"I am intrested in purchasing a pair of your stock Capt. Jack pirates II boots in size 11 but I don't know if they will fit my calf dimensions of about 19" in diameter. Would they fit?"

And Joey Sanchez said the following

"Just include a note with your order and we will cut the boots to your calf size."

Has anyone else ever dealt with these guys in this aspect?

I'm un-easy about this option because I would figure that this falls into the custom boot area, and that seems to be the area where everyone seams to have had all the problems.

Would you all say its worth the risk to go on and place an order and see how it turns out?

[Mondas42]

I agree with you, it seems you are steeping into the 'custom' area. What price are they quoting you? I was told that the stock boots were just that....stock! If they are happy to give you the stock boot with a bigger calf at the stock price then I say go for it, but also ask them were the boots are coming from. The stock ones are from the US, the custom ones that seem to cause the issue from elsewhere (cannot remember where).

That said, if you don't go for CaBoots then not use what your alternatives are....

[halowarmor]

As far as the alternate boot vendor option I have no idea of where to look and am open to sugestions of Quality vendors. As far as whether "custom calf dimentions" fall into the "custom boot" category, where are they made, and would they charge extra for this. I just sent him an email.

[halowarmor]

According to an email that I got from Joey @ CABoots today at noon, they now only make their boots in El Paso. He also said that adding a special dimention for calves is not a custom order and would not change the price of the boots.

[Captain Jack Sparrow 478]

I wouldn't risk it I've been screwed over by them twice. And so have many others…

They do NOT care about your specifications/measurements, only a quick buck..

[halowarmor]

Ok so if we don't get them from there then what are the alternatives? I don't have the ability to make my own pair and the only other option I can find is to buy some non acurate imitations.

[Bilge Rat]

I agree with Captain Jack Sparrow 478. I know way too many that have not gotten exactly what they ordered, they often send out the standard boots and claim they are the custom ones, or that have ordered the square pirate toe and you get a rounded toe.
I invited them to join this forum several months ago so they could voice their responses to our concerns,....... Still waiting for a reply   

[halowarmor]

Ok so "don't buy from CABoots" seams to be the consensus around here, or at least that seams to be the only real response that i have ben able to get sofar. That being said do we have any quality alternatives out there?

[Mondas42]

I think that's the main problem, people have had problems with CAboots, especially with the custom ones, but there are no real alternatives out there. I think if you don't need any special work doing then CABoots are fine (I was very happy with mine) and they seem to trade of the the 'hey they were good enough for Disney' line a bit too much. If however you need or want custom work then the customer service and quality seems to dip. You could always make your own if you fancy it.

Martin

[Captain Jack Sparrow 478]

That's the issue that there are really no other vendors out there at the moment doing these specifically. So a lot of people just give in and go with Caboots and then are disappointed.

As was mentioned, if you are happy with the standard boots then go for it, but if you want to go SA and have the right fit and your specifications you have to go custom but Caboots WON'T follow your requests anyway, so turns out your better off compromising with the standard boots.

I am in the process of putting together an interest list to have custom screen accurate boots made. These are to be 100% spot on and all your measurements/specs will be followed. For more information and to be added to the interest list please PM me.

Kind regards,

CJS478

[RobbW]

I know there are some who have had bad/difficult experiences with CABoots around here. So, what I have to say may upset some of them. I think there are most likely MORE people who have had perfectly fine, if not great, experiences with them that are just not speaking up. It always seems to be only those who have negative experiences (Jack Sparrow-related or not) that post about their issues. People who have positive experiences usually tend to carry on their merry way without posting gushy love stories about the wonderful experience they had.

I am one of those who had a great experience with CABoots! And I'm not afraid to post about it. I ordered custom Jack boots from them and got exactly what I ordered in under a month. My advice would be to email them first with any questions you have about the custom specs you need to order to get "THE" Jack Sparrow boot. Also, request that Priscilla call you directly (or call them first) and talk with her about all the different options for placing a custom order. On the phone, she walked me through each and every option on the custom order screen and told me which options to select to get a boot that was as SA as possible. A word of warning though. Priscilla explained to me one of the major reasons why some people are upset with the "SA"-ness of their boots. CABoots made the boots for Johnny in the POTC films. So, they ARE the originals. However, they made 8+ pairs of boots for Johnny alone for each film plus over 200+ pairs for the rest of the cast. Since each of Johnny's boots were custom handmade, they each had slight differences. So, no two were exactly alike. So, there is no ONE screen accurate boot since there were 8+ different pairs used throughout the film. Priscilla said that if there was a particular scene in the films with the boots exactly as you would like them, you only need to supply a reference pic of that scene, and they will try to replicate it as closely as possible. However, again, your boots are going to be custom handmade, which means there are bound to be slight differences from the ref pic you supply.

