Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[yumacool]

I have two pairs of White's Semi Dress boots and am contemplating the purchase of a pair of Hathorn Traveler boots. This is a lighter boot and might be a good boot for wearing in the heat of Southwest Arizona. Is the sizing of the two boots the same?

 

[Legal Eagles]

I have two pairs of White's Semi Dress boots and am contemplating the purchase of a pair of Hathorn Traveler boots. This is a lighter boot and might be a good boot for wearing in the heat of Southwest Arizona. Is the sizing of the two boots the same?

Do you know the lasts upon which your current semi dress boots are built? If one is the 461, the size will be the same as the 461 is the Traveller last. I also find the 55 last and 461 are close to the same size. I do however go one width narrower when going from 55 or 461 to the 38 swing due to the width inherent in the swing last.

To illustrate, these are my sizes:
55: 11E
461: 11E
38 Swing: 11D

Hope this helps... btw, the new TPU on the Traveller soles is awesome!

 

[yumacool]

Do you know the lasts upon which your current semi dress boots are built? If one is the 461, the size will be the same as the 461 is the Traveller last. I also find the 55 last and 461 are close to the same size. I do however go one width narrower when going from 55 or 461 to the 38 swing due to the width inherent in the swing last.

To illustrate, these are my sizes:
55: 11E
461: 11E
38 Swing: 11D

Hope this helps... btw, the new TPU on the Traveller soles is awesome!

 

[yumacool]

Sorry, I do not know the last on these boots. I threw the boxes away long ago and I do not see anything written inside the boots. I am inclined to get them in 10.5 D, which seems to work well with the SDs. Any recommendations?

 

[linafelt]

^^I've tried on 461 SDs as well as Travellers, and for some reason the Travellers felt much more narrow...

 

[chicken1616]

I have two pairs of White's Semi Dress boots and am contemplating the purchase of a pair of Hathorn Traveler boots. This is a lighter boot and might be a good boot for wearing in the heat of Southwest Arizona. Is the sizing of the two boots the same?

Essentially the sizing is the same. That said, sizing up probably won't hurt. I find the arch support in the Traveler is not quite as much as the SD. The heel seems to be lower. I couldn't stand the original commando mini lug half sole, so I had mine resoled by Drew's/Baker's. They put a 269 and a huge old school Bilt-Rite heel on them. Changed them much for the better.

 

[RockyMountain22]

I have two pairs of White's Semi Dress boots and am contemplating the purchase of a pair of Hathorn Traveler boots. This is a lighter boot and might be a good boot for wearing in the heat of Southwest Arizona. Is the sizing of the two boots the same?

yumacool - It is also my understanding the Hathorn Traveler is built on the 461 last. When I last spoke to Baker's regarding the Traveler -- probably over a year ago -- they indicated at that time there really wasn't much customization available, unlike the Semi-Dress models. IF that is true, a lighter-weight (thinner) leather like dress brown/black may not be available. Also, I seem to remember the heel was lower than the Semi in stock form (?).

While I do not live in a low desert area like yourself, we are in the high desert of Colorado against the Rockies; I wear my 6" F-R as frequently as possible, but I also had them constructed with White's fantastic dress brown leather for the "heat" of our warmer weather, instead of the heavier oil tan leathers like my other pairs. And, so far, they are a great choice for summer, with temps up to 99F. All my F-R boots are built on the 4811 last.

Cheers!

 

[RockyMountain22]

... I threw the boxes away long ago and I do not see anything written inside the boots. I am inclined to get them in 10.5 D ...

Not picking on yumacool here or anyone else new to White's and the world of custom made footwear, only since he mentioned sizing I want to take a moment to advise people to stay away from the "my size is X in Y brand/type/flavor of boots/shoes/sneakers, so maybe I aught to try size Z in White's" type of thinking. This may lead to less than ideal fitments and unnecessary returns and unhappiness, not to mention time and money involved.

Yes, there are some people who can accurately fit into off the shelf sizes and commonly generic lasted brands. I have suffered literally decades of compromise in sizing/fitment and was even miss-sized on two separate occasions by RW and both fittings were different from what sizing I bought in the past. My feet are neither misshapen nor injured, so I have never needed "special" footwear or anything unusual.

I just say to people, take the time to do you tracings and send them into White's, you will not regret it. Any uniqueness in your feet can then be lasted into your boots, and your file is kept for a decade. That's really the closest thing to full 100% custom we can expect. Then strengthen your patience muscles and enjoy opening the box when it arrives.

I know my White's are the best-fitting boots I have ever owned!

Cheers!

 

[chicken1616]

Not picking on yumacool here or anyone else new to White's and the world of custom made footwear, only since he mentioned sizing I want to take a moment to advise people to stay away from the "my size is X in Y brand/type/flavor of boots/shoes/sneakers, so maybe I aught to try size Z in White's" type of thinking. This may lead to less than ideal fitments and unnecessary returns and unhappiness, not to mention time and money involved.

Yes, there are some people who can accurately fit into off the shelf sizes and commonly generic lasted brands. I have suffered literally decades of compromise in sizing/fitment and was even miss-sized on two separate occasions by RW and both fittings were different from what sizing I bought in the past. My feet are neither misshapen nor injured, so I have never needed "special" footwear or anything unusual.

I just say to people, take the time to do you tracings and send them into White's, you will not regret it. Any uniqueness in your feet can then be lasted into your boots, and your file is kept for a decade. That's really the closest thing to full 100% custom we can expect. Then strengthen your patience muscles and enjoy opening the box when it arrives.

