It makes sense to be concerned about these stitches being exposed to the ground, where they can be worn away with friction. However, we feel like this is the better decision compared to what other shoemakers are doing.
With Goodyear Welt construction, you have the option of A) stitching the welt and the midsole together and only gluing the midsole to the outsole, or B) stitching the welt, the midsole, and the outsole altogether.
Option A, which is what boots such as the Soft Star Hawthorne, Bearfoot Bruin, or Jim Green African Ranger do, has a cleaner look without the stitches exposed underneath. It also makes resoling a bit easier, as someone only needs to slice off the old outsole, and glue on a new one. However, the bond between midsole and outsole is not very strong if we only use glue.
Option B, which is what we did with the Determination, doesn’t look as clean underneath, but it’s under the boot where no one sees, and it’s a work boot where a polished appearance doesn’t matter as much. Since this is a certified safety boot, we'd rather have the extra security of stitching through the outsole as well. Even if the bottom of some threads wear out, we still have the rest of the stitch, as well as all the other stitches, holding the outsole. This decision should make our boots more durable and last longer for our customers.
We felt confident that this is the best barefoot safety boot in existence, with a more secure outsole than any barefoot boot we know of, so we decided to go ahead and launch it with the 2nd best possible construction method. We are working on a new version that both looks better and has the security of the stitching.