Fit expectations for engineer type boots vs lace up boots ?

[mcnuonuo]

It's not terribly painful, just leaves a red spot and eventually starts to bother me a bit.

For mine I can go half a day in them, and it's only the left foot that's having in-step issues.

The boots somewhat exaggerated the differences in my two feet.

But with less than 15 hours of wears in the boots, it has gone from impossible to get in to happily walking in them (half a day or shorter).. So I'm hopeful, still.

 

[cbez]

They make stick in padding you could try on the instep. I think i have a lower one because I've never had issues, usually I want them tighter in that area actually.

 

[polarWhite]

There is supposed to be a small amount of heel slip in Engineer Boots as well as other laceless boots such as Chelsea boots.

The instep of the boots are supposed to hug your feet reasonably snug but not painfully tight.

The toes should be able to wiggle comfortably.

People who downsize their engineer boots to the point that there's zero heel slip by enduring a long period of painful so called break-in period in my opinion are wearing boots that are too small.

Footwear should never hurt your feet to the point that you get blisters and bruises and such.

 

[TLW '90]

There is supposed to be a small amount of heel slip in Engineer Boots as well as other laceless boots such as Chelsea boots.

The instep of the boots are supposed to hug your feet reasonably snug but not painfully tight.

The toes should be able to wiggle comfortably.

People who downsize their engineer boots to the point that there's zero heel slip by enduring a long period of painful so called break-in period in my opinion are wearing boots that are too small.

Footwear should never hurt your feet to the point that you get blisters and bruises and such.

If this is the case, then my previous thoughts on pull on boots probably stand and they just aren't for me because heel slip just isn't something I can live with in anything but my moccasin slippers.

 

[polarWhite]

All i wear are Engineers, i never use the straps, to me they are decorative.
All my Engineer have some heel lift, and my foot is quite mobile inside the boot, i don't consider heel lift "annoying", i consider it normal.
When i first moved from lace up shoes to boots i bought my first two pairs too tight and ended up never wearing them.
IMO you need some space/movement for them to be comfortable, not like lace up shoes/boots.

Exactly that

The way I see the "heel slip" factor is like the "chest ease" factor in properly fit leather jacket. The extra bit of room is intended for the purpose of the particular apparel.

But some folks want their leather jacket fit like a wet suit with almost zero chest ease so they downsize or alter the jacket and wear the jacket with discomfort or deem a properly sized jacket to be flawed.

 

[Bfd70]

Feet are not all alike. For engineer boots length is only 1 of 3 variables along with width and volume. My width (d) and length (43) are easily to accommodate. For me the issue is volume. Some people can’t get their feet into engineer boots. I can tighten the strap and still kick off boots that fit in width and length. Addict boots are the only OTR boots that are close to tight enough at the instep. Straps for me are not decorative but essential.

 

[01flhr]

I havent owned engineers in years but i do wear wellingtons alot since i cant stand a lace up boot. They always end up too tight around the ankle. Some heel slip in a slip on boot is pretty normal and eventually you will get used to it although i definately agree with whats been said already about insoles making a difference too. If you need a really thick insole the thorogood genesis insole is very thick. Im actually swapping mine out in my work boots because the tops of my boots are too tight on my instep. Good luck with your boots, if they dont hurt, youll get used to them after a few weeks.

 

[Trouser Bark]

There's a lot of talk in here about engineer boots and I'm pretty sure that's not what you're wearing. The old Gokey mocs I've seen that look identical to what you have on your feet were snake boots. Usually at least 16" high as when you encounter a venomous snake out walking through the grass they're more likely to strike below knee level.

I'd bet a nickel that's what's on your feet. Does the shaft of the boot come up higher than the typical cowboy boot and does the shaft also seem curiously thick?

 

[Trouser Bark]

There''s also some chatter in this thread about engineers with wedge soles. Wesco used to make a standard offer version they called their Raptmalt. They've been discontinued by Wesco for quite a while but you can find similar designs offered by retailers that do 'collaborations' with Wesco. I think they were based on Wesco's Boss model but w/ the sole swap. Most of them that I've seen look to have been spec'd toward the fancier end of the spectrum.

