Wesco & Dehner Boot Outsole / Heel Options

- Updated May 2018 -

Sole & Heel Characteristics:

Wesco boot styles with standard logger heels have a heel about 1.1" / 28mm higher than the soles. For instance, boots made with the Vibram #100 heavy lug sole are about 2" / 51mm high at the back of the heel and ⅞" / 0.9" / 22mm in the sole at the forefoot. Those measurements are for a standard Jobmaster or Boss Engineer boot and include the thickness of the #100 Vibram outsole and the leather and rubber midsoles.

Highliner lineman boots have an extra half-slip, a layer of leather which adds extra arch support and stiffness. That makes the heel slightly higher.

Boots made with extra ¼" / 6.4mm midsoles are ¼" thicker from sole to heel. So there is the same difference in thickness at the sole and heel as standard boots.

Wesco can also put an extra half slip into the instep area. This is a wedge shaped piece of leather sole which runs from the heel under the instep. It provides extra arch support, a bit of extra heel height and stiffens the sole a bit.

On boots with logger heels it's possible to have the heels made higher or lower by adding or omitting leather heel lifts which are stacked to make the heels. These are wedge shaped pieces of stiff sole leather which are each about ¼" / 6.4mm thick at the back.

The standard logger heel used on the Wesco Boss, Jobmaster and Highliner boots is made with 2 of these leather lifts. The Wesco Harness and Western Boss boots use 3 of these leather lifts, so they are ¼" taller at 2¼" heel height.

Going "two lifts lower" reduces the height of the heel by ½" / 13mm which makes the heel 1½" / 38mm high, about the same height as a standard "low" heel boot.

But life is complicated. Once the boots are made with a heel ½" / 13mm lower, the wooden last used to provide shape to the boots as they are built, needs to be modified to account for the smaller angle in the sole and the resulting backwards tilt to the boot shaft... so a special last designed for lower heels must be used. Wesco has a smaller range of sizes in these lasts. Details and available sizes are shown on our Wesco Boot Features page here.

Bootmakers occasionally use the traditional term "iron" to describe the thickness of soles. We have information about that on our Boot FAQ page here. Essentially an "iron" is 1/48 of an inch thick. So a 6 iron leather sole is ⅛ inch thick.

Vibram's "Raptor" low heel unisoles:

Boots made with the low heel Vibram "Raptor" cushioned wedge unisoles do not have have any heel lifts. These soles are attached directly to the boot's midsole system. Wesco boot styles made with the Vibram Raptor low heel unisoles have a heel about 0.8" / 20mm higher than the soles. So, boots made with the Vibram Raptor unisole are about 1.6" / 40mm high at the back of the heel and 0.8" / 20mm in the sole at the forefoot. The leather midsole component then adds another 0.3" / 8mm.

Vibram #100

"The" original Vibram lug sole. Excellent traction, long wearing, fire resistant, low oil-resistance. Made of natural rubber and, as of late 2014, no longer leaves black scuff marks on floors.

Color: Black

Style: Separate sole and heel... heel height adjustable by varying the number of leather heel lifts.

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole and heel lift components is approximately ⅞" / 0.88" / 22mm in the sole and 2" / 51mm at the highest part of the heel when used on most Wesco boots with the standard logger heel. Made of natural rubber. On the Motor Patrol and combat boots with the lower heel style, the heel is about 1.4" / 37mm at its thickest point.

The heel can be made 1 lift (¼" / 6.4mm) or 2 lifts (½" / 13mm) lower or higher. On the Dehner boots it is always made with a low heel.

This is the classic Vibram lug sole. Used on logger, lineman, combat and engineer boots. Hard to beat.

Non-Oil Resisting --- this does not mean that your soles will dissolve into a gooey mess if you step on some oil while parking your motorcycle. But, if you worked in a job where you were constantly standing in oil puddles, the soles would eventually soften and deteriorate. On the other hand, your toes wouldn't squeak.

When heated above it's temperature limit, the #100 sole will slowly char.
Caution: You may char before the sole does.

Vibram #100H

This is the "honey tan" version of the #100 sole. Good traction, long wearing, non-marking.

Color: Honey / Tan

Style: Separate sole and heel... heel height adjustable by varying the number of leather heel lifts.

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole and heel lift components is approximately ⅞" / 0.88" / 22mm in the sole and 2" / 51mm at the highest part of the heel when used on most Wesco boots with the standard logger heel. On the Motor Patrol and combat boots with the lower heel style, the heel is about 1.4" / 37mm at its thickest point.

The heel can be made 1 lift (¼" / 6.4mm) or 2 lifts (½" / 13mm) lower or higher.

This is the classic Vibram lug sole. Used on logger, lineman, combat and engineer boots. Hard to beat.

Non-Oil Resisting --- this does not mean that your soles will dissolve into a gooey mess if you step on some oil while parking your motorcycle. But, if you worked in a job where you were constantly standing in oil puddles, the soles would eventually soften and deteriorate.

