>>2382836White's was bought out by a fashion company in 2014. Same company owns Danner and they are not what they used to be either. It's why I don't recommend their PU wildland boots. It falls apart in a season.
Good thing is White's spawns offshoots from its factory like an Appalachian baptist church.
Nick's came from White's (also in Spokane). They tend to be more durable but i've seen some order issues.
There's also Franks, Jakes. I would probably go with one of them two if you must have welted. Arborist is different than wildland as climbing a tree needs extra durability on boot upper. If you do go with these boots, get a can of obenaufs and expect to break them in 100 hours pre-season or you will regret it. Conditioner will help soften leather. I treat the inside initially. You can wipe off excess. Some people stand in water and wear till dry to break boots in. Never tried it myself.
British army recommended a thin wool inner, thick wool outer. I like 80%+ wool, plus you don't want too much synthetic content due to fire. I use Darn Tough extra cushion, but also heard good things about JB Fields higher wool content socks.
Still recommend Haix. A lot of European makers of PU/polyurethane boots make wildland boots now. The Italian makers tend to have very narrow widths. German (Lowa, Meindl, Aku, Haix) tends to be wider. I don't know how certified many of them are, since Europe doesn't see much wildland activity but i've seen people use them regardless like Lowa Baffin.
US is backwards and only makes welted boots, like how we stuck with revolver so long.
The foam in PU boots may not last a lifetime of rebuilds, but when you are humping more than 30 pounds and landing on your heels every time, the foam will negate a lot of that body shock.
PS: polyurethane/eva foam breaks down if not use regularly (hydrolysis) so use boots once a week in wintertime too.