Advice on Engineer boots

[Pandemic]

E width. Not super wide but wide enough that standard width is usually too tight.

I would prefer sleekier shoe but I think chunky would also be ok. I will look into those brands you recommended and like you said, I wouldn't want to spend big sum of money for my first engineers.

A custom Nick’s Station Master is around $700 - made to your specs and with a good selection of leathers from their ‘heritage range’. Plus, if your an E worth they will soon offer it with the sleeker Pankhurst last. Seems like a great option for your first pair!

 

[JohanA2]

Some advice/tips from me:
1 . Engineers are an upgraded and better version of a pull on boot - the straps are not there for show/aesthetics - USE them to get a tight fit. Yes unbuckle every time you take the boots on and off, strap and cinch them up to lock in your foot.
2 . To get a good fit for engineers boots you should literally have to struggle to put them on when unbuckled. If they slip on too easily then no cinching will achieve a good lock in because too much extra material will need to tuck/bunch up when cinching. Obviously this is similar to all slip on boots. It's a very fine perfect line between it being TOO hard to slip them on and not hard enough. Although this does depend on your heel slip tolerance.
3 . Make sure you wear/have wide enough pants for engineers.
4 . Figure out how where do you want to land between chunky lugged sole structured toe engineers and dressy sleek leather sole or half sole soft toe engineers. Or somewhere in the middle.

There are quite a few brands offering engineers, some already mentioned. I'll add one more :
Willie's Leathers from Philippines
https://www.instagram.com/williesleathers/?hl=en
Main reason I'm mentioning them is that they have a Munson style (more) anatomical last with a wide toe box.
Also pretty damn good price for a custom boot in my opinion. I paid ~520$ for a CXL pair including shipping to EU.
I ordered a pair myself but had to send them back because they messed up the shaft sizing. Hoping to get them back soon after fixing/modifications.
Here's my pair that is currently back in Philippines:
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Thanks for the tips!
I already wear straight cut jeans/trousers so that should already be covered.

Those boots look great and the price seems very tempting. Another brand for my list!

 

[cbez]

The cinch/strap had a big effect on every single pair that I've had, but it is definitely limited, mainly in relation to how much leather you can bend over on the sides to actually get the strap in to work. Here's an example of the instep being way too high and the fabric folding extremely in order to get any kind of lock in. You can imagine the pressure points that this creates on the sides.
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Maybe it is just the pairs I've had, but so far it would have been impossible to do such a fold with the uppers on any of them.

The strap did somewhat hold them on the foot, you wouldn't want to try to take it off with it strapped because it would strain the belt hole. But it didn't cinch it down tight or anything.

 

[01flhr]

Im just going to throw this out there, but id say that those dont fit if that strap has that much of an effect. I have a pair of nicks, not their engineer boots but im familiar with their leather weight, and theres no way id wear a pair of nicks with the upper folded like that. Like you said, the pressure points would be unreal.

 

[TartuWolf]

Im just going to throw this out there, but id say that those dont fit if that strap has that much of an effect. I have a pair of nicks, not their engineer boots but im familiar with their leather weight, and theres no way id wear a pair of nicks with the upper folded like that. Like you said, the pressure points would be unreal.

That's why they are back in Philippines - of course they don't fit

 

[Birdie]

Engineer boots are a great choice, and you're looking at some excellent brands. Besides Wesco and John Lofgren, you might want to check out Red Wing and Chippewa for more options. They offer sturdy, well-crafted boots at slightly different price points. In terms of fit, since you mentioned having wide feet, make sure to consider brands that offer wide sizes or are known for a roomier fit. Also, be mindful of break-in periods, as engineer boots can be quite stiff initially. Good luck with your search!

 

[navetsea]

I only started wearing a beginner engineer boots made in indonesia for under $250, I have a low volume feet, and have more of a flatter feet and flexible toes, I have zero problem wearing mine not even need to pull them up, but I need to add arc correcting insole to better fill the vamp (instep?) area, I have no problem walking in them, I used them to walk often, I wear thick military socks with it, at first of course there is heelslip but once the crease above the heel is forming, and more creases around the ankle are forming, they together cinch my feet in place so I currently have no problem walking in them.

the problem is more on the pants that support them, many of my pants has narrow calf and hem opening, and I can't wear with them, my zippered harness boots have no problem worn with them. once worn how the pants rest on the harness detail or rest on the belt of the engineer detail is pretty similar, I don't really know if engineer boots is an upgrade for my zippered harness boots, I like their shape, and I like how it fills the lower pants on the ones I can wear with, and sometime I roll up my pants all the way up to wear the engineer totally exposed for pants that is too narrow to wear over it, tucking the pants underneath looks horribly "female" so to me rolling them up looks much better although still very borderline on my confidence level. so sometime when I don't wear jacket of anything much else I do that rolling up, but if I already wearing jacket or other things that feels too much.

