Amberjack, Chelsea Boots, Initial Impressions, Stitched Footwear

Amberjack The Chelsea: Comfortable and Casual

December 8, 2024November 30, 2024 by 100wears

Price: $199

Why Buy?

The Amberjack The Chelsea will look great with smart outfits, and is extremely comfortable.

Why Avoid?

The Amberjack The Chelsea doesn’t quite do the formal-look as well as the rest of their lineup, and they can’t be resoled.

Specs

Model	The Chelsea
Height	6″
Size	12.5
Weight	571 g / 1 lb 4.1 oz
Materials	Suede / TPU / PU
Construction	Cemented
Country of Origin	Portugal

History

The history of Amberjack is good. Really, I promise. However, 100wears has also already told the story twice already. You can check out the original history in the review of The Original. After I posted that review, Amberjack released something a bit more formal – The Cap Toe.

However, what if you’re looking for a more casual option from Amberjack? What if you wanted something a bit more casual than The Original? Well, Amberjack sent over two pairs that do just that for me to take a look at. Today we are going to The Chelsea.

The Chelsea is actually one of the older models in their lineup, though not a forgotten one. In interviews with the founder, he typically says that this is the one that he typically wears. I get it, while I often need to wear more formal footwear. For most guys a Chelsea boot will do everything they need a pair of shoes to do.

With all that being said, it may do what you need, but will the Amberjack The Chelsea do what you want? Let’s dive in and find out.

Disclaimer: Amberjack provided this pair of The Chelsea for purposes of review, however this is not a sponsored post. Amberjack was not given the opportunity to read through this review in advance, and was not given the opportunity to edit anything said.

Looks

Upper

The upper of the Amberjack The Chelsea comes almost entirely in one material. Though which material will depend on the colorway you pick. This particular pair is in the “Grizzly” suede, a shade commonly known as “snuff.” It’s just about the most classic suede color for boots, and the one I would personally recommend.

If this isn’t your style, you can get leather in Black, Brown, Tan, as well as Nubuck in Grey or Brown.

Unlike a lot of Chelsea boots, The Chelsea by Amberjack has a few decorative panels. Most notably, the panel running from the toe box up to the throat of the boot. This design definitely pushes these boots further towards the casual end of the spectrum.

Where most of the colors have gussets (the stretchy sections) that match the upper closely, the Grizzly pair has a darker, contrast color. Again, I personally prefer a bit of contrast here, but you do have the choice to pick something more uniform.

The one area I will pick a bone with Amberjack is the pull tabs. I don’t mind that these don’t have them, but why do these not and your dress shoes do?

Elsewhere on the upper, the very clean stitching all around holds on a branded heel tab.

Mid- and Outsole

The bottom half of the Amberjack The Chelsea uses the brands go-to outsole that is shared across almost all of their models. If you have not read my previous reviews, I am a big fan of this design. So many dress shoes that aim to be comfortable end up throwing a big wedge of EVA on the bottom. That’s fine if you really want the sporty look, but doesn’t really work in more formal environments.

Amberjack does it a bit differently. The outsole on their products is actually more like a cup sole – with the main body being a single piece of TPU. This single piece creates a void where they put in a drop in insole. What I really like about the styling, though, is that the design mimics a more traditional heeled dress outsole, with little cut outs along the midfoot.

This means that, from someone standing up and a few feet away from you, the shoe looks more like a traditional dress shoe.

It is a bit more complicated than that. Under the ball of your foot, there is a slightly softer TPU panel, that provides a bit more grip and visual distinction. But the key take away is that it offers a really good compromise between a design that allows for maximum cushioning and a design that is purely dress-focused.

Summary

The Amberjack The Chelsea is a boot that definitely skews a bit more casual than their other offerings, but is still incredibly versatile. During the time I was writing a review of these boots, I ended up having a medical issue pop up where I wasn’t able to bend over and tie any shoes and really needed something with good cushioning.

Having a pair of boots that worked with a ton of different outfits was an absolute lifesaver. I wore these almost every day for two weeks.

In the time I’ve been wearing these, I’ve worn them with jeans and a flannel, chinos and a sweater, and even a pair of nicer sweatpants. The upper pattern does mean you probably wouldn’t want to wear these with a sport coat, but they still cover a lot of ground in a closet.

