I got these boots in November 2023, just before a work trip to Xuzhou, China. I had lived in China before, in Dalian, but this was my first time in Xuzhou and Shanghai. It had been five years since I’d been back to China at all, and I was more excited about the trip than the work.

Since starting my current job, which is fully remote with a relaxed dress code, I hadn’t needed proper footwear for two years. My shoe rack was sneakers and riding boots and nothing in between. I had been quietly browsing for something that could cover all of it, a casual dinner, an occasional formal setting, a ride, but never pulled the trigger. When my manager asked me to travel to China, that was the push I needed.

Before the Marton, I had owned boots from Red Chief, Woodland, and Royal Enfield, and none of them had worked for me. The weight was always the issue — every step felt like an effort, like something tied to your legs that you had to drag along with you. So when I ordered these from the Birkenstock India website for around ₹13,000, I wasn’t expecting much. I liked how they looked, brown oiled nubuck leather, yellow laces, that slightly rugged silhouette, but I assumed they’d be like everything else.

The box arrived a couple of days later. I opened it and picked the boots up.

I’m not someone who gets easily impressed by things. But I remember standing there genuinely confused. These were lighter than some of my sneakers. Leather boots, cork sole, and somehow lighter than canvas. It seemed wrong.

They weren’t just light in the hand. Once I put them on, they were light on the feet too.

I took them to China and wore nothing else for the entire seven days. Xuzhou, then Shanghai, walking around both cities in cold weather and snow, dinner out, everything. By the end of the trip I had my answer: you can wear these all day and barely notice them. For a pair of leather boots, that’s the highest compliment I can give.

The design holds up in more situations than you’d expect. Jeans and a t-shirt works. Slacks for a semi-formal dinner works. Walking around a cold Chinese city all day, apparently that works too. The high top, seven-hole lacing and oiled nubuck leather make it look like a boot that can handle anything. The cork sole keeps it light but this isn’t footwear for heavy duty work or trekking, it’s a lifestyle boot that happens to be very well made. Know what you’re buying and it won’t disappoint.

The shade of brown is worth mentioning separately. It’s not dark enough to look formal and not light enough to look casual, it sits somewhere in between, which is exactly what makes it work across so many contexts. Pair it with the yellow laces it comes with or swap to red and you get two completely different looks from the same boot.

A couple of things worth knowing before you buy. The leather needs care, these aren’t shoes you can neglect. The cork sole also needs attention over time and Birkenstock’s maintenance kit is worth having if you plan to keep them for years. Neither of these is a deal-breaker, just part of the deal.

I don’t wear them as often as I used to. When I was riding the Interceptor regularly, the Marton was the natural choice, brown leather boots with a retro cafe racer bike, the whole thing made sense together. Now that I ride the Triumph mostly, the Chuck Taylor all-weather sneakers get more feet time. They pair well with a sportsbike and being waterproof means one less thing to worry about on a ride.

The Marton deserves better. But whenever I do pull them out of the cupboard, the mood lifts immediately. Something about the yellow laces, or the memory of walking through Xuzhou in the cold that brings back everything about living in China, a place where a lot had changed between 2018 and 2023 and somehow a lot still felt familiar.