Grant Stone - Official Affiliate Thread

[blue123]

Is it me or does the Leo last generally have a wider heel than other boots?

 

[Vincent George]

Is it me or does the Leo last generally have a wider heel than other boots?

Not to be a contrarian--I feel like the Leo heel is a touch more snug than Alden Barrie (all wildly subjective).

 

[Erikdayo]

I always felt the Leo last heel felt notably wider than an Alden Barrie heel in the same size. I don't personally find this to be an issue for my bony narrow heels, but it is a difference.

 

[M635Guy]

I always felt the Leo last heel felt notably wider than an Alden Barrie heel in the same size. I don't personally find this to be an issue for my bony narrow heels, but it is a difference.

I'd kinda wonder if a narrower heel would yield some fit during break-in as the cork settles.

For me Leo has always felt a bit more gathered at the mid-foot and a bit more open at the toe than Barrie, but heels have been similar. I think I generally get a slightly better, more 'grounded' fit, maybe because of the leather heel counter (vs. leatherboard) but that is almost more of a 'break-in' thing vs. how they ultimately feel once they're in rotation.

 

[woodenbits]

Had interesting/unexpected experience with wide size recently.

I wear 12D Ottawas and find that rear quarters are pretty much touching after wrapping around my fairly skinny ankles. Because of that I was afraid to even try 12E, thinking about rear quarters overlapping, ugh. Fit is absolutely perfect on my smaller foot, but pinky-pinching my larger foot a bit.

But... recently bought 10.5EEE Diesels as a gift (I guess I am a glutton for punishment), and found that they look/fit kinda like a wide 11.5D... but rear quarters are ending up pretty far away from each other, resulting in nice even lacing on MY skinny foot - but ending up with pretty pronounced open 'V' on the recipient's foot. It is almost like rear quarters are cut on the same pattern for 10.5 size no matter the width (or corresponding increase in length of the boot for increased width), and then they end up being a bit short on a wider foot (at least when downsizing while increasing width which is pretty typical for GS users I think), and a bit long on the normal width foot. And that would be opposite of the desirable - somebody with wider foot is likely to have thicker ankles. It is pretty strange and unexpected. Either that, or maybe Grant Stone changed patterns a bit and recent Diesels come with shorter rear quarters compared with those sold a year ago? That is even less unlikely... Not sure what to make of it.

Anyway... this gives me a bit more confidence to try 12E in the future, maybe rear quarters will not be overlapping after all Glass is half-full and life is a great mystery LOL

 

[Aran]

Dune Brass Boot. Probably my most worn boot since I've gotten it. Would recommend dunes as it suits most pant colours well.

 

[Erikdayo]

Had interesting/unexpected experience with wide size recently.

I wear 12D Ottawas and find that rear quarters are pretty much touching after wrapping around my fairly skinny ankles. Because of that I was afraid to even try 12E, thinking about rear quarters overlapping, ugh. Fit is absolutely perfect on my smaller foot, but pinky-pinching my larger foot a bit.

But... recently bought 10.5EEE Diesels as a gift (I guess I am a glutton for punishment), and found that they look/fit kinda like a wide 11.5D... but rear quarters are ending up pretty far away from each other, resulting in nice even lacing on MY skinny foot - but ending up with pretty pronounced open 'V' on the recipient's foot. It is almost like rear quarters are cut on the same pattern for 10.5 size no matter the width (or corresponding increase in length of the boot for increased width), and then they end up being a bit short on a wider foot (at least when downsizing while increasing width which is pretty typical for GS users I think), and a bit long on the normal width foot. And that would be opposite of the desirable - somebody with wider foot is likely to have thicker ankles. It is pretty strange and unexpected. Either that, or maybe Grant Stone changed patterns a bit and recent Diesels come with shorter rear quarters compared with those sold a year ago? That is even less unlikely... Not sure what to make of it.