I've only seen them w/ a single spot at the rear for a boot hook and it doesn't seem to me like that would be as easy to get on in the morning as a hook ******** either side of the shaft... so I've never owned a pair set up like that. That design conjures up a mental image for me of being easy to yank up from the rear and then a hog wrestling match to grab the front of the shaft and try to yank that up as well. Might be simple and I could be missing out. Don't know.

 

[polarWhite]

Red Wing also used to offer engineer with wedge soles. Currently, white's boots offer engineer with wedge sole and they also did a collaboration with Harley Davidson on that particular model as well.

I am a fan of engineer with wedge sole. They are like engineer high top sneakers in terms of character to me.

 

[Carlos840]

Red Wing also used to offer engineer with wedge soles. Currently, white's boots offer engineer with wedge sole and they also did a collaboration with Harley Davidson on that particular model as well.

I am a fan of engineer with wedge sole. They are like engineer high top sneakers in terms of character to me.

They are all i wear day to day:

Looking for a replacement for the black pair as they are getting tired, the cracks in them are gettign deeper and i'm afraid they are going to let go someday.

I wonder if redwing would make them if i ordered a batch of four pairs in the same size or somethign like that.
It's not really custom work, they have all the parts in stock.

 

[Edward]

I consider my engineers a good fit if I can walk around comfortably and not aware of them (like annoying levels of heel slip).

I don’t expect to be able to run in them like I can with my lace-up boots

There's definitely something of a compromise, though if my EBs run loose, a foam insole makes enough of a difference that they're fine. Wouldn't choose to run in them, but then I don't do much running, so.... On any given day they're fine for my 10K steps, though if I was gonig out walking for the day specifically, I'd opt for lace-up boots.

All i wear are Engineers, i never use the straps, to me they are decorative.
All my Engineer have some heel lift, and my foot is quite mobile inside the boot, i don't consider heel lift "annoying", i consider it normal.
When i first moved from lace up shoes to boots i bought my first two pairs too tight and ended up never wearing them.
IMO you need some space/movement for them to be comfortable, not like lace up shoes/boots.

Pretty much my experience. With the straps, I do need to loosen them to get the boots on, but it's debatable ho much difference fastening hem actually makes to the perceptible fit. I think it makes more difference in my shorter boots. Of course a pure pull on will never be all that sung.... I do, however, also have a pair of Lewis Westways that are probably the closest thing that exists to a snug EB.

Insoles can make a big difference. But here the toe-box volume plays a big role. If you have an unstructured or low volume toe box then you can only really use 3/4 style insoles, which are harder to find with high arch support (which fill out the instep and reduces heel slip in case the instep is a bit higher than would be ideal). This is the case with my Willie's engineers. On the other hand if you have a structured toe with ample toe box volume then you can wear full insoles without sacrificing toe comfort. Which is the case with my Sendra engineers. But in both cases insoles help the fit go from rather meh to pretty good, albeit not ideal.
You also don't want insoles with a lot of heel lift as that raises your heal out of the intended heel cup increasing heel slip again.

That's been my experience too. My first pair of engineers, which I still have, were a pair of Grinders. Big, chunky commando sole; not my preference now, but great for kicking around in in snow or when very wet underfoot. For quite some time they were suboptimal comfort-wise. The soles of my feet would "burn" if I walked any real distance at any speed. a pair of foam insoles sorted that right out - snugged them up just enough to solve the problem. That's been my go-to approach since. Not been required with my Chips of RWs yet, but if they work loose as they age it might be needed.

I havent owned engineers in years but i do wear wellingtons alot since i cant stand a lace up boot. They always end up too tight around the ankle. Some heel slip in a slip on boot is pretty normal and eventually you will get used to it although i definately agree with whats been said already about insoles making a difference too. If you need a really thick insole the thorogood genesis insole is very thick. Im actually swapping mine out in my work boots because the tops of my boots are too tight on my instep. Good luck with your boots, if they dont hurt, youll get used to them after a few weeks.

