John Lofgren (Speedway)
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@Mizmazzle I would not size down half from RWs. I'm a 13 Brannock and a 12 in Iron Rangers fits me perfectly — the Lofgrens in 12 are really a little snug. I'd go with the note on the S&S site to size down 1/2 from your Brannock size.
I can usually fit into 12s of this boutique work shoe/boot variety that run big — Viberg, RW, Rolling Dub Trio, Alden. This applies to all other Lofgrens I've tried as well — combats, M43, donkey punchers. The engineers fit me fine length-wise (even though like I said, I'd be happy with a bit more room), but the big issue is the instep. If you've got a high arch, they can be really hard to get on. I had to have mine stretched a couple times by a local shoe guy, plus I had to do the plastic bag trick for a good bit as well. Granted it all worked out in the end, but it was frustrating at first, almost made me give up.
I think you'll probably run into this issue less since you're a smaller size, but just something to be aware of if you've got a high instep. And to be specific, it's an issue of getting them on, getting your foot through the ankle part into the actual foot. Hope that helps!
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Btw I think Memphisakers and I have slightly contradicting experiences. Sounds like he had some issues with width, where my problems were all with length and instep height, so I guess it'll all depend on your feet. The good thing is that S&S are very good about exchanges.
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@popvulture yeah that’s really helpful! I have kinda narrow, flat feet. Sounds like taking my RW size is the way to go. They have been super helpful at S&S so worst case I could always exchange. My feet are pretty standard though I think so guess that helps with the guess work.
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My feet are reasonably narrow with high, long arches and exactly 9.5D on a Brannock. I'm swimming in JL 9.5 and manage it with an insole–the right size for me would have probably been 9, though it might have been hard to get my foot in through the ankle.
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Cool I think if your feet are on the flatter side, then you should be golden for getting em on. Let us know how it goes!
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I don't feel they fit wide to me. If I went the same size as RW Iron Rangers they may feel big though. I wear a 9 in Iron Rangers and an 8.5 in Lofgren Engineers.
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I'd definitely agree width feels totally normal. I'm a D in everything, and width-wise these feel just like pretty much anything else I'd consider proper-fitting.
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DO IT!
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You won’t regret it…
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Alriiiiiiight!!!
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I have some Custom wescos, and I spoke with chris at wesco today. I could have got the stock Mr. Lous in natural cxl but they wouldn’t be ready until October. Shorter than their 11 month custom build time for sure. But I wanted something different than my MP 1339 last morrisons. Taller shaft and engineer buckles is all my wescos are missing compared to the Mr. Lous.
Here comes a new chapter in my boot evolution. Who here prefers wesco to Lofgren and vice versa? I guess so much comes down to foot shape and last. Just curious on overall takes…
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Nice man! You go with a size 9?
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Who here prefers wesco to Lofgren and vice versa?
I feel like this is almost a sort of apples/oranges thing to me… yes, they're both engineer boots but I feel like they're in really different worlds. I'll fully admit being a Lofgren fanboy, so there are definitely things I like a lot better about theirs. I'll preface this by saying that I am not a proper shoe geek, so I might be saying this wrong, but I prefer the general look of the soles / welt / heel on the Lofgren engineers. Sleeker, prettier, for lack of a better word... fancier. Of course that fanciness starts to diminish a bit as they get beat up, but frankly as most of us can agree, they get better.
The Wescos' construction feels more utilitarian and less fussy to me, but also... my Nat CXL Mr. Lous were immediately comfortable and gave me no trouble whatsoever putting them on. To me, this was huge.
So really, I love both of em and would have a hard time really saying one is the clear winner. I think that if I get a pair of MTO Shinkis in my proper size of 12.5, that would probably put the Lofgrens over the top for me personallly. But in that case I'd fekkin hope so, since they'd be probably close to double the price of a stock pair of Mr. Lous.
TL;DR - I have both, wear them about equally, and enjoy them in different ways.
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@popvulture that was a wonder write up!! You just got me mad stoked on getting these Lofgrens!! I absolutely adore my Wescos so it’s going to be rad to have both to compare and enjoy!! I just hope I can get them on my feet!! Haha
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Yay! Glad it was of help, vs just a long ramble
Make sure to post some pics when you get em!
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I can’t say that I prefer one over the other. The Lofgrens are maybe a bit more refined than the Wesco, which are a bit more rugged. At least fresh out of the box. The Wesco being custom made, do fit better and are easier to pull on. Both are great boots, value for money I would go with Wesco.