 

[Drzdave58]

Hello!

I've been lurking around this forum for a 2 - 3 years so I thought maybe it's time for me to contribute a little bit. I have been interested on engineer boots for a while. Can't really remember what started it but anyway... I would like to learn more about engineer boots.
Because of my lack of knowledge I have not made the purchasing decision yet and propably won't make one in a while but I've been looking at Wesco's and John Lofgrens offerings. They seem to be decent although bit pricy.

Can you recommend other brands and other general things about engineer boots?

I am aware the how pull on boots fit like. I currently have Huckberry ropers in size 10 but they are bit too small. My feet size is about US 10 wide.




This post might have some typos and seem messy but at the moment of writing this I'm super tired so I'm not going to proof read it.

- Johan

I’ve had 3 pairs of engineers. Motor Leather, John lofgren and the Flat Head. If you’re buying MTO I’d go with Willies Hand made boots as they are priced reasonably. I’d recommend Lofgren or The Flat Head for off the shelf. In my case I get a little heel slip in all of them which doesn’t bother me and I have to undo the the lower straps to put on or take off the boots.
**Make sure u know the measurement of the circumference of the top of the shaft opening of the boot*** it Makes a difference depending on the size of your lower legs And what pants u can wear. *** I personally like no more than 14 inches. my Lofgrens and Flat Head are 14. Good Luck.

 

[Jasonissm]

Some advice/tips from me:
1 . Engineers are an upgraded and better version of a pull on boot - the straps are not there for show/aesthetics - USE them to get a tight fit. Yes unbuckle every time you take the boots on and off, strap and cinch them up to lock in your foot.
2 . To get a good fit for engineers boots you should literally have to struggle to put them on when unbuckled. If they slip on too easily then no cinching will achieve a good lock in because too much extra material will need to tuck/bunch up when cinching. Obviously this is similar to all slip on boots. It's a very fine perfect line between it being TOO hard to slip them on and not hard enough. Although this does depend on your heel slip tolerance.
3 . Make sure you wear/have wide enough pants for engineers.
4 . Figure out how where do you want to land between chunky lugged sole structured toe engineers and dressy sleek leather sole or half sole soft toe engineers. Or somewhere in the middle.

There are quite a few brands offering engineers, some already mentioned. I'll add one more :
Willie's Leathers from Philippines
https://www.instagram.com/williesleathers/?hl=en
Main reason I'm mentioning them is that they have a Munson style (more) anatomical last with a wide toe box.
Also pretty damn good price for a custom boot in my opinion. I paid ~520$ for a CXL pair including shipping to EU.
I ordered a pair myself but had to send them back because they messed up the shaft sizing. Hoping to get them back soon after fixing/modifications.
Here's my pair that is currently back in Philippines:
View attachment 698331
View attachment 698332

View attachment 698333
View attachment 698335
View attachment 698337

I disagree with the needing to unstrap. My engineers I needed to unstrap and took ages and was back breaking work to get them on and off but after a couple wears I could easily slip in and out extremely easily and the fit only got better once I started breaking in the sole, so that it curves a bit more so that my foot would stay in place. Also straps don't really adjust fit at all for me, but my foot usually is bang on in the middle hole anyways.

In contrast, my Briselblacks were extremely difficult to put on, needed to unstrap them and I had to sell them because of the discomfort and it simply was the wrong size for me.

Out of all my boots, engineers are the fastest and easiest to get on and off and my second best fit.

 

[TartuWolf]

I disagree with the needing to unstrap. My engineers I needed to unstrap and took ages and was back breaking work to get them on and off but after a couple wears I could easily slip in and out extremely easily and the fit only got better once I started breaking in the sole, so that it curves a bit more so that my foot would stay in place. Also straps don't really adjust fit at all for me, but my foot usually is bang on in the middle hole anyways.

In contrast, my Briselblacks were extremely difficult to put on, needed to unstrap them and I had to sell them because of the discomfort and it simply was the wrong size for me.

Out of all my boots, engineers are the fastest and easiest to get on and off and my second best fit.

Different experience then yeah. Seems pointless to me to buy engineers (apart from the aesthetics of course!) if you're not actually going to use the most important feature - buckle/strap.
Buckling / unbuckling is extremely quick and easy for me, much faster than lacing. And faster than a tanker boot would be. But slower than pure slip-on boots obviously.
The whole reason why I think engineers are the ultimate boots IS the perfect balance between the speed of a pure-slip on and the security of a laced boot. It won't do either perfectly, but it combines both beautifully.
Unfortunately they are almost just as finnicky to get right in terms of fit as a pure slip-on is (excluding chelsea boots as they have elastics).