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jischwar

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The toe is elongated but the flex points match in my experience. I mentioned this the other day but in my view the Detroit fits longer and wider and, in my estimation, is visually around the same length. I feel like the heel to ball is a little longer on the Detroit and you can see that I have rolls in the vamp that are pretty close to the cap. I neglected to take pics of them but my Soller jumpers roll a bit more in the center of the vamp. Soller really reminds me a lot of the C&J 341 last in a lot of ways. I think the 341 is slightly less tapered at the inner toe. I think the Soller has a slightly tighter heel. But overall fit, dimensions, and aesthetics are pretty similar for my feet in the same size.
We are essentially the same size except I take 2030 in a 9, so this has been super helpful. I actually really like the fit of the 341, so may have to try Soller.
 

oskrusa

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Gentlemen, I did some non-scientific shoe science. See the bellow imgur gallery for comparisons between Soller, Detroit, Oscar, Simpson, 341, Plaza, 2030, 511, and 202 lasts. These photos were taken against the raised edge of a sliding glass door in an effort to align the shoes for accurate-ish length measurements.

Unfortunately, I screwed up a couple of them as noted in the comments on the affected images. Width measurements are inherently imprecise and frankly somewhat useless but I made an effort to align the shoe on the right with the 1" marker and the shoe on the left with the 6" marker (the first couple were a bit off here as well).

Make if it what you will, I'm not sure it is all that useful. I hoped to include a few more lasts in this but ran out of time... if I take more I will add to the gallery and repost.



Hi @stook1 ,
This is very helpful, thank you for taking the time.
Just to triple confirm: the boots in Detroit that you are comparing to Soller are on Detroit EE (Standard width), correct?
 

stook1

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Hi @stook1 ,
This is very helpful, thank you for taking the time.
Just to triple confirm: the boots in Detroit that you are comparing to Soller are on Detroit EE (Standard width), correct?

Yes, somewhere along the way we might have talked about this... I am pretty sure I tried the Detroit EEE in an 8.5 and found that they did not work for me. Unfortunately, I cannot recall why anymore and I'd like to try them again at some point. All of my Detroit shoes are UK9 EE, which is the normal width.

By the way, I mainly took the plaza images for you. At least to me, it's uncanny how similar the toe looks in the pics. Detroit fits bigger than plaza in these sizes and I think the toe profile is a little higher in Detroit but the shape is similar. I think your UTip is going to look great and I cannot wait to see how they turn out.
 

stook1

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We are essentially the same size except I take 2030 in a 9, so this has been super helpful. I actually really like the fit of the 341, so may have to try Soller.

Just to be clear, there is no way that I could size down on Soller. The 9s are a great fit for me. I also don't think I could size down to a 9 on 2030 so keep that in mind. Our sizing seems similar but our feet are obviously a bit different.
 

oskrusa

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Yes, somewhere along the way we might have talked about this... I am pretty sure I tried the Detroit EEE in an 8.5 and found that they did not work for me. Unfortunately, I cannot recall why anymore and I'd like to try them again at some point. All of my Detroit shoes are UK9 EE, which is the normal width.

By the way, I mainly took the plaza images for you. At least to me, it's uncanny how similar the toe looks in the pics. Detroit fits bigger than plaza in these sizes and I think the toe profile is a little higher in Detroit but the shape is similar. I think your UTip is going to look great and I cannot wait to see how they turn out.

Thank-you for the prompt feedback.

Now I just have to wait for the color 4 u-tip boots on Detroit EE to be made and shipped... :bounce2:
 

stook1

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Thank-you for the prompt feedback.

Now I just have to wait for the color 4 u-tip boots on Detroit EE to be made and shipped... :bounce2:

Excellent, it's unlikely that I will participate in this gmto barring something unforeseen.
 

stook1

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Well, the Thorpes are a nice recent addition to your roster.
You still have 2 more weeks to put a pair or two up for sale, and get a new pair on col4... just sayin'.

You noticed that lapse of judgment, I guess, eh? LOL
We'll see. Part of the motivation for the photos was to assess possible inventory.
 

Phoenician

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CrashBurner

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New addition to my Carmina fleet! MTO 80179 Detroit last Jumper in black box calf. Was planning on a solid everyday almost all occasion boot.
You nailed that @miamidoc
 

Phoenician

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Does seem like Soller was the longest of all the other lasts. Wonder if you could size down 0.5 on it

I think as Stook points out, it depends on a person's foot. I sized down half on Soller from my typical Forest & Oscar boots and it's good. I do tend to wear my boots with dress or thinner socks, as I live in the desert and even while travelling in winter for work, am never outside for more than a few minutes. IF I wanted a bit more room for thick socks, I probably wouldn't size down on Soller.
 

stook1

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I think as Stook points out, it depends on a person's foot. I sized down half on Soller from my typical Forest & Oscar boots and it's good. I do tend to wear my boots with dress or thinner socks, as I live in the desert and even while travelling in winter for work, am never outside for more than a few minutes. IF I wanted a bit more room for thick socks, I probably wouldn't size down on Soller.

Yah just to add a little more context. I find the normal width Forest to be too tight in a 9. For me, Forest feels smaller than Oscar, which isn't the conventional wisdom as far as I know. I don't think I have tried a Forest 9.5 but I have tried a 9 EEE, which seemed to be a good fit. I may buy a pair in that size at some point. Oscar is a bit confusing to me. I have an older pair that are a 9 that I bought used which fit well but are snug - not tight but would not want them to be smaller anywhere. I have a new pair in a 9.5 that seem to fit about the same to me overall while just a hair longer. I have also tried on brand new 9s in the same style as my size 9 ptbs and they fit about the same just not broken in. I have also tried a 9.5 oscar chukka, which was too big and had to be returned. So, not surprisingly, sizing varies a bit by style and there are maybe some slight lasting variations at play as well (have noticed this with soller as well, albeit slight).

Relative to your sizing, my foot is probably a bit higher volume.
 

miamidoc

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New addition to my Carmina fleet! MTO 80179 Detroit last Jumper in black box calf. Was planning on a solid everyday almost all occasion boot.
You nailed that @miamidoc
Thank you. Detroit last suits these well. I was a little worried. But turned out great. Finally got a decent camera too. Moving up in the world little by little.
 

CrashBurner

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Thank you. Detroit last suits these well. I was a little worried. But turned out great. Finally got a decent camera too. Moving up in the world little by little.
Agreed, the Detroit looks fantastic and I almost pulled the pin on a pair as work boots (80223); unfortunately the instep is a little on the generous side for me.
 

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