In the end, I'm sure you will be happy with your CABoots if you order from them. Just make sure you spend the time with them to get your exact specifications placed in the order. I'm sorry to hear that others may have had bad experiences with them, but luckily that was not me. I couldn't be happier with my CABoots!

[Captain Jack Sparrow 478]

Good news for you then! Do you mind posting pics mate so we can see them?

I was told a similar thing from Caboots, but also that they don't follow the specs we give them because they are hand made and all are going to be different etc etc…

I was also told that "Johnny Depp didn't have a problem with his boots"… And that I should be happy with whatever specs I received as "pirates didn't choose their boots, they were happy with whatever they could find or steal"… Well I'm not a 'real' pirate and I am PAYING for a custom order, therefore they should be made to the specs I have requested.

A lot of the communication I had with them was negative unfortunately as I used to have a lot of faith and respect in this company. And when I have asked them in the past about a custom order and what specs to pick for the most SA boot, I got told to just pick tan and was told they will not provide the specs I requested, only what is already there.

They basically just do whatever they like no matter how much liaising and reference pics you send prior to making the order (unless they've suddenly changed their policy/way of dealing with customers). Sometimes I guess people get lucky or they don't, or else they are just happy with not having screen accuracy and to some people "good enough" is good enough… Depends how OCD you are lol.

[RobbW]

Ask and ye shall receive, mate!  First one is just a standalone shot of the boots:



Second is a shot of them on my Jack-equin.  Unfortunately, haven't gotten a good shot of them on me while wearing them.

[Captain Jack Sparrow 478]

Looks pretty good indeed, how's the fit?

Got any good shots of the side and the back and sole?

Cheers mate!

[Captain Jack Sparrow 478]

By the way, what specs did you order?

[Bilge Rat]

Those look like standard boots to me, Did you order the 2 inch pirate toe , those have the standard
Round toe, most people I know that are upset with ca boots ordered the
2 inch square pirate toe and end up being sent the standard non custom toe

[Captain Jack Sparrow 478]

Yeah agreed.

The cuffs look a tad short to me and don't appear angled, or is that just me? Or the angle of the photos?

Am wondering if these have the strip of finished leather up the back of the boots. As I asked Caboots about this and they point blank told me no they won't do it!

Kind regards,

CJS 478

[Bilge Rat]

Agreed, i too was told all the great answers from ca boots that they thought I wanted to hear,
I paid for custom boots with squared toe, leather heals and trim work
What I got after a 4 week wait was standard boots,
I called, complained, they apologized, I sent them back
With a list of my complaints, 6 weeks later I received another pair
Of standard boots.  I really think they just rip people off on the customs
Take the money for customs and hope you'll just take the standards and just deal with it!
And FWI ca boots did not make Johnny's boots for Curse of the black pearl
They only made boots for the "extras" for that film

[Captain Jack Sparrow 478]

Hear hear!

[Bilge Rat]

I think I just discovered the problem when ordering Custom CABoots!
     They have what they call a 2 inch Pirate Toe  which is misleading and not screen accurate!
           

  And the toe that you actually want to order to be SA is called  O   2 1/2 inch toe.   That they stick you for an additional $50.00 above the cost of custom boots.
           
             

     So technically they are giving us what we order, they just recommend and mislead you by calling it the" Pirate" Toe
     And you need to order the Natural sole to get a leather sole and heel on your boots.
They also mislead you by saying on the site
These boots are identical to those worn by Jack Sparrow, captain of the infamous Black Pearl. CABOOTS handcrafts your Captain Jack Sparrow boots in El Paso, TX with only the highest quality leather materials. You can choose color, toe and heel styles. Features include:

Genuine cowhide suede construction
18" Shaft height/10" cuff
2" Pirate toe
1 1/4" Wrestler heel
Maple cowhide leather lining
Leather insole and outsole
Metal shank for arch support
and they show a picture of the basic non custom boot.

