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Rymanocerous

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Yes, I know the scanned copy of the measurement sheet is not ideal because there may be some distortion in the scanning process, but again this was a clearance item and I had to do things quickly. Kyle was aware of this and accepted my measurements anyways.

The problem with a clearance sale is there are no refunds or exchanges, as far as I'm aware, so Baker's is under no obligation to really help me. I have updated Kyle with the same story I told here and I'm waiting to hear back.

Nevertheless, I have these boots which are on the line between tight and painful. I understand White's boots to some degree are expected to be somewhat uncomfortable at first and undergo a famous break-in, but I'm having trouble reconciling the way these boots feel and the "somewhat uncomfortable" of my expectations. If they both felt like the right foot, I would believe they'd break in to an excellent fit, but the left foot has me worried. I wore the boots sitting at my desk for 30 minutes (I didn't want to walk around too much in case it may affect my opportunity for exchange or resale) to see if my foot might get used to it, but it was still too tight. I'm tempted to take them to the cobbler for a stretch, but again I don't want to affect my potential resale opportunity.
There is a reason most of us order through Bakers. If Kyle gave you sizing advice, you followed it and the fit is wrong, I would be extremely surprised if they then said they wouldn't do anything due to the restrictions of the sale.

Having a professional cobbler stretch could be a great alternative if in some bizarre world Bakers doesn't get it solved for you.
 

passaloutre

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Not home to take a photo right now, but the laces are pretty spread out when I lace them up. Seems to me that no shoe should be tight without the laces in them, and that the laces should be the thing that makes them snug.
 

passaloutre

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This is what the look like laced up, though I've kept the laces somewhat lose intentionally.



Kyle from Baker's seems pretty confident they will break-in to my liking, though he also gave me the option to return. He is the expert, and I've read everywhere how much people trust him, so I will give them a shot. I just walked in them for about 40 minutes at the supermarket, and no pain, just the same tightness in my left foot.

If they don't feel better after a few days/weeks, I've still got options: get a cobbler to stretch them, get them rebuilt on a bigger last (assuming that's possible, I think it would come out cheaper than returning and repurchasing at full price), or dump them on eBay.
 

klank74

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This is what the look like laced up, though I've kept the laces somewhat lose intentionally.



Kyle from Baker's seems pretty confident they will break-in to my liking, though he also gave me the option to return. He is the expert, and I've read everywhere how much people trust him, so I will give them a shot. I just walked in them for about 40 minutes at the supermarket, and no pain, just the same tightness in my left foot.

If they don't feel better after a few days/weeks, I've still got options: get a cobbler to stretch them, get them rebuilt on a bigger last (assuming that's possible, I think it would come out cheaper than returning and repurchasing at full price), or dump them on eBay.

Yeah those look too small in the instep area. I think the rule of thumb is you want about a two finger width gap between the edges of the vamp when you have the boots laced tight.
 

fushaw

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Yeah those look way too small. Compared to my BH's where I have between 1-1.5" roughly gap between the laces. That looks like its 2"+

You may have very high volume feet for your foot size which could be causing the issue. Especially if the length and toe box and heel all feel right. If that's the case, you might be better off get a MTO pair and talk to Kyle about a last with high volume without being too wide.
 

klank74

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This is what the look like laced up, though I've kept the laces somewhat lose intentionally.



Kyle from Baker's seems pretty confident they will break-in to my liking, though he also gave me the option to return. He is the expert, and I've read everywhere how much people trust him, so I will give them a shot. I just walked in them for about 40 minutes at the supermarket, and no pain, just the same tightness in my left foot.

If they don't feel better after a few days/weeks, I've still got options: get a cobbler to stretch them, get them rebuilt on a bigger last (assuming that's possible, I think it would come out cheaper than returning and repurchasing at full price), or dump them on eBay.

Yeah those look way too small. Compared to my BH's where I have between 1-1.5" roughly gap between the laces. That looks like its 2"+

You may have very high volume feet for your foot size which could be causing the issue. Especially if the length and toe box and heel all feel right. If that's the case, you might be better off get a MTO pair and talk to Kyle about a last with high volume without being too wide.
Here’s a picture of mine. That’s a two finger gap, the first time I tried them on. Now that They’ve begun to break in, I’ve got a 1 1/2 finger gap.
A6367390-37B1-429A-8BBE-980391B2DE8A.jpeg
 

passaloutre

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Thanks guys. Like I said they were intentionally loose in that pic, maybe this one is a little more representative of how I'd normally wear them. The camera angle probably doesn't help, but that's less than two fingers between eyelets (maybe I just have fat fingers?).
 

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chicagoan2016

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This is what the look like laced up, though I've kept the laces somewhat lose intentionally.



Kyle from Baker's seems pretty confident they will break-in to my liking, though he also gave me the option to return. He is the expert, and I've read everywhere how much people trust him, so I will give them a shot. I just walked in them for about 40 minutes at the supermarket, and no pain, just the same tightness in my left foot.

If they don't feel better after a few days/weeks, I've still got options: get a cobbler to stretch them, get them rebuilt on a bigger last (assuming that's possible, I think it would come out cheaper than returning and repurchasing at full price), or dump them on eBay.

They are good looking boots, if they don't get comfortable I would take them to a cobbler for stretching, someone has mentioned on another forum about Allen Edmonds shoes/boots that the cobbler charges $20 - 30 , may be more for White's, since they are constructed like tanks.
But for the price you paid ( I am assuming around $300), they are a steal.
 

chicagoan2016

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Thanks guys. Like I said they were intentionally loose in that pic, maybe this one is a little more representative of how I'd normally wear them. The camera angle probably doesn't help, but that's less than two fingers between eyelets (maybe I just have fat fingers?).
As a newbie, they look fine to my eyes : )
 

Chrikelnel

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I searched through the thread but couldn't find anything, is there a consensus on whether the standard heel really is better for walking than the blocked heel?
 

chicagoan2016

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I searched through the thread but couldn't find anything, is there a consensus on whether the standard heel really is better for walking than the blocked heel?
That's a good question, I want to know experts' opinions too.
 

chicagoan2016

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I definitely find the standard heel on my Bounty Hunters fits the natural fall of my gait far better than the block heel on my MPs.
Is this the standard heel on BHs?
Thanks
 

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