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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    WESCO-MRLOU-BLK - Wesco® - 10" Horsehide Pull-On "Mister Lou" Engineer Boot - Black

    WESCO - West Coast Shoe Company
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    • DmartD
      Dmart
      啓蒙家
      Joined:

      I would agree. Firm handshake sounds pretty much perfect. Heel slip is normal, especially in the beginning breaking them in. The length of the shoe should not be an issue, it is more important that your feet/toes align with where the boot wants to bend.

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • bluemantraB
        bluemantra
        Haraki san Prodigy
        Joined:

        Thank you gents! I'm going to keep these and hopefully they'll break-in nicely.

        WTB IHJ-140-IG size L

        last edited by ? 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • ?
          A Former User
          @bluemantra
          Joined:

          @bluemantra I recently had the same at first i thought they didn’t fit but after 2 weeks of wear they start to give a little and are getting better by the day

          last edited by bluemantraB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • bluemantraB
            bluemantra
            Haraki san Prodigy
            @A Former User
            Joined:

            @Heavy_blue Yeah, they are very stiff currently and I'm guessing after the leather softens and bends more easily that should help with the heel slip. Sometimes you gotta take a chance. So hard to know when they're new and stiff.

            WTB IHJ-140-IG size L

            last edited by OaktaviaO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • OaktaviaO
              Oaktavia
              見習いボス
              @bluemantra
              Joined:

              @bluemantra FWIW I thought my pair was too small for about 6 months before the leather started to stretch and become pliable. Now, the boots are nearly 2 years old and completely different than when they were new. It just takes time and wearing a lot. The heel slip is hardly noticeable now too, while before my foot was all over the place in the boots. Now, I don't think about how they fit because they are molded to my feet.

              IG: electricindigowizard

              "Possibly splitting hairs, but I consider @Oaktavia to be the beardy, dank High Magus of this denim game…" @neph93

              WTB: IHJ-32 - XL/XXL

              last edited by Oaktavia 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • Luijim78L
                Luijim78
                啓蒙家
                Joined:

                my Mr Lou size 9D have always been good from day one (even though I have a size 8/8.5D) probably the shape adapts to my foot, no slipping of the heel (which for example I found in the 7500 shape E) the only problem was the tip of the big toe on my right foot, (my grandmother always told me to cut my toenails a lot, especially at the corners and from what the beautician told me it was one of the billion mistakes I have done in my life), so I discovered that a very small callus had formed on the inside side on the nail bed and Mr Lou made me walk like rusty Robocop 😔 for months ... then I solved the problem and now they are perfect like a glove even if after a couple of years they are still very rigid (characteristic of vegetable tanned leather) sooner or later they will break, for those who have chosen the Horween CXL version everything will be simpler and faster. Good evening dear friends, sorry if with my broken English I tried to tell the story of my life in a post 😔😔😔😔

                last edited by Luijim78 flannel slutF bluemantraB 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 6
                • flannel slutF
                  flannel slut
                  Raw and Unwashed
                  @Luijim78
                  Joined:

                  rusty Robocop! 👏

                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • bluemantraB
                    bluemantra
                    Haraki san Prodigy
                    Joined:

                    Maybe a silly question, but are you supposed to remove the instep buckle when putting on and taking off engineer boots?

                    WTB IHJ-140-IG size L

                    last edited by OaktaviaO Luijim78L goosehdG 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • pechelmanP
                      pechelman
                      啓蒙家
                      Joined:

                      Sometimes you can put shoes on without undoing the laces, sometimes you can't. Do whatcha gotta do here as well.

                      last edited by pechelman 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • OaktaviaO
                        Oaktavia
                        見習いボス
                        @bluemantra
                        Joined:

                        @bluemantra I only unbuckle mine when cleaning. Slip 'em on and off.

                        IG: electricindigowizard

                        "Possibly splitting hairs, but I consider @Oaktavia to be the beardy, dank High Magus of this denim game…" @neph93

                        WTB: IHJ-32 - XL/XXL

                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                        • DmartD
                          Dmart
                          啓蒙家
                          Joined:

                          Same here.

                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Luijim78L
                            Luijim78
                            啓蒙家
                            @bluemantra
                            Joined:

                            @bluemantra it depends on whether you need it to put them on or not, I only started untying the lace when I got to tightening it at the 5th hole, until the 4th I didn't need it, after a few weeks I no longer needed to untie it. Undoubtedly vegetable tanned leather is quite rigid and requires more time for everyone, but it also has extreme elasticity.

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • ?
                              A Former User
                              Joined:

                              I never unbuckle them only when i clean them to be honest.

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • goosehdG
                                goosehd
                                Mod Squad
                                @bluemantra
                                Joined:

                                @bluemantra Read this on how I wear mine and find as an excellent resource. I know not everyone will agree:

                                https://nicksboots.com/blog/post/getting-engineer-boots-fitted/

                                "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                                • bluemantraB
                                  bluemantra
                                  Haraki san Prodigy
                                  Joined:

                                  Thanks all. I was just concerned because they've been a bit tough to take off and didn't want to stretch the leather, thereby making them looser without the ability to tighten them back up.

                                  WTB IHJ-140-IG size L

                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • pechelmanP
                                    pechelman
                                    啓蒙家
                                    Joined:

                                    fwiw, and i should have been better about it in my first reply (sorry about that), I do unbuckle/buckle when taking them off/on. They're juuust a little too snug for me to slide in and the time it takes me to buckle them is about the same as the time i'd spend struggling.

                                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                    • OaktaviaO
                                      Oaktavia
                                      見習いボス
                                      Joined:

                                      Also with mine, I used to have the lower buckle on the loosest setting, but over the yearsthe leather stretched and stretched to the point now I am yanking and pulling the strap all the way down to the last hole.

                                      IG: electricindigowizard

                                      "Possibly splitting hairs, but I consider @Oaktavia to be the beardy, dank High Magus of this denim game…" @neph93

                                      WTB: IHJ-32 - XL/XXL

                                      last edited by bluemantraB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • bluemantraB
                                        bluemantra
                                        Haraki san Prodigy
                                        @Oaktavia
                                        Joined:

                                        @Oaktavia And yours started off tight correct? I've got the insoles out now so that if needed they can be placed back in to tighten the fit up.

                                        WTB IHJ-140-IG size L

                                        last edited by OaktaviaO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • OaktaviaO
                                          Oaktavia
                                          見習いボス
                                          @bluemantra
                                          Joined:

                                          @bluemantra yeah they were definitely snug when new. They fit like a slipper now.

                                          IG: electricindigowizard

                                          "Possibly splitting hairs, but I consider @Oaktavia to be the beardy, dank High Magus of this denim game…" @neph93

                                          WTB: IHJ-32 - XL/XXL

                                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                          • R
                                            rwc1313
                                            Raw and Unwashed
                                            Joined:

                                            Hi guys, I'm sorry if this specific question has been asked numerous times but I was wondering if anyone here has or have tried on the Red Wing 2966 (soft toe) that was a limited release a few years ago in the US and how those fit compared to the Mr. Lou? I have the Red Wings in a 9.5d but feel I could go a half size up and am considering the Mr. Lou in a 10d as a replacement if I can find a pair. I've read here that they generally run the same size as Red Wings, however Red Wings sizes can vary greatly between models/lasts. IIRC the RW 2966 was slightly narrower than standard red wing fit, which is a good thing for my 10.5C size. The Mr. Lou apparently runs narrow as well so it seems the sizing between the two is similar. Just wondering if anyone here has tried both and can comment on how the fit on each might compare.

                                            last edited by rwc1313 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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