This sole option costs an additional $13

Vibram #100R - discontinued October 2014

This #100R sole was discontinued by Vibram in October 2014. Vibram has improved their original #100 sole so it no longer leaves marks on floors. So there isn't a need for the #100R sole. However, if you were considering this sole for its oil resistant properties, you should specify the #100F sole instead. The #100R sole is identical in appearance and dimensions to the #100 soles. It's made of a special synthetic rubber which gives it improved performance. Excellent traction, Long Wearing, more fire resistant, Oil Resistant, non-marking does not leave black scuff marks on floors. This version of the #100 sole is made of a special synthetic rubber, it's a non-marking sole which won't leave black scuff marks on floors like the #100 sole does. It's flexible, slightly harder and slightly more springy than the standard #100 sole. It is also oil resistant. So this is a better sole for most uses, but it's more expensive. Boots made with this sole feel slightly more cushioned than those made with the other sole options. This #100R sole is available as an option on any custom Wesco boots where the #100 Vibram sole can be chosen. The heel can be made 1 lift (¼") or 2 lifts (½") lower or higher. This sole option costs an additional $12

Vibram #100F

The #100F sole is identical in appearance and dimensions to the #100 soles. It's made with Vibram^® FIRE Compound #316 which gives it excellent fire resistance properties (better than the #100 and #100R soles) and it's also oil resistant.

The research and development team at Quabaug Corporation developed this new Vibram^® FIRE compound. This unique, proprietary formula was developed to meet the needs of both structural (NFPA-Flame Resistance) and wildland (Thermal-Resisting) firefighting. The FIRE compound meets NFPA requirements for flame resistance and abrasion. In addition, this new compound provides a higher level of performance and durability.

• Heat Resistance - 475° F / 246° C for 40 minutes
• FIRE Resistance - Pass NFPA 5905

The #100F soles are earmarked with a distinct red lug.

This sole looks and feels about the same as the traditional #100 Vibram lug soles. It does leave some scuff marks on floors, but not as much previous Vibrtam soles used to. This sole is standard on the Firestormer boots and is available as an extra cost option on all other boots.

The heel can be made 1 lift (¼") or 2 lifts (½") lower or higher.

This Vibram #100F sole can be used on any boot where the #100 soles can be used.

This sole option costs an additional $15

Vibram #430

Color: Black

Style: Separate sole and heel... heel height adjustable by varying the number of leather heel lifts.

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole and heel lift components is approximately ⅝" / 0.63" / 16mm in the sole and 1¾" / 44mm at the highest part of the heel in the standard logger heel configuration.

The heel can be made 1 lift (¼") or 2 lifts (½") lower or higher.
On the Dehner boots it is always made with a low heel.

Vibram #700

Color: Now available only in brown.

Style: Separate sole and heel... heel height adjustable by varying the number of leather heel lifts.

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole and heel lift components is approximately ⅝" / 0.63" / 16mm in the sole and 1¾" / 44mm at the highest part of the heel in the standard logger heel configuration.

The heel can optionally be made 1 lift (¼") or 2 lifts (½") lower or higher.

Vibram #705

Low traction, Long Wearing, Oil Resisting, Non-marking.

Color: dark brown.

Style: Separate sole and heel... heel height adjustable by varying the number of leather heel lifts.

This is a "retro" two piece sole like those used on boots when rubber soles first became available. This two piece sole leaves the underside of the instep uncovered. The boot is more flexible in the instep but lacks protection from water penetration. This sole looks great on boots with double leather midsoles. Ask to have the sole edges dyed brown, left natural or dyed black.

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole and heel lift components is approximately ⅝" / 0.63" / 16mm in the sole and 1¾" / 44mm at the highest part of the heel in the standard logger heel configuration.

The heel can optionally be made 1 lift (¼") or 2 lifts (½") lower or higher.

This sole option costs an additional $36

Vibram #1275 - Wesco Discontinued

Color: black

Style: Uni-sole - one piece construction with an integral low heel

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole components is approximately ¾" / 20mm in the sole and 1.6" / 40mm at the heel.

Heel height cannot be modified - available only on low heel boots. Low heel boots have a heel which is 2 lifts (½") lower than Wesco's standard logger boots.

Vibram #1270

Color: black

Style: Uni-sole - one piece construction with an integral logger heel. This sole has a low profile pattern on the bottom which is designed to prevent picking up and tracking dirt and mud.

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole components is approximately ¾" / 20mm in the sole and 1⅞" / 1.9" / 48mm at the heel.

Heel height cannot be modified
- available only on "EH" style lineman boots.

Vibram #109

Color: black

Style: Uni-sole - one piece construction with an integral logger heel

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole components is approximately ⅞" / 0.9" / 22mm in the sole and 2" / 51mm at the highest part of the heel

Heel height cannot be modified
- available only on "EH" style lineman boots..

Vibram Raptor Cushioned Wedge Unisoles

Color: Black, Chocolate, Camel, Malt

Style: Uni-sole - one piece construction with an integral low heel

Thickness of entire heel and sole including all midsole components is approximately 1.1" / 28mm in the sole and 1.9" / 48mm at the highest part of the heel

Heel height cannot be modified - available only on low heel boots.

Vibram #100 on left - #430 on right

Vibram #100 on left - #430 on right

You may wonder why the stitching doesn't unravel and the soles fall off as the soles wear down and the outer loops of the stitching wear through. The fact that this doesn't happen is a testament to the experience of over a thousand years of bootmaking. Click here to see the explanation on our Boot FAQ page.

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