RANCOURT & Co. Shoes - Made in Maine

[Bakes11771]

Also, one more question: does Rancourt use a steel shank in the sole, even on shoes like the Ranger-Moc?

No steel shank in Rancourts. CXL very stretchy. RLH very squishy. Not in accordance with Doc's advice. Tempest is pretty stiff, but not astonishingly so.

 

[tv2177]



Here are the photos of the refurbished beefrolls (#8 shell, converted from leather sole to Aspen RLH):

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

They are about two and a half years old.

they look awesome for 2.5 years old. the new sole make it a rather nice casual shoe just for the summer!

 

[FrankCowperwood]

@larrywright: Agree with Bakes that the RLH soles are pretty soft. Maybe a little short of running shoe sole. That makes them comfortable, but I doubt they are what you need.

The Tempest and Montello soles are essentially leather soles with rubber as the tread, so they could work. Tempest is the lower profile of the two, so less obvious.

I half wonder if the Vibram wedge might be a good combination of stiffness and comfort for you. The sole is pretty thick and the material dense, so it ends up being fairly stiff for a rubber sole.

Don't know is you are willing to go that route, or if it would work.

Note that Rancourt can make shoes for you in different sizes for each foot. It complicates matters a bit, trying to size each foot individually, but you it might help accommodate your issue.

 

[FrankCowperwood]



they look awesome for 2.5 years old. the new sole make it a rather nice casual shoe just for the summer!

Thanks.

The refurb work is really quite extensive. It's impressive what putting them on the original last and a professional redyeing and polishing does. And, as I think I mentioned, they replace the plug, so there's even new leather on there as I understand it.

Really for $125 or $135 or whatever it was, including shipping both ways, it's a pretty fantastic deal.

Agree about converting them to summer casual. That's what I was expecting, and I feel as if that's what I got. Going to be a very comfortable pair to slip on as needed.

 

[tv2177]

^ Ya, I did that about a year ago with my CXL beefroll. However, I wasn't sure if they replaced the plug, but what I got back was about as astonishing as yours. Looks pretty much brand new! And for the price that they are asking, it's a fantastic deal as you said.

 

[larrywright]

@larrywright : Agree with Bakes that the RLH soles are pretty soft. Maybe a little short of running shoe sole. That makes them comfortable, but I doubt they are what you need.

The Tempest and Montello soles are essentially leather soles with rubber as the tread, so they could work. Tempest is the lower profile of the two, so less obvious.

I half wonder if the Vibram wedge might be a good combination of stiffness and comfort for you. The sole is pretty thick and the material dense, so it ends up being fairly stiff for a rubber sole.

Don't know is you are willing to go that route, or if it would work.

Note that Rancourt can make shoes for you in different sizes for each foot. It complicates matters a bit, trying to size each foot individually, but you it might help accommodate your issue.

No steel shank in Rancourts. CXL very stretchy. RLH very squishy. Not in accordance with Doc's advice. Tempest is pretty stiff, but not astonishingly so.

Thanks for the responses. I realize the RHL sole would be somewhat soft, but I wondered how much stiffness the midsole adds to that. I don't think he expects me to wear something on par with a stacked leather sole, but he wants me in something stiffer than say Chuck Taylors or flip flops. (not stiff at all). I have some keen sandals I wear when I'm at the beach that have a reasonably rigid sole, I'm kind of looking for something close to that.

That said, what's the comfort like on the Tempest sole?

I'm expecting to do the Made To Fit program, so I was going to try a D and E width, and if they fit well, then I can order the left in the D and the right in the E. I was kind of hoping that with Chromexcel I might not need to since it might stretch a little to accommodate the goose egg on my foot.

 

[larrywright]

This is the makeup I was looking at:



In playing around, these look pretty nice too






The last ones look... dressy, which isn't really what I was going for, but I could live with it.

 

[tv2177]

Tempest sole will require sometime to break-in. The Vibram sole is comfortable even at first wear, I totally loved mine when I got it back from Rancourt a year ago. They have been my go to shoes for most of the fall/winter/spring seasons. I don't have any RLH soleshoes yet, but from what I have heard, they are light and very very comfortable.

For the three styles that you put up, I'd go with either 1 or 2, depends on how you like the sole. I think the Vibram widge works slightly better in rain from what I read on this thread, but I could be wrong.

 

[larrywright]

Tempest sole will require sometime to break-in. The Vibram sole is comfortable even at first wear, I totally loved mine when I got it back from Rancourt a year ago. They have been my go to shoes for most of the fall/winter/spring seasons. I don't have any RLH soleshoes yet, but from what I have heard, they are light and very very comfortable.

For the three styles that you put up, I'd go with either 1 or 2, depends on how you like the sole. I think the Vibram widge works slightly better in rain from what I read on this thread, but I could be wrong.

The sole is what I'm trying to decide... if you look back a few posts, I need something somewhat rigid (closer to a leather sole than a flip flop). Do you know how rigid the Vibram sole is?

 

[tv2177]

^sorry I wasn't paying attention to that post. Now I read it I think neither the RLH nor the Vibram sole would be good for you. I think Vibram is somewhat flexible.

Also, if you can find a shoe store near you that carries TImberland, you can go try on the ones that has the white Vibram sole and find out how rigid the Vibram sole is.

 

[coolarrow]

Frank,
The recraft looks great!

Re. the shank question. I remember asking Rancourt customer service if my Eastland MiM wiscasetts had a shank and they said yes. They are lined and have the christy sole. I have the Rancourt ranger mocs and they don't "feel" like they have a shank. I can definitely feel more support from the wiscassets, though. See this video at 4:20 where Mike Rancourt says they use a shank (doesn't specify if it's steel, though).

 

[johnny1202]

^^ how do the wiscassets fit? Looking to snag a pair off Gilt.

 

[Bakes11771]

I wondered how much stiffness the midsole adds

FWIW, I can't feel the midsole at all on my RLH Apsen Ranger Mocs. It feels like I'm standing directly on top of natural latex. The midsole is just a thin, very flexibly piece of leather. From what I understand, it is not there to add support. It is there out of necessity because they can't glue an RLH sole directly to an upper, so they sew a thin piece of leather (midsole) to the upper and then glue the RLH sole to that.

The last ones look... dressy, which isn't really what I was going for, but I could live with it.

Get a lighter sole edge dressing (Brown or neutral) and it will look less dressy.

 

[dmass1]

Anyone know if the venetian loafers have the same heal height as the beefroll pennies? They appear to be a little shorter on the venetians, but it could be a trick of the eyes...

 

[rawrz]

The ranger moc may not work if your goose egg is on the highest part of your arch, that is where most if the pressure is from lacing up. Maybe a boat shoe would be a better fit since more of the top of the foot is exposed?

The sole is what I'm trying to decide... if you look back a few posts, I need something somewhat rigid (closer to a leather sole than a flip flop). Do you know how rigid the Vibram sole is?