I've run into this issue a few times, but I was able to gather a few details. Under some circumstances, equipping the Journeyman Boots does not impart a speed buff until zoning. Afterward, the buff remains even if I unequip the boots. This has been happening when I open my bank bag and pull out the boots from there. I equip them and don't necessarily get a speed increase. Changing to my old boots or putting the journeyman back in the bank doesn't help. When I zone, I get the speed buff and things are great. However, I can swap to my regular boots and I keep the fast speed even though the buff no longer appears in my buff list. It's like the speed increase isn't being tied to the buff itself. If it helps, I've got a mod installed that tells me my stats and it's showing my movement speed bonus at 86.4% regardless of the state of the buff. However, it's a mod so it may be inaccurate.
#Journeyman Boots buff working incorrectly
teal totem
wary heron
Not sure if my issue is same as yours, but this is what I can reliably reproduce with the boots. When I first put them on and I use the w key to move forward I get the buf increase in speed. However, if I put them on but instead of using the w key I use the two mouse buttons to move forward, the buf isnt applied. If I use the w key first to get the buf, then the two mouse button also gets the buffed speed. This pattern works in reverse as well, as in if I remove the boots I can retain the buff speed if I only use the two mouse button for forward movement. Once I start using the w key to go forward, the buf expires and the two mouse buttons also no longer get the buff