Here are the specs on the Reg Non Custom Boot
Tan suede leather construction
10" Cuff
18" Shaft
Authentic Jack Sparrow toe ( which it is not!)
1 3/8" Wrestler heel
Leather insole
Neoprene rubber outsole
Full welt
Maple cowhide leather lining
Not much difference from the basic Custom boot with no add ons except for the insole and metal shank

[Banditxx1]

Two years ago I ordered the standard boots A1 chocolate.
After two weeks they arrived in germany!

That was very fast - just as they promised.

And my standard boots also have the strip of finished leather up the back of the boots. I'm very satisfied with my boots and the service from Joey Sanchez.

[Captain Jack Sparrow 478]

I'm glad to hear, but I don't understand why they can't/won't/refuse to add the strip of leather up the back of custom boots???…

I was told they can't do this cos the customs are made in the US and the standards in Mexico.. Some logic eh?…

I even asked if they could just send me some additional leather and I'll pay them extra and then I'll have a local boot maker put it on here. But nope, they refused to accommodate my request in this regard too. I don't understand why they are so unreasonable with such simple requests..

[Banditxx1]

I think my standard boots were shipped from Texas....?!

[RobbW]

Okay, I will try to answer all your questions and provide all the details of my order that I can.  First, my boots are definitely the custom boots, not the stock boots.  For my boots, I ordered a 22" shaft instead of the standard 18" shaft the stock and custom boots come with.  I paid for the extra length, and I received the extra length.  I wanted to be able to push the shaft down a bit to get that slouched ankle look that Johnny's boots have in the films, but still have the boots come up to the correct height.  That is most likely why the cuffs/bells look a little short to you.  They are the standard size bells, but on a taller shaft they look proportionally smaller.  If you're referring to the boots in the pic of my Jack-equin, yes, the bells look really short compared to the rest of the boot.  However, that's because due to the structure of my Jack-equin, I am unable to push the shafts down when the boots are on the Jack-equin.  So, that pic shows the boots with the shafts nearly fully extended.  The first pic of the standalone boots, I specifically scrunched the shafts down, and the bells look more correctly proportioned to the rest of the boot.

As for the toes, I did indeed order the 2" Pirate Toe, and that is exactly what I got.  That is the option Priscilla said I should select if I wanted boots as close to the film boots as possible.  If you selected the 2" Pirate Toe for your custom boots, you should NOT have expected the squared toes.  If you view the reference pics of all the toe styles you can choose from, you will see that the 2" Pirate Toe is indeed 2" wide but the corners are slightly rounded.  If you wanted the squared toes, you would have to select the 2 1/4" E-Custom toe for an additional $75 or the 2 1/2" O toe for an extra $50.  If you ordered the 2" Pirate Toe, you, in fact, selected a slightly rounded toe.  Now, I can understand being unhappy with them if you paid extra for one of the "square" toe option but received the 2" Pirate Toe instead.  I would be unhappy, too.  But if you selected 2" Pirate Toe, you got what you ordered.  Again, that is the toe option Priscilla recommended for film-style boots.

No, the bells/cuffs are not very angled.  If you look at CABoots' website, the photos of the stock boots have a much more angled bell than the photos of the custom boots.  I ordered the custom boots.  So, my boots came with the less-angled bells as pictured.

No, my boots do not have the extra strip of leather that covers the seam on the back of the boots.  That is not an available customization when you place your boot order on the website.  They do not offer that option.  Now, if you spoke directly with CABoots, ordered that specification, and paid extra for it, I would understand being upset if you did not get the strip.  You can customize any CABoot any way your heart desires, but you should expect to pay for any customization that deviates from the standard/default design.  If you paid only for the standard/default design of the custom boots, you should not expect that they will come with extra leather covering the back seam.

I never said that CABoots made Jack's boots for COTBP.  I know they didn't.  I'm not sure where you got that I was making that assertion. You may have seen me post somewhere that I prefer the COTBP version of Jack, and that is the costume I have put together.  But I never said I ordered my boots specifically from CABoots because they made the COTBP boots for Johnny.  I bought from CABoots because they DID make the film-used boots for Johnny, even if it was only for DMC, AWE, & OST.  They WERE the ones to make the boots.  So, if you're looking for authenticity, who better to go with than the company that made the film-used boots.  Plus, CABoots DOES make high-quality boots.  These are not just costume-quality boots.  These are real boots that are built to be worn!

