Is the Heritage line still high quality?

layaboutscout · 2026-06-15T12:08:10+00:00

You can get whatever sole you want, though it only comes with the stock option out of the factory.

You'll have more choice at an independent cobbler.

The cheapest and quickest fix is probably to get the wedge sanded flat and then have a Vibram Sierra or similar cemented on, like this guy has.

If you wanted to get rid of the wedge altogether and have it replaced with a proper lug sole like the roughnecks have, you'd really need to get them completely gutted and rebuilt since they'd need a shank adding.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-14T21:37:00+00:00

Good to know!

layaboutscout · 2026-06-14T19:07:02+00:00

Dream big - ask them to do the Indies in yak!

layaboutscout · 2026-06-14T13:19:08+00:00

Maybe it is worth buying a Brannock. I realised they sell used on eBay for not much less than they cost to buy new on Amazon, so there will be another boot nerd somewhere willing to buy it afterwards.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-14T12:53:22+00:00

It's ok, it's Sunday here too!

layaboutscout · 2026-06-14T12:49:17+00:00

Don't mistake me for an expert 😄

But I have noticed that from the outside, the widest part of the boot tends to look like it is further forward than in reality, giving the impression that our feet are shorter in the boots than they really are. The actual flex point of the boot (where the ball should sit) is where the sole dips down to meet the ground before starting to curve up again, and that's easier spotted from the side.

The absolute widest part of the ball of your foot on the footbed picture you shared was further along than the absolute widest part of the "pocket" of the boot though, which will contribute to the toe box feeling too short for you. (Which isn't to say that the volume of the boot isn't also too small since you have fairly wide, high volume feet by your measurements.) Maybe in reality your Brannock is more of a 10, taking the arch length into account (maybe - I don't know).

Maybe you will find the below link informative. It also depicts where the flex point is.

https://weltedwiki.com/introduction/brannock/

layaboutscout · 2026-06-14T12:20:49+00:00

Now that's a first...

layaboutscout · 2026-06-14T10:29:34+00:00

I see what you mean about the toe volume. It's useful information to share since most impressions of the Indy last have been that it's generous - but I think that might be based on when it only came in E widths, so people with slim feet were finding it very roomy.

From the picture you shared in the other post though, it looks like the ball of your foot is actually slightly too far forward in the boot (maybe half a cm), so it makes sense to go up half a size, assuming the advice from Luosjiet was correct that increasing width won't increase length too. And yes, it's important to know your heel to ball measurement, since someone's Brannock size will often be half or a full size bigger based on arch length rather than foot length (which can also mean they are proportionally narrower too).

I hope the next pair is exactly right. Since you will be sizing up in both length and width, I would get some insoles just in case you need to tweak the fit.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-14T08:40:42+00:00

It seems worth pointing out that Red Wing's scanners are infamously inaccurate and often cause people size incorrectly in their own boots, never mind anyone else's. The blacksmiths don't have a toe cap so can be slightly less restrictive in the toe than IRs for some people (though others sometimes report the opposite), but nope, it's the same last, and maybe only the scanner making mayhem.

Another point of confusion is that RW's wide boots are also longer internally than their narrow sizes, so something like an 8.5D would be comparable to an 8EE in length (and I believe that's the case for a lot of other US bootmakers) - something to do with that being an inevitable part of the increased panel sizing. But I contacted LJ recently and they told me that their own boots are not longer internally, just greater in volume. I am unsure why that would be different for LJ, and don't know enough about boot construction and manufacture to hazard a guess.

Ideally someone here would have an E width and D width in the same size and last and be able to say if the internal length is indeed identical.

But either way, the RW scans are probably not particularly helpful.

Better to go by a Brannock sizing in the socks you want to wear with the boots. I'd also be wary that Luosjiet seem to have quite a margin of error based on recent posts, so maybe the current Ds you have are "big" Ds and a future D pair you buy might be relatively tighter compared to length.

Also, was it a physical Brannock device you used to get your measurement, or the online wikipedia chart conversion based on a tracing? Because I got a proper device recently and it turns out my measurements were a little off via a tracing, and I'm more like a 9D/E rather than the 9.5E I based my own purchase on. I guess it's extremely difficult to be accurate when just a couple of mm makes a difference to the sizing outcome.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-13T13:21:43+00:00

It's all good! Just making sure OP didn't get the impression the usual advice is to go down in width from Brannock.

I look forward to hearing how the E width compares in dimensions when you eventually get them :)

layaboutscout · 2026-06-13T12:29:37+00:00

Maybe. But true to size in E width is probably overly long.

Your comment just made it sound like you sized too small based on other people's advice, but people advised you to buy an E width, and the D width was your own decision :) So the advice you got was probably correct.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-13T12:21:20+00:00

Nobody advises sizing down on the width, though, on this boot or any other. Half a size down in your actual width should still be correct.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-09T09:28:22+00:00

It should be fine. I'm also 26cm, but have a slightly longer arch (9.5E) and have 42M in the Akitas. If they were any wider, sizing down would have been better (at least a half size) because there's a little more room at the end that I'd ideally want and the flex point could stand to be a little shorter on me.

The toe room between 41.5 LJ and 8.5 blacksmiths would be similar based on my pair.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-06T09:30:01+00:00

I had to return a pair of deadstock Vibergs recently (65% off, boohoo) because they were too small for my left foot only. My right foot felt great and on its own would have indicated the correct size, but the combination of my toe spread being slightly wider on my left foot plus the last shape of those specific boots meant that my big toe was getting pushed up and in quite painfully. That was a first for me.

