The Best Shoes for $200? Meermin Chukka Boots Unboxing and Initial Impressions

Hello, friends!

Today, I have the distinct pleasure of providing my initial impressions of my new Chukka boots from Meermin Mallorca, a company that is often lauded for providing an insane price-to-quality ratio for their footwear.

Please note: the initial impressions are based on approximately three weeks of wear - I will provide a full review once I have worn the shoes for three months, which should provide ample time to see how they hold up under consistent wear. This article will focus on the purchasing experience, the packaging, and my impressions after wearing them for a few weeks. In the full review, I will post my in-depth thoughts and will also provide advice and pictures of how I style and wear these boots.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s briefly discuss what a Chukka boot is. To put it simply, there are two distinguishing features of a Chukka boot: they are ankle-height and they have two or three eyelets, no more or less. They come in a variety of colors and materials and with different soles and shapes, but as long as it has these features, it’s a Chukka boot. On to my experience!

The purchasing experience was quite pleasant. Meermin’s website is easy to navigate and use, and finding what I wanted was a breeze. I chose a pair of dark brown boots, made of a Castoro calf suede. They’re goodyear welted and unlined, but I’ll go more in-depth into the construction in the full review. The boots cost $210, and the shipping was an additional $15. The shipping time was very quick, and within three days of my order, they were delivered!

They came in a nice sturdy box, with the Meermin logo embossed on the top, which you can see below.

Shoe box containing Meermin Chukka boots

In the box came the boots and also two drawstring shoe bags, which are great for when you’re traveling. This is especially true for suede shoes, as they can scuff quite easily if they aren’t protected. The boots were packed quite nicely, with paper all around to prevent them from rattling around and potentially damaging or scuffing the material. The shoes looked fantastic right out of the box. The right one had one loose thread, but it’s one that most people wouldn’t even notice.

Shoe traveling bags

Meermin dark brown suede Chukka boots in box

With most of my dress shoes, I’m a US size 11 and use a standard (E) width. Since Meermin uses UK sizing for their shoes, I ordered a UK size 10 which corresponds to my US size. The shoes fit well out of the box, although I experienced a bit of chafing on the back of my heel at the top of the boot, but I suspect that will go away once I’ve had more time to break the shoes in. People often complain about the long break-in periods of Meermin shoes, but these were really comfortable right out of the box, which I suspect has much to do with the unlined leather.

Speaking of the leather, the quality of the materials and the craftsmanship are really unparalleled in this price range. All of the stitching is neat and uniform, the last is elegant, and the suede is supple and flexible. You’re only paying about a $50 premium over most mall brand shoe makers, such as Aldo and Florsheim, but the quality you get with these are leaps and bounds ahead of those companies.

Rear shot of Meermin dark brown suede Chukka boots

Meermin dark brown suede Chukka boots

These are the first pair of shoes I’ve bought from Meermin, and I’ve been very impressed so far - I’ve paid (significantly) more for shoes that were of lesser quality than these.

Since these are made of suede, I’ve found that they’re very easy to pair with more casual ensembles, such as with jeans and a sweater, but the dark brown color and leather soles also mean that it can dressed up a bit, perhaps with a sport jacket and odd trouser combination. I would even venture that you could wear them with a suit, if the color and fabric were casual enough.

Meermin dark brown suede Chukka boots paired with mid-blue jeans

Well, that wraps up my initial impressions of the Meermin suede Chukka boots! Be sure to keep an eye out for the full review when it goes live! I can’t wait to see how these hold up with consistent wear, especially as we approach the colder and wetter months of the year here in the Northeast US.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section below! Additionally, if you have any suggestions for future topics that I should cover, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Farewell for now!