I know there are folks on here who are really unhappy with CABoots because they did not receive SA boots.  But SA is very subjective since there were so many different boots that were made for and used by Jack/Johnny.  The SA version of the boots you want are very dependent on the specific scene in a specific film to which you are referring.  Ordering and paying extra for very specific customizations and not getting them is one thing.  I would be very upset with that, too!  However, that is entirely different from expecting the custom (or even stock) boots to look exactly like film-used boots if you choose the standard customization options.  If you don't pay for the customizations you think the boots should have, you can't expect the boots to come with them.  

The other thing to keep in mind is that there were MANY pairs of boots made for Johnny for every film.  And since each boot is handmade, there is bound to be differences from boot to boot.  I know many folks think that is an excuse or cop out on CABoots' part, but it is true.  So many people demand SA boots from CABoots, but it is SO dependent on which boots you saw in which scene in which movie.  Also, it is very dependent on whether the boots you saw were the "hero" boots worn by Johnny or the boots worn by stunt doubles or the boots worn for stand-ins.  There were boots made for all of them, and they are all bound to be slightly different.  Disney did not provide EXACT specifications to CABoots for the design of the boots and did not require exact duplicates for every boot.  

Something that people need to keep in mind when they demand screen accuracy is that even the film production companies don't demand exact screen-accurate replications between duplicate props!  They are mainly concerned with close enough to go unnoticed by the general public who will be viewing the final production.  They really have no idea before or during filming that there will be uber fanatics who will be totally, completely obsessed with every single minute detail down to the number of buttons on a waistcoat that are never fully exposed or the squareness of a boot toe that rarely makes a direct cameo in the films!  

As for SA Jack boots, you can find screen captures from every film, photos of the hero costume on display, photos of the stunt double costumes on display, and photos of the stand-in double costumes on display all over the internet.  And almost invariable, no single pair of boots looks EXACTLY the same as any other.  There are design differences, color differences, weathering differences, and differences that were the consequence of elements during filming (i.e. diving into water).  There are photos of film-used costumes on display where the boots have the extra strip of leather covering the back seam and there are photos of other film-used costumes where the boots do NOT have that leather strip.  There are lots of reference pics that show Jack's boots with very squared toes, but there are also a few reference pics that show them with more rounded toes.  I believe some of the pics of Jack's costume on display at El Capitan and the Hot Topic store appear to have slightly more rounded toes than the extreme squared toes we see in most pics.  For crying out loud, I believe there is even a photo floating around of a film-used costume on display that shows boots with seams in both the front AND back of the bells.  I don't remember off-hand where I saw that pic, but I'll hunt around for it.

My point in this long freakin' post is that there is no one single exactly SA Jack Sparrow boot.  Many boots were used, and there are variations between all of them, and there are reference pics to show that.  I'm sorry if some of my fellow Jacks happened to get a variation from CABoots that did not fit what they were expecting.  Did you have in mind an exact boot from an exact scene in a specific film but did not make the correct selections on the custom order form to get those specs?  Did you speak directly with CABoots before ordering and ask them to walk you through all the options to get the Jack boot you wanted?  If you just tell them that you want a boot just like what Jack wears in the films, they may have a standard/default design they use and the only customizations they make are to fit the boots to your size.  However, if you supply a reference photo of the exact boot you want, I'm sure they will do their best to replicate it as closely as possible as long as you are willing to pay for any significant customizations that deviate from the standard design.

As for CABoots' customer service, I personally found it second-to-none.  Priscilla was awesome and spent a LOT of time with me explaining all the variations in the boots throughout all the films.  She helped me pick the custom options that would most accurately replicate the boots I referenced from the films.  I received my boots less than a month after placing the order.  Although, I did speak directly with Priscilla after placing the order and told her about my Jack debut event that was coming up the following month.  It's very possible that she was nice to me and moved up the production schedule of my boots.  But that is an awesome indication of their attention to customer satisfaction.  For those who complain about CABoots' perceived ambivalence and poor customer service when it comes to addressing problems with an order, my question would be how did you approach them with your issue?  Did you contact them directly and calmly, collectively explain the problem and come to a mutually agreeable correction to the problem?  Or were you rather abrupt and accusatory right from the beginning?  I'm not accusing any specific person of being rude and/or offensive with them.  I just know from personal experience that there are some people in my life who will always assume the worst and immediately take an accusatory standpoint when they contact customer service.  One of my best friends is like that, and it gets really annoying and awkward when I happen to be there witnessing the event.