Wellies aren't a bad point of comparison. Ironically, I didn't like EBs when I first saw them many years ago because I thought they looked like "leather wellies". Then I saw good ones.... Wellies I avoided like the plague for decades after having been sent to a Scout camp with a pair in the late eighties and having been viciously mocked for them for a week. (Didn't help that I didn't like them either, I wanted leather hiking boots like all the cool kids!) I'm more.... open to them now. Considering picking a pair up at some point for the worst of weather, especially if we do as the wife wants to start taking the dog out to Epping Forest more. Otherwise, I'm giving serious thought to a pair of pull-on Bundesmarine boots, surplus. Those really are basically a leather welly. I have a pair of the side-zip model with the shearling liner, lovely things that will get used when January strikes its cruelest.

 

[Steve S]

All i wear are Engineers, i never use the straps, to me they are decorative.
All my Engineer have some heel lift, and my foot is quite mobile inside the boot, i don't consider heel lift "annoying", i consider it normal.
When i first moved from lace up shoes to boots i bought my first two pairs too tight and ended up never wearing them.
IMO you need some space/movement for them to be comfortable, not like lace up shoes/boots.

Similar here.

Have had multiple pairs and all have had a little heel slip and I never thought it was an issue. I bought mister lous too snug thinking they would loosen up in length after break in (even did the hot water trick) but they never loosened up enough to allow me to get the leather in sole back in.

A pair of y'2 engineers (who knew they made shoes!) had an excellent heel 'bite' and I didnt have any slip but they were a strange fit on my foot after break in.

My current favourite and the only pair that remains are a pair of Skoob Wander engineers in horsebutt.

I think there is a correlation between last, leather, sock type and size that affects the fit. Some work well when worn snug, but some others you need some more room.

 

[TLW '90]

There's a lot of talk in here about engineer boots and I'm pretty sure that's not what you're wearing.

No they aren't actually an engineer boot, but are a pull on with the instep strap and adjustment strap at the top like an engineer boot so I figured they would wear the same.

These are a 10" boot, so about the height of a typical engineer boot I believe, but yes they are a stout thick leather throughout.

 

[TLW '90]

Outside of very limited use I've gotta have my feet locked in snuggly at the ankle and heel, if that's not possible it means that no pull on boots are going to be for me.

 

[Jonanah]

Because they lack the adjustability of laces how they fit depends 100% on your foot type. I tried 5 brands of otr engineers and all were way too loose. I have low foot volume. My custom pair fit perfectly and have zero heel slip

Sorry if you answered this later in the thread but where did you get your custom engineers?

I’m strongly considering getting a pair from Nick’s Boots on their zero drop Thurman last, and I’ve been wondering if they still accept foot tracings

 

[dangibbons1981]

I never really was interested in engineer boots because I don't like jumping on bandwagons and because I can't afford to spend that much money on a pair of boots that might not fit right or just won't be liked.

These Gokey boots , I don't know if they really count as an engineer.
They're a moccasin construction pull on boot with the straps & buckles of an engineer.
Anyways I found them on Ebay for $70 and figured they could be a good way to give pull on boots another more fair chance.

Gokeys I think are great starters, I have a couple engineer boots but found a pair of made in Minnesota ones in like new condition for a steal. They’ve become one of my favourite boots though did take a damn long time to break in.

 

[Bfd70]

Sorry if you answered this later in the thread but where did you get your custom engineers?

I’m strongly considering getting a pair from Nick’s Boots on their zero drop Thurman last, and I’ve been wondering if they still accept foot tracings

Unsung house. I had an opportunity to try on a pair of Nicks at stitchdown boot camp and they actually fit quite well.

 

[Jonanah]

Unsung house. I had an opportunity to try on a pair of Nicks at stitchdown boot camp and they actually fit quite well.

Oh cool! What are those prices like if you don’t mind my asking? Also what model of Nick’s did you try? I have very similar feet to yours, 10D brannock with very low volume/instep. I also broke my right foot 6 years ago and it’s sensitive to toe space now

 

[cbez]

Oh cool! What are those prices like if you don’t mind my asking? Also what model of Nick’s did you try? I have very similar feet to yours, 10D brannock with very low volume/instep. I also broke my right foot 6 years ago and it’s sensitive to toe space now

Arm, leg