RANCOURT & Co. Shoes - Made in Maine

Trigger pulled, it's just too good a deal for something I know I'll buy in a few years. I went with basically a very slight modification of the Shell #8 ranger moc with tempest sole, natural edging. The only difference that I'm getting is the normal brass eyelets instead of antique brass, and I requested they not stitch in the outsole (which is how they used to do it, so we'll see how that goes).

wdahab said:

Trigger pulled, it's just too good a deal for something I know I'll buy in a few years. I went with basically a very slight modification of the Shell #8 ranger moc with tempest sole, natural edging. The only difference that I'm getting is the normal brass eyelets instead of antique brass, and I requested they not stitch in the outsole (which is how they used to do it, so we'll see how that goes).

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Congrats, I know your going to just luv them.



hkpm said:

Photos of my Green Shell Ranger Moc Definitely love them, especially the spongy like reltex lactae hevea sole, very comfortable. They make me wonder if the Alden's plantation crepe sole offers the same degree of comfort. It turns out that 7E is the right size for me, at least for Rancourt's lace shoes, just some minor heel slippage. I think after breaking them in, it will be gone.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

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Excellent. Congratulations. This is a great pair of Rancourts. And I completely agree about the RLH sole. It's got great cushion to it and it seems to be pretty durable. Don't know how it compares to Alden crepe. It does seem to stay cleaner than the Rancourt crepe outsole, but that one is pretty darn comfortable too. Enjoy!

I've also built about 4 different variations of the ranger moc. I'm not sure which I'm going to go for. I want a go to summer shoe. I'm not a big fan of the crepe so I might go with the Vibram mini-lug.

Liking this one so far...


Or maybe the honey Vibram?

Thanks (though I've always found it funny to me that I'm the one who is getting congratulated. Congrats to Rancourt on offering awesomely priced custom shell cordovan shoes! Can you even imagine what Alden would be charging for these, let alone customized?!) I've been going back and forth, and feeling a strong pull to get something really customized, adding a spectator component to my pair... I feel slightly bad that my end product is a bit too similar to the stock model, but I've decided that this will just be a test of whether they can notice attention to detail, that my eyelet color is slightly different.

Tifosi: IMHO, the Vibram Mini-lug is my least favorite choice, the montello mini-lug is much better looking, and can be reheeled by a local cobbler. As comfortable as a full rubber sole is, nothing matches how a double leather sole breaks in, especially on a rugged shoe.

The other options since I'm thinking about it, for people contemplating:

The Christie is a great sole for all around use, and breaks in awesomely as it gets rounded on all of its edges, though it's might be tough to defend with shell cordovan. I was tempted to use it though.

RLH (or ALH as I have) is an awesome sole for mud and outdoor use, but it is very, very slick on wet tile. So if it's raining, I have to be very careful when I go inside. Also, as it wears in, it sort of crumbles off, it doesn't get the smooth, round wearing that the Christie gets.

If somebody is willing to send me the email with the coupon and the link to the customizer tool, it would be greatly appreciated. Please PM me for an email address.

In other news, the natural CXL ranger mocs on the minilug sole and a new belt that I ordered a couple of weeks ago shipped yesterday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they arrive in time for the weekend (especially the belt since I've lost about 1.5" off of my waist this summer).

wdahab said:

Tifosi: IMHO, the Vibram Mini-lug is my least favorite choice, the montello mini-lug is much better looking, and can be reheeled by a local cobbler. As comfortable as a full rubber sole is, nothing matches how a double leather sole breaks in, especially on a rugged shoe.

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You may be right, wdahab. I'm not sure how I skipped over the Montello.

wdahab said:

I requested they not stitch in the outsole (which is how they used to do it, so we'll see how that goes).

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What do you mean? The tempest was simply glued on and not stitched? They stitched the sole to my Blake Boots that were made in Late Dec. I think I like the stitching.

tifosi said:

Liking this one so far...

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I like the black better than the honey. Contrasts nicely. Great looking make-up BTW.

wdahab said:

RLH (or ALH as I have) is an awesome sole for mud and outdoor use, but it is very, very slick on wet tile. So if it's raining, I have to be very careful when I go inside. Also, as it wears in, it sort of crumbles off, it doesn't get the smooth, round wearing that the Christie gets.

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Are you saying the Aspen crumbles off? That's not so great to hear. Rancourt was really touting them as some of the best soles out there, and that doesn't sound like a characteristic of a good sole.

Michigan Planner said:

especially the belt since I've lost about 1.5" off of my waist this summer

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Congrats on the new you. Don't forget to post [quality] pics.

tifosi said:

You may be right, wdahab. I'm not sure how I skipped over the Montello.

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This is also not a bad look. Say, isn't the Carmel shell lighter IRL?


Glad to see this thread so active lately. It really slowed down over the winter months.

Bakes, The caramel shell is lighter than it shows up in the tool. At least what I have seen of it.

Damn straight, Tifosi, those look great! Natty shell ranger moc is so awesome. If my soon to be shipped natty beefrolls weren't on my plate, I'd absolutely be ordering a pair of those natty shell rangers instead of the #8s.

I'm about to have a completely rounded out shell collection. My soon to be collection is Natty shell loafers, #8 shell rangers, #8 shell 721s, #449 (brown) shell 744s.

