• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Sole protectors or dainite?

Rufian

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2019
Messages
202
Reaction score
104
I have the Allen Edmonds Hopkinson last 201. They fit perfect and comfortable compared to other AE shoes I tried, but of course, they are leather soles and this leather seems more slippery than the leather soles on Parks probably cause is a different leather quality. I'm torn between just getting a sole protector or having them resoled to dainite.

The sole protector may offer a little more grip than dainite but I feel like it may change the feel of shoes as it will slightly lift the front and it will add a bit of extra weight. My concern with resoling to dainite is that it could change the whole fit of the shoe. I read cases of people's shoes not fitting the same after a resole.
 

stuffedsuperdud

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2019
Messages
789
Reaction score
2,034
You're greatly overthinking this. Just leave them alone and wear them as is. AE's Independence line comes with JR soles, which will do just fine on their own. They are more water resistant than most if not all other leather soles, and unlike Dainite will not send you slipping and sliding on wet linoleum floors. Once they rough up a bit they will not be any more or less slippery than the soles on your PAs.

If you MUST do something though, then go with the protectors. They will not change the height of the shoe, as the cobbler will shave off enough of the JR sole so that the protectors sit flush once he puts them on. Don't go and resole a new shoe, because 1. that's just wasting a brand new set of very high-quality soles, and 2. each resole takes a bit from the soul of a shoe.
 

Rufian

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2019
Messages
202
Reaction score
104
You're greatly overthinking this. Just leave them alone and wear them as is. AE's Independence line comes with JR soles, which will do just fine on their own. They are more water resistant than most if not all other leather soles, and unlike Dainite will not send you slipping and sliding on wet linoleum floors. Once they rough up a bit they will not be any more or less slippery than the soles on your PAs.

If you MUST do something though, then go with the protectors. They will not change the height of the shoe, as the cobbler will shave off enough of the JR sole so that the protectors sit flush once he puts them on. Don't go and resole a new shoe, because 1. that's just wasting a brand new set of very high-quality soles, and 2. each resole takes a bit from the soul of a shoe.

I didn’t know they were Jr soles. AE doesn’t advertises this or I don’t see it anywhere, are you sure? When I purposely drag my fit on tile it feels as slippery as the Parks I had.
 

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
27,320
Reaction score
69,979
most leather soles in this tier are jr
 

Rufian

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2019
Messages
202
Reaction score
104
How come AE doesn’t advertise it though you would think considering how popular and sought out Jr soles are among the aficionados
 

lemmy127

Senior Member
Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
687
Reaction score
1,079
How come AE doesn’t advertise it though you would think considering how popular and sought out Jr soles are among the aficionados

I think you greatly overestimate how much the average shoe buyer cares/pays attention to this stuff. I'd be willing to bet my house that less than half of the guys that wear Allen Edmonds shoes know the significance of JR soles, what shell cordovan comes from, and what Horween produces. We're extreme outliers just by virtue of having an account on this message board.
 
Last edited:

ter1413

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
22,101
Reaction score
6,033
I think you greatly overestimate how much the average shoe buyer cares/pays attention to this stuff. I'd be willing to bet my house that LESS than half of the guys that wear Allen Edmonds shoes know the significance of JR soles,

+1
 

Nick V.

Distinguished Member
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Messages
1,949
Reaction score
1,543
How come AE doesn’t advertise it though you would think considering how popular and sought out Jr soles are among the aficionados

Because they are not JR soles.
1. JR soles are clearly marked JR:
1291549

2. The JR soles AE uses come with a "key" heel.
 

Count de Monet

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2013
Messages
2,625
Reaction score
8,276
^^^^^
Yeah, I’m pretty sure AE just uses JR’s on their shell shoes and boots. I don’t think the default sole of their Indy line is JR, though my two Indy-line AE’s have excellent leather soles, including my Hopkinsons.
 

Nick V.

Distinguished Member
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Messages
1,949
Reaction score
1,543
^^^^^
Yeah, I’m pretty sure AE just uses JR’s on their shell shoes and boots. I don’t think the default sole of their Indy line is JR, though my two Indy-line AE’s have excellent leather soles, including my Hopkinsons.

Agreed, here is what they state under their "performance" description which can be found while looking up (I think) any specific pair of footwear:

Performance
  • 360º Bench Welt construction for durability and stability

  • Leather insole
  • CustomCork™ insole naturally molds for a custom fit
  • Two-tone leather sole and combination heel
 

stuffedsuperdud

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2019
Messages
789
Reaction score
2,034
NM I just checked and it seems the JR soles are now only on the cordovan shoes? My bad. Seems like these are just regular leather soles, only with a nicer heel? Regardless, my suggestion stands. Just wear them and enjoy. They'll wear out when they wear out, and you can worry about resoles then. This stuff is supposed to be fun, not something to stress about.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,162
Messages
10,579,047
Members
223,883
Latest member
Darru
Top