I've never owned a pair of Whites, but I've spent enough time around logging and fire camps to know that handmade boots are quite common and Whites are right up there. I now live in SEAK and I don't do much but 'recreational' logging anymore. My work mostly requires either waders or 'sitka sneakers' but for hunting and hiking I wear either $60 'sitka sneakers' or $250 leather hunting boots, with Vibram soles, 10"-12" height, and a Goretex liner to keep my feet dry. In this wet climate leather boots take quite a bit of care and still only last a few years, which is still longer than the plastic versions that are available.
Personally, I think $400 is cheap for a good handmade boot. What you really pay for is the last and I'm told that Whites build good lasts and have the craftsmen to build heavy boots that also fit your foot on that last. They can also be rebuilt.
Most people I know that have Whites say they fit great, last for years, and are durable. If I ever have a chainsaw bite my ankle or have to pull off a boot I just waded through 100 yds of embers with, I hope I have the right boots on. You don't want goretex melting onto your feet and certainly stay away from plastic European mountaineering boots. I'd bet that if I was still fighting fires there would be a pair of handmade boots on my feet - like most everyone I know that did that for more than a couple of seasons.
