IHWE-MRLOU-BLK - Wesco® - 10" Horsehide Pull-On "Mister Lou" Engineer Boot - Black
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WOW! Even though my toe was still hurtin', I couldn't wait to try the boots with the insoles out. I walked a whole mile in them, big strides, just like in my sneakers. It's like 95% better! I should have hit the forums earlier!
My foot definitely slides around more with the insoles out but it's not too bad. That said, if I can stretch the toe box a bit with the shoe-tree, I'd like to put the insoles back in eventually. I'll report back on how that works out.
In the meantime, thanks again for your recommendations! I can't believe how big a difference removing that ~2mm piece of rubber and fabric made to the feel of the boot.
I'll keep y'alls posted.
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@pechelman said in Wesco
- 10" Horsehide Pull-On "Mister Lou" Engineer Boot - Black:it's pretty well discussed in most of the other wesco threads, iirc, that a lot of folks remove that flat leather footbed permanently.
so long as you're keeping the boots clean inside and giving them a chance to air dry / dry out it shouldnt be an issue. I think it was neph and oaktavia who commented that they've worn their wesco's w/o footbeds without issue.I was just about to chime in- with both my brown CXL and these horsehide, I immediately removed my insoles due to instep issues, it was very tight on the ridge of my foot. I bought the CXL in december 2021 and the black horsehide about a year ago last month. Wearing the CXL at my desk right now. Both boots took a lot of work to get them to where they are today, but they are both comfortable and broken in beautifully.
I understand the idea @Paul9221 that the leather insoles make them more comfortable if they fit properly, but I still have both pairs of insoles in my closet somewhere. I tried putting them back in every other month or so just to see, because again, it would make sense that walking on cushy leather would be more comfortable than not, but I honestly do not feel discomfort at all. Maybe try walking around your neighborhood with the insoles out and see how your toe bone feels. Couldn't hurt and might save you the hassle of stretching them. @neph93 do you still have your insoles out?
Edit: I did not read past the post I quoted but glad to hear you feel better with the insoles out buddy!
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What @oaktavia said.
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Got the leather sheet in and got something that I think can work. Used the stock insoles to trim out and then hacked off the toes in front of the pinky across towards the big toe. I left it a little longer to start and heavily tapered the under side with a sharp knife (visible in picture). The difference in thickness makes a huge difference for me above the toes and I barely notice it under foot with the tapering. So far the new insole stays put just fine but we'll see how it goes. The 2mm sheet is definitely a tad thinner than the Wesco leather which could be a solution in itself without trimming for some people. Going to give this a go before fooling with adding in arch support to the new insole.
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@pechelman I was thinking of something similar on the drive home. "I'd love an insole that's half as thick as the Wesco ones!"
Maybe a stupid question, but where did you get the leather sheet that you cut into this shape?
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@Paul9221 got it from Amazon. It's marked as full grain 2mm leather. Has a ton of reviews and was ~29$ for a 12x24" sheet. I thought the veg tan would have been nice but got the brown instead because it was next day delivery. The leather itself is pretty nice. I'm not into leather crafting at all but thinking about what I can do with the rest now...
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@pechelman nice find! Keep us posted. I'm curious to see how it pans out.
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New member here. So I received my Mister Lou’s today and this is my first item made from horsehide. I love the look and feel but I noticed that the grain on the right boot is not near as tight as the left boot. I’ve seen lots of photos and seems that people have similar issues. Well, my question is should I be concerned or is this just what to expect from horsehide and or these specific boots?
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Looks great to me
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No hide is the same.. i saw this as well on Lofgrens and other horsehide pairs
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Thanks guys, I’m definitely ok with the imperfections and all about handmade goods. I guess I was more worried about massive grain break on one boot and not the other. On my feet now and buckled in for the journey!
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Beat em up and nobody (including you) will ever notice!
But yep, like others have said, the variation is all part of the deal.
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I that the same problem as some others with my big toes touching the top of the boot uncomfortably. I tried just taking out the insoles, and it was better, but I preferred the feel on the rest of my foot with them in, so... I just sliced off the front of the stock insoles right behind where the toes are. I figured, new inserts direct from Wesco are cheap, so might as well give it a shot. It worked great. I could see being bothered by the abrupt feel of it, but it would be easy enough to sand it or bevel it with a utility knife or something.
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Yes! Always wanted to try some wesco’s although my feet are very ‘spoiled’ by Lofgrens haha! Got them on a trade and they are the pre april 22’ ones. They are a 9E and although they fit quite good i have soms minors wich maybe you guys can help me with. First of all my toe was hitting the top of the toebox so i got rid of the leather insoles wich solved this problem. Normally i wear nordic socks in my lofgrens(otherwise i have quite some heel-slip) but with the nordic socks in my wesco’s things end up a little (to) tight..
So i tried some lighter socks, no dress socks but more a in between kinda sock. Wich overall gives me a good feeling but after a little while it start to hurt under my big toes and things don’t get comfortable. I know there is a breaking in process cause although they were second-hand they were just like new. Any tips around here?
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@Heavy_blue There could be multiple things in play: wrong size boot in either length or width, the boot isn’t broken in yet which just takes time to conform to your foot, or a combination of the two.
You could try using a boot stretcher to get some volume in the toe box area, wear them intermittently to slowly break them in without hurting your feet too badly, or possibly try reselling them and look for a slightly bigger size that would allow you to wear the socks that you prefer.
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One other thing that I did in the military to speed up the break in process was to soak the boot and wear them wet until they dried. It was hard on my feet and I don’t know if it damaged the boot in the long term.
It did speed up the process considerably and maybe there is an in between that you could try. Maybe spray them down from the outside to slightly dampen them.
I would only soak them fully as a last resort and would just wear them intermittently as mentioned above until they were broken in.
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@Heavy_blue try this. Holding the boot at the heel and with the toe into a carpeted floor, compress the boot so it flexes at its natural flex point. Do this 10-20 times. This exaggerates your natural walking motion/foot flex and it might help “open” everything up. I’ve done this on stiff leather boots (cowboy, engineer, flight) and it really helps with the out-of-the-box discomfort of a new boot. Or even a boot that is slightly tight and needs some coaxing.
Also, @goosehd is spot on with his boot stretcher recommendation. It’s a must have if you own custom, thick leather boots.