Anyway... this gives me a bit more confidence to try 12E in the future, maybe rear quarters will not be overlapping after all Glass is half-full and life is a great mystery LOL

Interesting. I had a different experience. I've tried 9D and 8EEE. I found that the quarters were basically fully closed on the 8EEE while I do have some space on the 9D. I have also tried 9.5D where they were almost fully closed as well. Curious about 8.5E, but I am happy enough with 9D that I probably will not bother.

 

[707Matt]

About the sizing, I can't talk about the Leo last since I don't have a lot of comparisons. Although, in the Floyd last (my field boots), I currently have a size 7E in Earth and 7EEE in saddle tan. With the 7EEE, the entire boot is a bit wide for me. I like it because I wear thicker socks. On the 7E boots, I could be barefoot, and they still hurt after a few hours of wear because they are too tight. I honestly feel my Earth boots were mislabeled. They mainly just sit there since I don't like my feet to hurt. The difference is huge. It took too long for me to realize this on the earth boot, so they are mine. I just wish they were actually a 7E so i could wear them an entire day. On the 7E, my foot is as wide as the outsole, and the 7EEE has extra room. Here are photos so you can come to your own conclusions. Maybe Wyatt @GrantStone can jump in and explain this one.

 

[Erikdayo]

Along with being larger all around I believe the Badalassi saddle tan may stretch a little while the waxy commander will not. I could be wrong, but I find things like CXL, Badalassi cowhide, etc to have some stretch/give to them that that things like calf skin do not. I am not sure whether waxy commander uses cowhide or younger calfskin, but I have read that it is shrunken. Makes sense to make that it might have less give to it. Certainly feels like it to me.

Basically, If you had the saddle tan and earth waxy commander both in in the same size I feel like the saddle tan would break in quickly to feel wider than the earth waxy commander. And you are enhancing this effect greatly by having 7EEE in the saddle tan while comparing it to a 7E in a leather with less give to it.

 

[707Matt]

Along with being larger all around I believe the Badalassi saddle tan may stretch a little while the waxy commander will not. I could be wrong, but I find things like CXL, Badalassi cowhide, etc to have some stretch/give to them that that things like calf skin do not. I am not sure whether waxy commander uses cowhide or younger calfskin, but I have read that it is shrunken. Makes sense to make that it might have less give to it. Certainly feels like it to me.

Basically, If you had the saddle tan and earth waxy commander both in in the same size I feel like the saddle tan would break in quickly to feel wider than the earth waxy commander. And you are enhancing this effect greatly by having 7EEE in the saddle tan while comparing it to a 7E in a leather with less give to it.

I understand that part. I am referring to the physical difference in overall size. It is 1 width in difference, but you can see in the picture with the outsole there is a substantial difference.

 

[Erikdayo]

I understand that part. I am referring to the physical difference in overall size. It is 1 width in difference, but you can see in the picture with the outsole there is a substantial difference.

It is 2 widths difference. Grant Stone just doesn't offer EE currently. As for the picture is is difficult to draw too much from it. You could measure both if you'd like. Would be interesting to hear about. But we also need to factor in that sometimes there will be variance in width of the welt which will affect the width of the outsole. Not everything is exactly the same down to the milimeter on every pair. Too small of a sample size, I suppose.

 

[GrantStone]

Had interesting/unexpected experience with wide size recently.

I wear 12D Ottawas and find that rear quarters are pretty much touching after wrapping around my fairly skinny ankles. Because of that I was afraid to even try 12E, thinking about rear quarters overlapping, ugh. Fit is absolutely perfect on my smaller foot, but pinky-pinching my larger foot a bit.

But... recently bought 10.5EEE Diesels as a gift (I guess I am a glutton for punishment), and found that they look/fit kinda like a wide 11.5D... but rear quarters are ending up pretty far away from each other, resulting in nice even lacing on MY skinny foot - but ending up with pretty pronounced open 'V' on the recipient's foot. It is almost like rear quarters are cut on the same pattern for 10.5 size no matter the width (or corresponding increase in length of the boot for increased width), and then they end up being a bit short on a wider foot (at least when downsizing while increasing width which is pretty typical for GS users I think), and a bit long on the normal width foot. And that would be opposite of the desirable - somebody with wider foot is likely to have thicker ankles. It is pretty strange and unexpected. Either that, or maybe Grant Stone changed patterns a bit and recent Diesels come with shorter rear quarters compared with those sold a year ago? That is even less unlikely... Not sure what to make of it.