For what it's worth, I had asked Priscilla specifically about the leather trim covering the back seam of the boots.  I will paste her lengthy and detailed reply below.  It explains a lot of the same details that others have complained about and that I have already covered above.  But I just thought I'd let you see a little bit of the extra effort she put in trying to help me with my order and my questions about any boot variances:

Hi Robb,

No bother at all… sorry for the delay in my reply.
It’ll be about 4 weeks from the time of ordering to receive your boots.
So I think that’s about 2-3 weeks away.

I inquired as to the strip you are referring to and yes it was a craftsman
in Mexico that did the boots that way.
Unfortunately that seam is no longer available.
However, It was just one way to cover that back seam due to the type of sewing machine that was
used and as I had said before not all the boots were done this way over the several movies we did,
it also was NOT a design specification from Disney or the costumer hired by Disney
and we were hired by the costumer...
Some other things to note are that colors of leather changed slightly and so too there
were slight differences in specifications due to leather availability, craftsmanship, cost and time frames
and also of course the handmade nature of the product.

Also Disney was changing stylists and costumers very frequently sometimes by the time
an order came in and the time we got paid the person in charge was a different person.

We did hundreds of boots for them as well as other movies and this is often the case.
These differences do not mean the items are not screen accurate but in fact there are several
versions of screen accurate, it’s just as I have always explained it really just depends
on the scene or still that one may be using to identify.

The way it works is the Costume Designer/ Company is hired by the film Company
and they in turn hire subcontractor/stylists that are often given the task of hiring and finding
the individual craftspeople or manufacturers…sometimes with strict design details
other times no… it just depends on the individual project and costumers. We were not
hired for the last movie because of a change in costumer and I have no idea if they
changed the design or if they tried to replicate any that were previously used.
Most often the reason is the cost- typically budgets change and sources change depending on
bids- We were not skipped over due to any changes in designs or lack of accuracy but to bid cost.

In fact we were originally hired to do the Lone Ranger but the costumer that hired us was
Removed when the budget fiasco happened on that movie and another was hired who promised a smaller budget.

Most often the film companies are not at all concerned with these types of details they are really very
minor and the directors and assistant directors are not really concerned with minor differences
as there are too many other factors to deal with. Sometimes changes are made from one film to
the other.

The most notable features are the overall quality in that they are “real” boots and of high end quality
of a specific time period – they are “ period reproductions NOT “costumes”.
-          Real pirates would not have exact duplicates of anything as the time period did not allow that, they
-          Were not machine made or “pattern” specific”
-          They were made by individual craftsmen by hand and the idea of exact replication was not on the agenda.
-          It was the weight and durability of the materials and the use of the top shafts.

So for instance as an example often locations are several but used in a film to portray one…
It does not mean that any differences in the landscape are not truly accurate but meant to
Re-create a fantasy…
Or the way stand ins are used or stuntman.
There are differences that are usually not noticeable to the audience and not meant to upset an ideal…
I hope I have given you some insight.

I only hope to enlighten not argue or make excuses unfortunately- It is true that these are
the realities we are faced with in production.

Thank you for your patience!


Thank You!



Priscilla Sanchez
Head Honcho
CABOOTS.COM

[RobbW]

I'm glad to hear, but I don't understand why they can't/won't/refuse to add the strip of leather up the back of custom boots???…

I was told they can't do this cos the customs are made in the US and the standards in Mexico.. Some logic eh?…

I even asked if they could just send me some additional leather and I'll pay them extra and then I'll have a local boot maker put it on here. But nope, they refused to accommodate my request in this regard too. I don't understand why they are so unreasonable with such simple requests..

I'll agree that it IS odd if they are telling you they CANNOT add the trim leather over the back seam even if you are willing to pay for that customization. Most of their business is custom boot orders. If you pay to have your boots customized a certain way, I think they should be able to accommodate that. With them stating that the stock boots with the strip are made in Mexico while the custom boots without the strip are handmade in the US, I can only assume it must have something to do with available machinery. Maybe the factory in Mexico where the stock boots are made has some sort of fancy, heavy-duty, industrial leather sewing machine that is capable of going through the multiple layers of leather that would be required to add that trim strip. Maybe the Texas factory where they hand-make the custom boots doesn't have that industrial piece of equipment. That's the only thing I can think of.

Did you specifically order and pay extra for the trim leather and received your boots without the trim? Or did they tell you upfront they cannot add the trim to the custom boots?

[Sponsored content]