Fit & Comfort

Fit

While Amberjack does tend to fit true to size in their dress shoes, those are designed for dress socks. For a more casual pair like the Amberjack The Chelsea, which uses the same last, you might want to consider going up half a size in order to accommodate more casual socks.

That is what I did, and found that it worked perfectly with a pair of lightweight Darn Tough socks. This pair of The Chelsea are in a 12.5, a half size larger than my other pairs as well as most of my stitched footwear. For reference, I typically wear a size 13 in most sneakers.

The overall shape of the last is on the dressier side. But, I don’t think it does anything to harm comfort.

Comfort

Speaking of comfort, the Amberjack The Chelsea is an incredibly comfortable pair of boots. In the Looks section I mentioned how the outsole design manages to appear more like a traditional dress shoe than most comfort-focused pairs. However, the reverse of that cup sole design is that the cut outs don’t go across the sneaker.

In other words, there is still space for a very thick insole that offers a ton of padding. It’s encased, sure, but it’s much closer to a sneaker than a dress shoe.

Add in the incredibly soft suede upper and these are a very comfortable pair of boots.

While I wouldn’t quite put them in the same realm as some of the modern sneaker technology, I would have no problem wearing these all day while walking around.

Materials & Construction

Materials

When designing The Chelsea, Amberjack had a clear focus on comfort – and that’s a good thing.

The upper of this particular pair is made of their water repellant suede. While they don’t specific which tannery this suede comes from, it has a good hand feel. It is definitely on the thinner side, though I think that was a choice related to comfort.

Inside, that suede is backed with a soft leather backing on the entirety of the upper. Between the suede and the lining, The Chelsea has clastic heel and toe stiffeners.

The outsole of the Amberjack The Chelsea is made of two different densities of TPU – with the lighter tan being a bit softer than the dark brown. TPU, or thermoplastic polyurethane, is a plastic that has a rubbery feel in hand. It is more common on work boot outsoles, but there are countless blends of TPU, and this version is a bit softer than what you might find in thick work boots.

Inside that outsole is a very thick polyurethane insole. Polyurethane, or PU, is the stuff that they make memory foam mattresses out of and is one of my favorite footwear foams. Amberjack says that it’s heat activated to get the comfort, but I find PU feels great right out of the box.

Construction

Like all their other shoes, Amberjack used a cemented construction method on The Chelsea. To make a pair of shoes this way, first the upper is lasted and sewn, then it is glued directly to the cup sole.

This style of construction offers great protection against water getting into your boot, and is more affordable as well. On the other hand, this type of construction is basically impossible to resole – once the outsole is done, the boot is too.

If you read my previous reviews, you probably already know, but it’s also worth flagging Amberjack builds their footwear in Portugal. This may not matter to some people, but it does for others. It also undoubtably adds cost to the construction.

I won’t rehash everything again in this review, but if you want more information, you can find a video showing their factory standards here.

Pricing

The Amberjack The Chelsea comes in at a price of $199. Shipping is free, as are any returns. They also have a very long 2-year warranty. That is exceedingly rare – pretty much the only other footwear company to offer that is Nike. I wouldn’t downplay that.

There are not a ton of pairs that compare to The Chelsea. Of course, you could go higher end – something like Meermin for $260. Alternatively, something like Blundstone comes in at a slightly lower $180. That being said, I’m not sure anyone is cross shopping either of those two brands with Amberjack.

The only real comparison I can think of are the Thursday Cavalier, which come in at a very similar $190. That being said, they are still two very different boots – with one focusing more on comfort and the other on being goodyear welted.

Are the Amberjack The Chelsea Worth It?

Alright, with all that said, are the Amberjack The Chelsea Worth It?

Let’s start off with one thing I’ve long said. When making a shoe, it’s important to know what you’re going for in the beginning. While saying a shoe does everything might help sell a pair on a webpage, it’s basically impossible to actually do that. Nearly every design decision means trade offs somewhere else. If a brand doesn’t have a clear goal from the beginning, those trade offs add up.

It’s clear that Amberjack knew where they wanted to take The Chelsea – a comfortable boot that works in a smart outfit and is easy to slip on and off – and they nailed it. These would look good on a date night or in a casual office, and are comfortable enough that you wouldn’t mind wearing them to both in the same day.

I should be clear – these are not dress shoes. I wouldn’t suggest wearing them with blazer like their other offerings. However, that was never the intention with these.