Broad, sturdy, built to carry the weight of a larger-than-average man over long distances; a blunt, utilitarian design without much thought for aesthetics, kept in decent working order but marked by age and hard use.  Reliable and hard-wearing with more than a few good winters of service remaining, albeit softer in some places than many years ago, and less flexible in others.  Years of labouring in the dirt and mud are worn indelibly into the creases; beneath the leathery exterior a layer of steel protects the most vulnerable elements, and the sole is shot through with iron nails.

They say you can tell much about a fellow by his shoes.