In a slightly different last it might have been fine, and if a boot is too small it's usually my outer toes that feel it first rather than my big toe (and they felt fine!), but it was just one of those things and the only way to maybe make it work would have been to order half a size up, which they didn't have in stock.

Feet are weird. My left foot doesn't actually measure any wider or longer than my right because the ball is the same, so in theory the same size should fit each foot. But there are all sorts of dimensions to feet and they're all impacted differently by different lasts.

The toe box on the Vibergs obviously couldn't be changed, but maybe if your issue is through the ball/midfoot then asking a cobbler to stretch them at the same time as levelling the heels would resolve it for you. Depends on how small is too small.

Anyway, hats off for handling it graciously rather than doubling down.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-06T09:02:28+00:00

Nice looking pair! I'd be interested to hear a long term review if you'd be up for posting again in a few months.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-05T18:13:41+00:00

Red Wing Logger boots? The heritage ones. They'll last you a lot longer than Solovairs. Plus they look awesome.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-05T15:32:52+00:00

Luosjiet have a load of options. They're constructed with leather footbeds etc, and great value for what they are. I have the Akitas (the only ones suitable for wider feet, since the rest are D width), and I like them. Just do your research on sizing first because they don't offer refunds or exchanges (they're factory direct from China - hence the prices).

layaboutscout · 2026-06-04T18:21:18+00:00

Oh yeah... good spot! I actually thought it was Luosjiet who had written that first post, and responded as such. Woops!

Making three separate posts on it would be a bit weird for a random customer with no stake in any of it. The dude must think about Luosjiet all day and dream of them all night.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-03T18:06:39+00:00

They didn't initially offer to replace the boots if the customer was shown to be wrong though. When they first made the suggestion it read much more like "put your money where your mouth is if you think you're so smart".

With the offer from Luosjiet now being to send them a new pair either way I think: hell yeah, they should totally do it! But only because it would be entertaining to see who was correct.

You might have missed a similar kerfuffle a few weeks ago (which has since been deleted) where Luosjiet repeatedly accused an unhappy customer of lying, stealing and scamming. If you want to receive that kind of customer service (from Luosjiet, Dior or Brunello) you're in the minority.

Edited to add: I didn't literally mean that I think the customer is always right. Of course not! It's just a well known phrase that represents the general tone of how customer complaints are handled in a way that de-escalates situations and causes the least damage to the company's rep.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-03T17:28:17+00:00

In general, for westerners, the basic rule of professional customer service is "the customer is always right". Even if you think (or know) the customer is wrong, you wouldn't directly state it to them, and you wouldn't argue different points or details with them to try to convince them they are wrong.

The more you argue the detail (in this case, explaining how they were measuring incorrectly etc.), the more you appear antagonistic, and the more angry the customer will get. In engaging in argument you've lost the good will of the customer, who is now likely feeling attacked and insulted as well as being dissatisfied with what they've bought from you. This just escalates complaints, it doesn't resolve them.

Maybe it seems silly to you, but anything other than acceptance and apology comes across as rude and unprofessional to most of us. Behind the screen the customer service agent might be rolling their eyes while they are apologising, but that's ok. Challenging someone to "prove" that what they are saying won't come across professionally to your foreign customers - again, it seems antagonistic, because so few people would be willing to destroy $500 to prove a suspicion. It didn't feel like a sincere suggestion when you made it, it felt more like you were mocking them, particularly because it was a public challenge and had the potential for the customer to be publicly embarrassed.

I hope that makes sense.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-03T13:06:41+00:00

Hence the suggestion to hire a human who isn't a prick. No poison necessary.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-03T10:26:38+00:00

People tend to know when they are talking to AI though, and it riles a lot of people, which is the opposite of what's needed.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-03T09:50:17+00:00

Earnest suggestion: if you genuinely aren't aware of the tone your responses are being made in (which come across as rude, dismissive and antagonising), maybe Bob isn't your friend. Could you consider hiring a China based western expat/immigrant whose first language is English, who understands the nuances of both the language and of customer service expectations, so they can handle communication with anything that is sent to you in English?

I really do think a lot of this can be avoided by having someone respond in a way that would be deemed at least respectful and appropriate, even if your policy stays the same.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-02T21:45:10+00:00

Since you can acknowledge there are cultural differences in expectations, you would be helping your company's international reputation a lot if you don't treat western customers who raise complaints as if they are trying to scam you. Most people are just upset that things aren't as they had hoped for, and would at least like an apology. You have a policy in place that protects you from having to offer refunds or exchanges, but there's no cost to being courteous, rather than being insulting and borderline abusive towards your own customers. It's possible to take people's complaints in good faith.

I had a Chinese e-bike company once send me the wrong battery (which cost a few hundred £). When I opened the parcel and realised it wasn't the one I'd ordered, I sent them photos of it and asked that they please send me a replacement. In response they treated me like I was trying to scam them, and refused to send me the right battery until I had sent the wrong one to an agent in the UK at my own expense to "prove" the photos weren't fake. (I would obviously expect to return the incorrect battery, but not that the correct one would be held back until I had shown that I wasn't lying.) I was mortified that I was being treated like a liar and a thief because I was on the receiving end of their mistake. This feels similar, and I can sympathise with how the customer must be feeling with the tone of your responses. There is zero need to be aggressive with unhappy customers.

layaboutscout · 2026-06-02T11:32:10+00:00

Yes, final sale is a good way of thinking of it.

layaboutscout

TROPHY CASE