I know my White's are the best-fitting boots I have ever owned!

Cheers!

I totally agree with this. The old "I wear this size in RW" axiom needs to go. My suggestion is to buy a used pair off of e-bay, and figure your size from that. But sending your measurements in works, too. These boots are on a completely differently level than buying stock sized RW's or other shoes.

 

[chicken1616]

Has anyone ever used the Obenaufs Water Shield spray?

 

[Ian Copeland]

Hello all. I've been a purveyor of this thread for years, but haven't posted much. Has anyone had moderate success selling a pair of their used White's SDs online? I know the eBay route is technically an option, but I'd hate my pair to fall into less-than-knowledgeable hands (or to be sold for less than a fair price!). The pair I'm considering selling are three years old, size 12E, dress brown with a toe cap, and leather soled.

Cheers for any advice you might have!

 

[Legal Eagles]

Hello all. I've been a purveyor of this thread for years, but haven't posted much. Has anyone had moderate success selling a pair of their used White's SDs online? I know the eBay route is technically an option, but I'd hate my pair to fall into less-than-knowledgeable hands (or to be sold for less than a fair price!). The pair I'm considering selling are three years old, size 12E, dress brown with a toe cap, and leather soled.

Cheers for any advice you might have!

If you post them with a fair price and good pictures in the Buy/Sell area of this forum you will likely find a fellow White's aficionado who wears that size and will give them a good home... if they have style enough to be perusing the Buy/Sell here, they likely have appreciation of good boots...

Or put them on ebay with a reserve price you think fair... 12E is a rare size, and I bet you get a fair price... by definition, if a fair price is what a third party buyer in an arms length transaction is willing to pay, it does not get much better than ebay...

 

[mlwdp]

Not picking on yumacool here or anyone else new to White's and the world of custom made footwear, only since he mentioned sizing I want to take a moment to advise people to stay away from the "my size is X in Y brand/type/flavor of boots/shoes/sneakers, so maybe I aught to try size Z in White's" type of thinking. This may lead to less than ideal fitments and unnecessary returns and unhappiness, not to mention time and money involved.

Yes, there are some people who can accurately fit into off the shelf sizes and commonly generic lasted brands. I have suffered literally decades of compromise in sizing/fitment and was even miss-sized on two separate occasions by RW and both fittings were different from what sizing I bought in the past. My feet are neither misshapen nor injured, so I have never needed "special" footwear or anything unusual.

I just say to people, take the time to do you tracings and send them into White's, you will not regret it. Any uniqueness in your feet can then be lasted into your boots, and your file is kept for a decade. That's really the closest thing to full 100% custom we can expect. Then strengthen your patience muscles and enjoy opening the box when it arrives.

I know my White's are the best-fitting boots I have ever owned!

Cheers!

Coming from a person who went for one of the most uncomfortable lasts, sole and style (double midsole, Smoke Jumper) to now having the boots feel like slippers after breaking them in after a few long, painful weeks, I highly advise doing the tracings to get an accurate fitting.

 

[yumacool]

I don't debate the importance of sending in foot tracings or visiting in person to ensure ordering a boot that fits properly rather than guessing based on the size of athletic shoes or other boot brands. What I was asking was simply whether two boots made by the same manufacturer would fit in a similar fashion. From the opinions I have heard and from what I have read, it seems that the Hathorn Traveler and the White's SD fit pretty much the same, but many people state that the Hathorn is narrower. I wear a 10.5 D in the White's SD, so my best estimate is that I would wear the same in a Hathorn Traveler.

 

[Rolanberry]

Coming from a person who went for one of the most uncomfortable lasts, sole and style (double midsole, Smoke Jumper) to now having the boots feel like slippers after breaking them in after a few long, painful weeks, I highly advise doing the tracings to get an accurate fitting.

I personally would advise against doing the foot tracings. If at all possible, get fitted in-person. After that, try and use your brannock measurement as a guide; goodyearwelt has a manufacturer's last comparison thread and there are some posts with White's in it. I would only use the foot tracing as a last resort measure.

I have a high attention to detail, and made my helper do a two drafts before we did a final for the foot tracings, I followed the steps perfectly. I read all of the instructions and made my helper do the same.

From those fit sheets, Baker's fit me at a 13 EEE; Nick's used the same fit sheet (I asked Baker's to forward it to Nick's) and they fit me at a 12EEE Left 12.5 EEE Right. I also did a fit sheet on the same day for Wesco, who fit me at 12EE (which requires slightly different instructions/measurements)

In April, I ended up going to White's and Nick's in person to get fitted; Sambam set me up with their best fitter, Bob. In-person, I am a 12 E for White's. Nick's fit me at a 11.5 EEE Left and 12 EEE Right, but I've since decided to ignore the width suggestion for that.

I bought a Brannock device after my trip to White's, and I consistently measure as a 12 E Left, 12.5 E Right; In the middle of "D" and "E" width, but closer to E. I hadn't used a brannock device to buy footwear since I was a kid, the cheap made-to-wear timberland/carhartt work boots I had been wearing were 14 EE for several years now, so I wasn't really aware of my exact brannock measurement until recently.

As an aside, While Nick's uses the same lasts as White's, something about Nick's sizing is off. I'm not sure what it is, but a size 12 Nick's 55 last #3 Toe appears to be about a full size longer than a White's size 12 55 last.