Engineer Boots, Harness Boots...

[Nykwil]

Crush on retro cxl 501s with A soft unstructured toe several months in.

 

[Pandemic]

I’m six weeks into the six(ish) month wait for my new engineers, which means I’m starting to second guess my selections.

I opted for the shorter 8” shaft because it will be cooler in summer and perhaps easier to get on. But now I’m wondering if I’ll be constantly rearranging my cuff every time I stand up. Maybe these will be too short and get caught on my trousers?

 

[Boyo]

I have a shorty pair of engineers, I have never noticed them to be cooler in summer or to be easier to get on or off as the shaft isn't the area ( at least for me) where my foot gets hung up its the instep area around where the strap is. The pants thing definitely happens but all in all I like the shorties just not more or less then the traditionally shaft height boots.

^ those do look nice.

 

[Bfd70]

Unsung 1 month update

 

[Edward]

View attachment 709169 View attachment 709170 Crush on retro cxl 501s with A soft unstructured toe several months in. View attachment 709171

Very nice. Have to admit when I first saw that brand crop up online for clothes and such I was wary, but certainly as regards their boots seeing them in the wild, here and on ebay, they look the business.

I’m six weeks into the six(ish) month wait for my new engineers, which means I’m starting to second guess my selections.

I opted for the shorter 8” shaft because it will be cooler in summer and perhaps easier to get on. But now I’m wondering if I’ll be constantly rearranging my cuff every time I stand up. Maybe these will be too short and get caught on my trousers?

View attachment 709577

Those look sharp. I have one pair of shorter engineer boots. Mine are Chippewas, size US9D / UK 8. I can't find the model number, I'm afraid, though they're a lovely, dark shade of oxblood / burgundy / wine. Compared to my 11" Chips in brown, they were a little neater a fit from new (which I think might be something to do with the shaft length; I lack the vocabulary to explain this, but I find a shorter boot has to be a little slimmer to start with in a pull on fit, or it slips much easier). Anyhow. Cracked the measuring tape out, and these short Chips are 8" from ground to top, or 6.25" measuring from the top of the sole / bottom of the upper to the lip of the shaft opening. I bought them new in 2020, and remember wearing them for the first time not long before lockdown; they've had heavy wear since and have stood up well through Winters and Summers.

Like yourself, I had an idea of wearing a shorter-shaft boot as a Summer engineer equivalent. The news there, from several years' experience, is mixed. In my experience, they're much like wearing my Iron Rangers in term of weight and warmth. In an especially nasty Winter wind, I'll notice the difference in shaft height as to where I feel it hit my leg. In Summer, they are definitely cooler on the leg than a standard 10"/11" engineer boot, as there's much less shaft to trap the warm air in against your leg. The feet themselves aren't any cooler in there - if it's too hot for other, sturdy leather boots, you'd be better off in a pair of desert boots or if even those are too much, canvas plimsolls. So they're an improvement, heat-wise, than a full length boot, but it will come down to your own, subjective experience as to whether the difference is enough in the heat. FWIW, I find they make more difference to enhancing comfort in warmer weather vs the taller boots than they lost out to letting in the cold in Winter. If I could only have one pair and had to wear them year round, I'd likely opt for the shorter length from that pov.

Otherwise, the practicality is fine. I've never found my trouser hems any more likely to catch on these than taller boots. That's comparing like for like. I always wear my 10" and 11" engineers with jeans (never tucked, always out over the boots, American style), my narrowest fitting jeans being Wrangler 13MWZs. As long as you're not into jeans that are so narrow in the leg it's a bit of an effort to pull them down over boots to begin with, I don't think you'd have a problem. I *do* buy my jeans long so I can cuff them (I like at least a double roll and a 2" or 2.5" cuff on jeans), so I expect the weight of the cuff helps somewhat there as well. Oddly - and I can't rule out this is purely my own, odd, psychology playing into the mix, but... while I'd never dream of wearing my taller engineer boots with anything other than jeans, I've often worn the shorties with slacks in the vein of Dickies 874s, and been very happy with that. The Dickies weren't any more prone to ride up than jeans - I think they were just wide enough to clear the lower boot, and the slightly neater shaft-shape helped.

Bonus ball for niche wardrobe choices: I'd wear my shorties with a kilt and hose very happily, but I've yet to see a standard length engineer that I didn't think looked ridiculous with a kilt. (The killer app for casual kilt wear would be a Lewis Westway boot, but that's another story...).

 

[Edward]

BTW.... Is anyone familiar with a US-based seller on eBay gonig by the name of Desney's Vision ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/desneysvision?_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211

Their sales pages have some very nice looking Engineer boots and monkey boots, though the photos look too "premium" for the price? Curious as to whether anyone's got any inside track or experience. All their listings carry the same passive aggressive note about negative feedback, but I've been around ebay long enough to know that could be a legitimate howl of frustration as opposed to an automatic red flag...

