Would you expect heavy duty leather boots to be waterproof?

[Wonderbug81]

Brand new black leather thick soled shoes from Clarks. Been out today in heavy rain and my toes are wet!

Do you think this counts as faulty?

That sounds rubbish!
My suggestions for really waterproof boots in that sort of style are Heavenly Feet which being vegan the “leather” is much tougher and seems to require no maintenance. Really impressed with mine.
Otherwise if you particularly want actual leather (though HF ones look and feel exactly the same to me) look into boots made for stable work and riding. Mountain Horse are really good and have a model which look very similar to yours.

I’d expect my feet to stay dry in these just walking in a rainy street. I’ve had all sorts of leather boots over the years, none marketed at waterproof and none treated by me, and I don’t get wet feet. Surely that’s the whole point of boots!

I’ve got 3 pairs of Orinoco boots and never got wet feet.

Are your toes wet on the bottom, top or at the front? I reckon the join between the sole and the upper must be crap or there's a split in the sole.

You need a bellows tongue to keep water out of the top of lace ups. Usually only found in walking shoes and boots.

Definitely wouldn't expect leather boots bought from a fashion store to be fully waterproof, unless it specifically stated that they were. Unless it is treated, leather isn't waterproof and even if it were, the sole may not be, nor the joining. That's why rubber wellies were invented! 😁

Normal waterproof as in walking on pavements in the town/city in the rain - yes. A decent pair of well-made leather shoes should cope with that. Walking through puddles consistently deeper than the thickness of the sole, no.

I stopped buying Clarkes about 15 years ago. They are trading off a reputation they no longer deserve IMO.

I have a pair of shoes that cost about £30 that are not waterproof.

I have a similar par of shoes that cost about £200 that are marketed as waterproof, have goretex linings and special lace system to ensure even if water goes over the top they are still waterproof.

You can guess which pair of shoes i expect to be waterproof and which i dont.

No

you have to pay through the nose to get waterproof boots - I paid £200

you need to make sure they are sold as waterproof and not shower proof

I would expect that pair of shoes to be water resistant for the purposes of walking on wet pavements in the rain, @Wonderbug81 . So long as you weren't actually stepping in serious puddles (and you weren't out for an extraordinarily long time), then I'd say it is part of the basic job of a boot like that to keep your toes dry.

Sure, you would have to pay a lot extra for leather boots that were marketed as 'waterproof' - but I would expect those to cope with much tougher conditions, such as walking through thick mud or inch-or-more-deep water.

All leather boots have some sort of 'treatment' which should make them resist the ordinary wetness of urban rainy-day walking. You should only need additional treatment to maintain that degree of water resistance.

I'd complain and take them back.

I wouldn’t expect wet feet from walking in boots like that in the rain. Different if you were wading through puddles. But if they aren’t advertised as waterproof I doubt if you’ll get far complaining.

I've got a pair of boots just like yours from
J D Sports , not real leather but look like it and keep feet dry. Only cost about £27 and had them for years

I've got some Orinico boots from 3 years ago, they are my go to for walking to work in the wet as they do keep me dry. Something isn't right ....