From XTRATUF to ‘SORT-OF-TUF’ a Short History of Alaska’s Favorite Boot

During spring break up Alaskans are transitioning from their bunny boots to their rain boots. What better rain boots to turn to than a pair of XTRATUFS? This distinguishable brown footwear with tan gum line and chevron grip outsole has become synonymous with Alaska becoming essential footwear here for over 50 years. However, XTRATUF boots quality was compromised back in 2011 when production moved overseas.

XTRATUFS history goes back to 1950s when BF Goodrich Company began constructing boots for fisherman at its plant in Rock Island, Illinois offering superior traction. The boot was quickly adopted by Alaskan fishermen and received endearing nicknames such as “Alaskan Sneaker” and “State Sneaker.” The XTRATUF boot has become an iconic Alaskan image appearing ubiquitously on a variety of items including stickers, enamel pins, fridge magnets, Christmas decorations, earrings, and coffee thermoses to name a few. 

In 2008, Honeywell acquired XTRATUF from Goodrich and made the decision to move its plant from Rock Island, Illinois to China in late 2011 (250 Illinoisans lost their jobs). The inferior quality of the Chinese made XTRATUFS was quickly detected. Journalist Diane Jeantet interviewed disgruntled Alaskan fishing guides around Cordova in 2012. One guide interviewed, Andrew Moravec observed, “I had my first pair of XTRATUFs for over two and a half years and they were fine…I got these a month ago and literally within two weeks they started to separate.” Another guide Ian Winder interviewed noted, “Look at this, the rubber is chipping off, that’s ridiculous after a month!” Jeantet called Joe Prax the owner of Prospector Outfitters in Valdez and he confirmed the statements about XTRATUFS decline in quality stating oil tank workers had noticed the same problems too and added, “They (refers to Honeywell Company here) need to know it's a big deal. The boots are called XTRATUF and not ‘SORT-OF-TUF.’” 

The Alaskan XTRATUF outrage reached Senator Mark Begich’s office and he responded in a letter to Honeywell on behalf of his concerned constituents. Begich wrote David Cote, chairman and chief executive of Honeywell stating this move has, “caused job losses in Illinois and resulted in a significant decline in the quality of the boots relied upon by so many Alaskans. Because of the place XTRATUFs hold in Alaskans' hearts, I am concerned to hear about a widespread and noticeable decline in their quality.” 

“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 is intense pressure to reduce manufacturing costs. I'm sure Honeywell would be happy to move the manufacturing back to Rock Island to get the high quality American workers can deliver, if it made financial sense to do so…” 

Begich’s message was clear: Move back production to Rock Island, Illinois but no action was taken by Honeywell and the manufacture of XTRATUFS has remained in China to the present. 

Honeywell noted that they have repaired quality control issues since 2012. XTRATUF still has eager buyers of its iconic brown boots with the tan gum line and chevron grip. However, one won’t find “Made in U.S.A.” written on the front of their XTRATUF boots. Instead of “Made in U.S.A.” with three stars on the logo it simply reads XTRATUF. Amusingly Honeywell left out the “Made in China” slogan on their Chinese made boots.