 

[Pandemic]

BTW.... Is anyone familiar with a US-based seller on eBay gonig by the name of Desney's Vision ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/desneysvision?_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211

Their sales pages have some very nice looking Engineer boots and monkey boots, though the photos look too "premium" for the price? Curious as to whether anyone's got any inside track or experience. All their listings carry the same passive aggressive note about negative feedback, but I've been around ebay long enough to know that could be a legitimate howl of frustration as opposed to an automatic red flag...

I was looking at their LTT boots on the weekend but that seller’s screed scared me off.

 

[Edward]

I was looking at their LTT boots on the weekend but that seller’s screed scared me off.

Yeah. I can understand eBay must be a nightmare for a business seller for many reasons, but it did make me wonder whether they're another one of these operations that lifts photos from elsewhere and then their own product doesn't quite match up. It also wouldn't be the first time, now I think about it, that a product was advertised on eBay as a US or UK seller, but was delivered from the opposite side of the globe, the seller being a drop-shipping operation that didn't actually handle the product.

 

[DweezilMac]

Yeah. I can understand eBay must be a nightmare for a business seller for many reasons, but it did make me wonder whether they're another one of these operations that lifts photos from elsewhere and then their own product doesn't quite match up. It also wouldn't be the first time, now I think about it, that a product was advertised on eBay as a US or UK seller, but was delivered from the opposite side of the globe, the seller being a drop-shipping operation that didn't actually handle the product.

I’m guessing they get their footwear from this Chinese operation:
https://www.heyshoesa.com/?fbclid=P...czlx0v6pzHiUBJoxvL_aem_2mgbjJeGv79CeukU50nMPA

This from a rummage through their offerings on Insta and having previously been flooded by spam from the same Chinese sales team.

 

[Fifty150]

a product was advertised on eBay as a US or UK seller, but was delivered from the opposite side of the globe

I guess anything is possible with eBay. I am in The USA. When I signed up for my account, I used my US address. But I could log in from anywhere in the world. I can source my products from anywhere in the world. I could have those products shipped from anywhere in the world.

 

[Edward]

I’m guessing they get their footwear from this Chinese operation:
https://www.heyshoesa.com/?fbclid=P...czlx0v6pzHiUBJoxvL_aem_2mgbjJeGv79CeukU50nMPA

This from a rummage through their offerings on Insta and having previously been flooded by spam from the same Chinese sales team.

Thanks. Looks risky. One of the most beautiful and best fitting pairs of shoes I ever owned was made in a small workshop in Beijing, but unless I knew the business and saw their product directly, it's a shot in the dark. One to avoid on eBay sight unseen, I think.

 

[DweezilMac]

Thanks. Looks risky. One of the most beautiful and best fitting pairs of shoes I ever owned was made in a small workshop in Beijing, but unless I knew the business and saw their product directly, it's a shot in the dark. One to avoid on eBay sight unseen, I think.

I’ve never seen “Heyshoesa” products endorsed by anyone that I’d give credence too & I agree there are several other Chinese boot businesses who have a (very) good reputation.
I’ve made more than enough boot-mistakes, one way or another, not to need to risk it with an unknown!

 

[大馬伕]

Just not worth it. I would buy a boots from a reputable maker, where I can try it on for fit, and rest assured of the quality.

 

[Edward]

Just not worth it. I would buy a boots from a reputable maker, where I can try it on for fit, and rest assured of the quality.

Yip. Doubly so for engineer boots, where finding the right fit for the individual is so important.

 

[Bfd70]

I’m sure this has been covered in the last 273 pages but does anyone own both Role Club 1940 and 1945 and want to share their thoughts or comparison pics

 

[Nykwil]

Crush on retro 501 update

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Just got these 100th Anniversary Wescos a few days ago.
Came with a flannel bag, original box, original Thank You card from Wesco and a shopping tote from (I presume) the store where they were purchased.
Basically new.
Tread almost un-used. There was some wear at the heal. All threads looked new. Looked very clean too. Some corrosion around the brass buckles.
I think they were sitting in someone's closet for a few years.

Some tightness across the top of the right foot.
Any suggestions on loosening that area up? Just wear them for a week? Soak them in hot water? Etc?

I hope they will stretch out a bit.
Anyone know what kind of leather Wesco used on these? TeaCore cow?

Thanks for your help.
Take care.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Without the jeans and the original box.

 

[Bfd70]

Without the jeans and the original box.
View attachment 720863

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/fs-wesco-100th-anniversary-boss-toe.99220/

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Interesting. Thanks for that bit of information.
I thought that the horsehide was only a Wesco Japan offering.
I do not know why CXL leather is. Some kind of tanning process or special color?

Here is a picture of the label on the box.

I guess it's possible that person was selling a Wesco Japan variant.
It certainly was a good price. About half what I paid with shipping and tax.
Everything else is the same of course.
These are about 10 ½ inches from the top of the sole or heel to the end of the shaft.

Appreciate any feedback.
Thanks for your help.