wash11
Off The Grid
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2011
- Messages
- 2,616
- Reaction score
- 8,061
There's a lot of self made, hard working people on RDP- figured at least one of you might appreciate this.
I've got some of the goofiest EEEE wide, high arched feet that have ever walked the earth. I've bought shoes a size too large my entire life just to make it work. It's one of the main reasons I lived in flip flops most of the time. From what I understand, crappy fitting shoes afflict more people than not.
A few years back my life of leisure turned to manual labor and I started appreciating a decent pair of boots. I found several in the $200 range that worked great after breaking in but would blow out in 6 or 8 months.
I'd heard of custom boot makers like Nicks or Whites Boots but the frugal side of me turned away from prices in the high $400 to low $500 range.
At Amy's urging I finally bit the bullet and printed the measuring tools from White's Boots website. There are 10 different measurements for each foot and a surprising variance from the left foot to the right. I picked out a plain Jane pair of farm/ranch boots as the number of options, colors and materials were overwhelming. They wanted the original foot outline mailed along with ordering info so I scratched out a check for $469.00 and sent it off.
A few days later one of the cobblers called to verify what I had put down and said they'd get to work. 4 weeks go by and my new boots showed up complete with 100 hour break in and care instructions.
The attention to detail and quality of materials used are easy to see but the fit is not something I expected. A good comparison is the guy sleeping on a crappy mattress for 15 years and only realizes how bad it was once he gets a new, high quality mattress. There was zero break in period. Zero discomfort, feet are fine after 14 hours in them and the sore lower back I had grown used to has disappeared for good.
Looking back, I feel like a fool for putting this purchase off as long as I did. Spendy? Yes, but for $150 you send them in for a complete rebuild when ready. If you guys are on your feet a lot or just like top quality, custom made stuff- this might be something for you to check out.
https://www.whitesboots.com/#/home
I've got some of the goofiest EEEE wide, high arched feet that have ever walked the earth. I've bought shoes a size too large my entire life just to make it work. It's one of the main reasons I lived in flip flops most of the time. From what I understand, crappy fitting shoes afflict more people than not.
A few years back my life of leisure turned to manual labor and I started appreciating a decent pair of boots. I found several in the $200 range that worked great after breaking in but would blow out in 6 or 8 months.
I'd heard of custom boot makers like Nicks or Whites Boots but the frugal side of me turned away from prices in the high $400 to low $500 range.
At Amy's urging I finally bit the bullet and printed the measuring tools from White's Boots website. There are 10 different measurements for each foot and a surprising variance from the left foot to the right. I picked out a plain Jane pair of farm/ranch boots as the number of options, colors and materials were overwhelming. They wanted the original foot outline mailed along with ordering info so I scratched out a check for $469.00 and sent it off.
A few days later one of the cobblers called to verify what I had put down and said they'd get to work. 4 weeks go by and my new boots showed up complete with 100 hour break in and care instructions.
The attention to detail and quality of materials used are easy to see but the fit is not something I expected. A good comparison is the guy sleeping on a crappy mattress for 15 years and only realizes how bad it was once he gets a new, high quality mattress. There was zero break in period. Zero discomfort, feet are fine after 14 hours in them and the sore lower back I had grown used to has disappeared for good.
Looking back, I feel like a fool for putting this purchase off as long as I did. Spendy? Yes, but for $150 you send them in for a complete rebuild when ready. If you guys are on your feet a lot or just like top quality, custom made stuff- this might be something for you to check out.
https://www.whitesboots.com/#/home
For years I wore and loved the comfort of their work boot. Wasn't a hard core work boot, but one I could wear to meetings looking appropriate, or for job site visits and feel comfortable all day. Then a couple of years ago they changed something with the inner sole mold and there's a ridge line that causes my feet to scream in pain within about a half hour of wearing them. An analogy would be like a grain of sand under your mattress, barely discernible to my fingers, but feels like a curb to my feet. Tried every style of new boot and took them all back for that reason. I've even tried insoles, I still feel it. Had to give up. My wife's having the same problem with new Ugg classics, she's had to go much longer to keep them from killing the tops of her feet. Why do these ass-clowns have to change those things that doesn't need changing, just for the purpose of changing ??? 
