Lathrop and Sons

[panhndlpoke]

I have decided to go the semi custom footwear route after my disappointing performance in the off the shelf boots I used this season on my elk hunt.

I have a narrow foot/heel and almost all American made boots, even narrow sizes, fit too wide on portions of my foot. Additionally, I pronate (or maybe it is the other 'nate) pretty badly and roll my ankle very very easily from a combo of 'nating and weak ankles.

Lathrop and Sons take various measurements, imprints and photos of your feet. Then you consult with them to figure out the type of boots that will fit what you want to do best and they recommend a shoe that fits the size/shape of your foot most accurately with the qualities you want in the boot. Then they make an orthotic to fit your feet to the shoe.

On my hunting trip, the narrow boots I had destroyed my big toes on each foot. Additionally, my heels and toes were pretty bruised from hitting the front of the boot and the rear of the boot.

I've had this problem for a long time and the boots I was using on the hunt weren't worn out or brand new, but rather a well broken in pair of boots. The combo of weak ankles and narrow feet have sort of shoved me into this corner.

The average cost of the whole outfit is about $850 for the fitting, insoles and boots. Once you have done an initial fitting and they have a file on you, the price does go down, but I am unaware of how much. It is very pricey but shoes just don't fit me very often.

I will update everyone as I go through the process. It should be very educational for everyone. I sure wish I had off the rack feet and ankles.

https://lathropandsons.com

 

[TexasCowPoke]

Thanks I'd like a report of your experience with them. My problem is the other way around with EEE wide feet. Hard to find anything unless I order online. I'd far prefer to try them on.

 

[panhndlpoke]

Thanks I'd like a report of your experience with them. My problem is the other way around with EEE wide feet. Hard to find anything unless I order online. I'd far prefer to try them on.

I feel ya. They work with standard boots so whatever brands they carry that they can order in a wide size is their limits. It seems to me that narrow will be easier to fix than super wide. There's just so much room inside a shoe, but I'll certainly keep you posted.

On a side note, my father was a 11.5 AA or 11.5 AAA. I never saw him pass on a pair of shoes that fit, whether they were ugly as sin, cheap as hell or $1500. So few ever fit, he just couldn't. I know your pain. I'm somewhat lucky in that I'm just a B width and most shoes don't get used hard enough to matter much.

 

[panhndlpoke]

So, after a bit of time, I thought I would report on the current process. I ordered the foot kit from Lathrop and got the consult call right around the end of December. So time from ordering the kit is normal time to ship UPS. Call it 6 days from ordering online to being at your house.

The kit consists of 6 foot imprint sheets you stand on and then trace around your foot. Under the cellophane top sheet on the trace kits is a carbon sheet that shows your pressure points of your foot. You imprint and trace around each foot 3x. Additionally, you take pictures of the front, sides, and back of each foot standing normally. You'll need help to do this and it takes about 30 minutes. Then you box it all up and sent it back to Lathrop. They'll give you a call.

They called me about 2 1/2 weeks after I mailed everything back to them, but it was right around the holidays so that might affect their turn around.

After a long discussion with James, he recommended some Scarpa Kinesis boots. https://www.scarpa.com/kinesis-pro-gtx

I got the boots about 3 weeks later. Heavy boot. Heavy duty boot, too. Honestly, I was a little concerned with the height of the boot because of my bad ankles but decided not to argue. They felt small on me but after re-measuring my foot and relaying the info back to James, he suggested I try the boot a bit around the office before deciding. I did. It was pretty tight but this is a substantial boot and will require a break in. Eventually, we decided wear the boot more to see if it would fit me better. Well, it didn't. James had me put the factory insole onto the floor and take pictures of my feet standing on them. It was too narrow in the size he had me in. After some discussion, he suggested a Zamberlan boot. We talked a little more and decided to try the next size up in the Scarpa first. I have those and they're really close but we're going to talk again in the morning. His brother was sick and he wanted to discuss some stuff with him about the fit of the Scarpa vs Zamberlan vs others.

