Boot battle joined by U.S. senator

What the well-dressed concert bassist will wear.
Photo by Jerrianne Lowther

XTRATUF Boots were originally developed in the 1960s for fishermen on the West Coast. Today they are worn for commercial fishing, canneries, general outdoor, casual wear and for fashion in Alaska! –XTRATUFcatalogue

Fashion indeed!

Now no less a personage than Alaska's Sen. Mark Begich has entered the fray.  He has written a letter to the president of the XTRATUFF  parent company raising Alaskans' complaints about the failure of boots manufactured in China.  In addition, Begich offered to work with the company to make it profitable to return to the United States and manufacture in this country.  And, he invited the company's officer to testify to Congress about the difficulties of competing and suggest ways the problem could be fixed.  Among other things the senator told the president of Honeywell, "People replacing boots that used to last for years found the new pairs leaked and the soles separated from the uppers after just a few weeks wear. These were not the durable boots Alaskans were used to, earning the new name: 'SORT-OF-TUFs."

There's a post on this blog dated July 24, 2012, about XTRATUF boots,  how they are the iconic choice of Alaska fishermen and how they are now being manufactured in China with less than satisfactory results.

That post highlighted the immediate problem but didn't really explain how deeply the foul-weather boots are woven into the Alaska fabric and even Alaska fashion as mentioned by the excerpt from the company's catalogue above.

Ubiquitous in the rain-soaked towns of Southeastern Alaska they often are called sneakers with the town attached, as in Ketchikan sneakers, Sitka sneakers and on and on, pick your town.  Most likely  any Alaskan who has anything to do with water owns at least one pair, from the guys on the Deadliest Catch boats in the Bering Sea to the school teacher walking to work in the rain in Ketchikan.  On my recent trip to Southeastern, I began to feel underdressed because I wasn't wearing them.

As far as fashion goes, it's no accident they are colored brown to go with their partners in Alaska outerwear the Carhartt coverall.  And they defy the rule of not wearing brown shoes with black.  When it's raining, brown is fine with whatever color you want.  People have been married wearing them.

They are a less common sight in Anchorage, most likely stored away in the closet most of the time until the owner heads out across the muskeg or joins a friend on a boat.  But, the recent storms, rain and flooding have probably led more than a few people to dust off their boots and at least consider wearing them.

My friend Jerrianne Lowther caught these two women walking along a sidewalk in East Anchorage recently, at least one of them going to or coming from some sort of performance with her bass.  Nice thing about that bass is if there were a flood that case would probably float long enough to take her to safety, while her concert footwear kept her feet warm and dry.