Anyway... this gives me a bit more confidence to try 12E in the future, maybe rear quarters will not be overlapping after all Glass is half-full and life is a great mystery LOL

There could be a few reasons this could be happening but a EEE pattern is completely different the the other two widths. The Diesel patterns haven't been adjusted over time. The quarters do lace up closer on a wider width (whether E or EEE) than a narrower width. It's necessary as the pattern is made to accommodate the larger last while holding a similar distance between eyerows. That being said, the difference is less noticeable the higher you go up on the pattern. The very top of the boot is the most difficult to define as an average because the range of ankle calve sizes.

The EEE isn't wildly fuller at the topline as most would end up overlapping. You may be surprised how many people wear the E and EEE's that have (what they would consider) skinny ankles and calves.

If your 12D can lace up without touching, I would think the 12E would be perfectly fine, and probably better based on your comments. It will lace up a little closer from top to bottom in most cases (leather choice will play a role in this), but it shouldn't be an issue. I hope this helps.

 

[GrantStone]

About the sizing, I can't talk about the Leo last since I don't have a lot of comparisons. Although, in the Floyd last (my field boots), I currently have a size 7E in Earth and 7EEE in saddle tan. With the 7EEE, the entire boot is a bit wide for me. I like it because I wear thicker socks. On the 7E boots, I could be barefoot, and they still hurt after a few hours of wear because they are too tight. I honestly feel my Earth boots were mislabeled. They mainly just sit there since I don't like my feet to hurt. The difference is huge. It took too long for me to realize this on the earth boot, so they are mine. I just wish they were actually a 7E so i could wear them an entire day. On the 7E, my foot is as wide as the outsole, and the 7EEE has extra room. Here are photos so you can come to your own conclusions. Maybe Wyatt @GrantStone can jump in and explain this one. View attachment 2113377

A 7E to 7EEE last is a huge difference. Technically, nearly full-size different so I am not surprised by this. Based on your comments, a 7.5E would be the in-between, still not as full as the 7EEE.

I remember our conversation on this one and still feel the same way, 7EEE looked like it laced up nicely on you but if you don't like the fuller fit, 7.5E would be better. The 7E was far too small.

 

[woodenbits]

The quarters do lace up closer on a wider width (whether E or EEE) than a narrower width. It's necessary as the pattern is made to accommodate the larger last while holding a similar distance between eyerows.

Thank you for you comments, Wyatt!

And what you said about wider width resulting in quarters lacing closer is what I expected... but in this case 10.5eee Diesel laced with a much LARGER gap than either 11.5e or 12D Ottawa. Gap went from 0" on 11.5e or 12D to almost 1" on 10.5eee - on the same foot (obviously, 10.5eee was a bit too short and a bit too wide, but fit was not abnormal in any significant way).

Anyway, I have no way to explain that difference unless Ottawa's read quarters are larger than Diesel's (I know that Edward's rear quarters ARE larger than Diesels, and thought that Ottawa is similar to Diesel in this respect, but I could be wrong).

 

[707Matt]

It is 2 widths difference. Grant Stone just doesn't offer EE currently. As for the picture is is difficult to draw too much from it. You could measure both if you'd like. Would be interesting to hear about. But we also need to factor in that sometimes there will be variance in width of the welt which will affect the width of the outsole. Not everything is exactly the same down to the milimeter on every pair. Too small of a sample size, I suppose.

I was un aware there is an entire size missing between the E and EEE. I thought that is just the next step up. All I know for a fact is that 7EEE size required thick socks from the beginning, and the 7E size has been snug with thin socks and after a few hours it becomes painful. I'm just sharing my experience