The first Scarpa boot they're taking back even though I've walked at least 8 miles and probably closer to 15 in them, and I have to admit the Scarpa is a damn fine boot. It's a heavy shoe but the support and structure are phenomenal.

I doubt I get the Scarpa. Even the next size up has some very light pressure on my toes and in mountians side hilling, going up hill, going down hill, and uneven terrain bang your feet up if the boots don't fit well.

As far as the consultation, it went ok. I think James did an ok job of "hearing" me. I told him I had bad ankles, but I don't think he realized I meant I had BAD ankles till we talked about switching the Scarpa's for some Zamberlan's. He was hearing I needed a stiffer boot than average for hunting. I was saying I need a lot more support than average. ALOT more, but I didn't go into great detail about my screwed ankles and it isn't readily identifiable from tracings and photos so I think he just sort of filed it under make sure and get him a boot on the stiffer side. I also prefer a boot on the taller side to help with support. Honestly, I don't think I need a boot built to carry around a 50 pound pack 15 miles a day in the mountains, but I don't think I can get a boot supportive enough without getting a boot built to those specs.

Regarding $300 plus boots built by a company that builds real mountaineering boots...well, they're better than anything I have ever owned. I've always had Redwings or Cabelas brand. Honestly, if they fit you and you're comfortable in them, then good for you, ya lucky bastard. They're shit compared to Lowa, Scarpa, Kenetrek, Zamberlan, etc. I won't ever own another pair of the budget boots again.

 

[Pokes15]

My bro-in-law used to rep Zamberlan boots. They're a damn good boot.

 

[dtspoke]

Zambarlan's are great. I've always wanted a pair of the Outfitter GTX, but I have a hard time leaving Kenetrek, especially with the insulation.

 

[panhndlpoke]

My consult this morming went about like I thought it would. We decided to try the Zamberlan Vioz plus. http://zamberlanusa.com/catalog/index.php?lang=en&pg=prod&idprod=220&idcat=17

I think it will be way too big as it is supposed to fit people with up to EE wide feet and I wear a B boot, usually. Lathrop's thinking is that my toe box area really isn't very narrow, but the rest of my foot and ankle are very narrow/low volume. According to Zamberlan's site, this boot has the Wide Last which is supposed to be wider everywhere (http://zamberlanusa.com/uk/tecniche.html if you want an explanation of their technology). I think I'll fit into a Backpacker Last better, which is a wide toe box but narrow mid foot and heel. I readily admit I've never tried on a pair of Zamberlan boots so I could be way off. What they don't like about the boots with the Backpacker last is that none of them have a full rubber rand and instead just have a toe cap. They claim the rand really helps with the overall support of the boot and with my ankles, a full rubber rand will be better. So, I agreed to try the Vioz. If the heel area is too much, I will ask for one of the boots with a narrower heel.

The search continues...

 

[panhndlpoke]

Zambarlan's are great. I've always wanted a pair of the Outfitter GTX, but I have a hard time leaving Kenetrek, especially with the insulation.

I tried the Kenetrek Mountain Extreme non-insulated narrow, but the heel area was so wide, it didn't even feel like my heel was touching the sides. The toe box area would have been fine. It's a pretty common problem with my foot.

 

[dtspoke]

I tried the Kenetrek Mountain Extreme non-insulated narrow, but the heel area was so wide, it didn't even feel like my heel was touching the sides. The toe box area would have been fine. It's a pretty common problem with my foot.

I have the same issue, just not as extreme. I wear a size 9.5 with an E width at the balls of my feet with a D width at the heel. Ray Dorwart and Paul Bond used to build boots for me and used a size 9 last with the ball built up. One of my issues is that I got hung up in an oxbow stirrup about 20 years ago and broke my right foot at the arch. Unless it is custom made with relief for my arch, all boots of all flavors hurt for a while on that arch.

I don't have the latitude to spend money on custom footwear anymore, so I have to get by.