Wolverine 1000 mile boots 5 years on, review, pictures, and how I care for my boots

I bought these Wolverine 1000 mile boots five years ago, in 2012, in San Francisco. They have held up pretty well and I have made sure to clean them and oil them regularly. At first they were a little stiff, but the chromexcel leather quickly adjusted to my foot and now these are one of my most comfortable shoes. 
They are very different from how when I first got them. The color was much lighter, but now they are more dark brown. Still very nice, but I kinda miss the original color.

When they were brand new, I made the mistake of listening to some fellows in a Carmel shoestore who recommended using saddle soap to clean them. Don't do this. The saddle soap along with a moist cloth (water) cleans too much of the oil from the boot and makes it dry. And then they suggested using mink oil, which is too oily and darkens the leather too much. It is better to use just something lighter like "Saphir Renovateur - Luxury Leather Care Balm", and apply it immediately after you get the boots. Make sure to wipe down dirt as soon as you get them dirty and reapply Saphir or something similar to keep them water resistant. And don't forget to apply oil liberally to the leather sole.  And use shoetrees. 

I have taken them to a cobbler three times in five years to have them resoled. First I had them put on another leather sole. Then I had them put on a thin rubbersole since I was starting to wear the boots in the rain and the snow. The original rubbersole they put on was too slippery for the snow and Ice, so the last time I had them put on a little more substantial sole, but still thin enough to not alter the look. Another thing I had the cobbler do is to lower the heel. I found the heel being too elevated for me and preferred more flat shoe. Just a personal preference. You can see in the pictures how they differ from the original look. 

I wear these boots in the winter here in Iceland. To begin with, I only wore them when it was dry since they have a leather sole. Reykjavik throws salt on the icy roads in winter so if you are not careful cleaning and maintaining your boots, the salt will penetrate the leather. But these boots, if you have them soled and oiled properly make great winterboots. 

When I bought them I believe I got them in 1/2 a size too large. I have a wide foot and they felt just about right in the store. After wearing them for a while the leather became super soft and adjusted too my foot width. So the boots change shape with wear. I soon noticed how the shoes were a little larger than I would have preferred, too long basically. This was pretty annoying since these were pretty expensive, but since I wear them mainly while wearing thicker wool-blend hiking socks, it's not an issue at all. 

Overall the Wolverine 1000 mile boots are very comfortable, just like wearing slippers. And boy, do they look good. I wear them with everything between jeans, khakis, wool jeans, flannel trousers, and workwear. I might wear them in the office during the week and while working in the yard on weekends. I don't wear them with suits, but they work fine for semi formal dress like flannel pants and a wool blazer. 

I will have them resoled for the fourth time this fall and expect to keep these going for many years to come. The pictures are taken just after I cleaned and oiled them as described above. The shine comes from a final touch using one of these shoe shine sponges for extra gloss, I don't use these on my boots normally. 

Would I buy them again? Yes, definitely. However, I don't need another pair. My next boot purchase will probably be the Alden Indy 405, the ones from Alden not J. Crew as they come in calfskin, not chromexcel. The calfskin is more rigid I understand and the boots might keep their shape better. Does anyone have any experience with the 405?

Anyway, with regards to the 1000 mile boots, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on these boots, any experiences, how you style, how and where you wear them, and thoughts on how you maintain them.