Bakes: The way that the tempest and montello mini-lug used to be, the whole tempest outsole is glued to the midsole, which is stitched to the upper. Now they stitch the outsole in also. There is very little structural support given by this stitching, at least on goodyear shoes, because the stitching wears away faster than the glue breaks down. Also, it looks like on the tempests there isn't a channel for the stitch, at least on some of them, so that stitching is going to wear down right away.

On the littleway stitched shoes (that's what it's called! just learned this!) the extra stitching on the outsole is another line of stitches fully through the upper, and they told me that they *never* reuse the midsole on the handsewns. When I get them resoled, that means I'll have 4 tracks of stitches on the upper, instead of 2, and then 6 instead of 3. How many resolings until it's so perforated that it tears? For CXL I wouldn't care, but for shell, where otherwise they might last 20 years, I would care a lot.

Also, shows my ALH. It's not bad or anything, it's just like that where it's worn in. Nothing to be concerned about, but it's not that smooth wear that Christies get. It's not wearing down faster or anything, just not as aesthetically pleasing. No complaints.

With the customization tool, you can tell it's not accurate, because it shows shell cordovan as having a nappy flesh side, when we all know that the "flesh" side of shell is actually a smooth grain.



wdahab said:

Thanks (though I've always found it funny to me that I'm the one who is getting congratulated. Congrats to Rancourt on offering awesomely priced custom shell cordovan shoes! Can you even imagine what Alden would be charging for these, let alone customized?!) I've been going back and forth, and feeling a strong pull to get something really customized, adding a spectator component to my pair... I feel slightly bad that my end product is a bit too similar to the stock model, but I've decided that this will just be a test of whether they can notice attention to detail, that my eyelet color is slightly different. Tifosi: IMHO, the Vibram Mini-lug is my least favorite choice, the montello mini-lug is much better looking, and can be reheeled by a local cobbler. As comfortable as a full rubber sole is, nothing matches how a double leather sole breaks in, especially on a rugged shoe. The other options since I'm thinking about it, for people contemplating: The Christie is a great sole for all around use, and breaks in awesomely as it gets rounded on all of its edges, though it's might be tough to defend with shell cordovan. I was tempted to use it though. RLH (or ALH as I have) is an awesome sole for mud and outdoor use, but it is very, very slick on wet tile. So if it's raining, I have to be very careful when I go inside. Also, as it wears in, it sort of crumbles off, it doesn't get the smooth, round wearing that the Christie gets.

Click to expand...

Going all out with a spectator is tempting. Should remain an option and, who knows, they may add colors/leathers to the tool in future and you'll have even more things to mix and match.

tifosi said:

You may be right, wdahab. I'm not sure how I skipped over the Montello.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

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That Montello mini lug is the one to go for IMO.

Bakes11771 said:

What do you mean? The tempest was simply glued on and not stitched? They stitched the sole to my Blake Boots that were made in Late Dec. I think I like the stitching. I like the black better than the honey. Contrasts nicely. Great looking make-up BTW. Are you saying the Aspen crumbles off? That's not so great to hear. Rancourt was really touting them as some of the best soles out there, and that doesn't sound like a characteristic of a good sole. Congrats on the new you. Don't forget to post [quality] pics. This is also not a bad look. Say, isn't the Carmel shell lighter IRL? Glad to see this thread so active lately. It really slowed down over the winter months.

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That doesn't look like a very accurate depiction of the caramel shell color. I don't think what I've seen of the customizing tool leads me to believe the leather representations are terribly accurate. Not so good if you aren't already familiar with the options, but probably not the end of the world here where there are a lot of good real life photos to add to the Rancourt site shots. And I haven't had my RLH sole crumble... yet.

wdahab said:

Damn straight! Natty shell ranger moc is so awesome. If my soon to be shipped natty beefrolls weren't on my plate, I'd absolutely be ordering a pair of those natty shell rangers instead of the #8s.

I'm about to have a completely rounded out shell collection. My soon to be collection is Natty shell loafers, #8 shell rangers, #8 shell 721s, #449 (brown) shell 744s.

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I can't wait to get my hands on some of Rancourts natty shell. I don't think I'll ever be able to say I have a rounded out collection cause I don't think I'll ever be done.



tifosi said:

I can't wait to get my hands on some of Rancourts natty shell. I don't think I'll ever be able to say I have a rounded out collection cause I don't think I'll ever be done.

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God help me if Alden ever starts selling unlined shell shoes. But I've drawn a very firm line that I will never buy a pair of lined shell cordovan shoes. That decision has saved me lots of money.

FrankCowperwood said:

That Montello mini lug is the one to go for IMO.

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I went back and forth with that and tempest for a long while. Decided that the tempest had a sleeker profile, which would be preferable in the office (I work in finance, but in a 200 year old farm house... so shoes need to be presentable but also able to get dirty and mud covered). Since I have other boots for snow, that won it for me.

wdahab said:

God help me if Alden ever starts selling unlined shell shoes. But I've drawn a very firm line that I will never buy a pair of lined shell cordovan shoes. That decision has saved me lots of money.

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Sorry to say...Alden sells unlined shell cordovan shoes.