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.