Gold Cup Authentic Original Boat Shoe

Owning a lot of boat shoes, I noticed right away that the Gold Cup is definitely higher in quality. From the packaging it came in, I could tell that this was a premium product over the others such as the authentic originals. However, I'm not entirely sure if the improvements are necessary or worth the price increase. From my observations compared to the other Sperry boat shoes I've owned, the largest improvements other than small ones such as the gold eyelets and extra stitching on the tongue seem to be inside the shoe. Like other Sperry boat shoes, comfortable right out the box. However, the Gold Cup takes it a step further with higher quality leather and padding on the insole and in general on the sides and inside of the tongue. You notice the difference right away trying these on - its considerably more comfortable on all sides of the feet - bottom, side, and top. It feels like it has padding more like a running shoe than the bare minimum leather moccasin feel of the AO Sperrys. While it is considerably more comfortable, I don't find boat shoes that uncomfortable to begin with. AO Sperrys seem fine to me even though they have a bit rougher and thinner leather inside, so I leave it up to you to decide if that extra comfort is necessary in a shoe that is meant to be run ragged in and around water and sand. If anything, the extra leather and padding might be a bit of a nuisance with added water and sweat where it might feel a bit hot and sticky. Its a luxury, if anything. Or designed for a more casual setting on land and pavement. I'll leave that up to you if that's worth it for you, but if that's what you are looking for, this shoe has my recommendation.