True to size for me - I'm a nine and their fit is bang on. Can't imagine a better or sturdier pair of boots for the money or even thrice the money to be honest. Think Goodyear welted is strong? You should see the thickness of the welting thread and the brass screws on the leather soles of these. By the way, how they fit a Vibram rubber sole is to brass screw & stitch through the leather insole, the uppers, a leather through sole, a bonded on rubber through sole and then the Vibram unit is bonded to this rubber through sole and additionally brass screwed at the heel (x4). You can request further brass screws at the toe if you feel the boots will be given some serious hammer. Obviously, with the leather soled options, they are fully brass screwed and stitched all the way through. Both these soling options are entirely replaceable.
All their styles are fully customisable - I had my pair of 78PTCs made up two-tone with dark brown plain leather at the front and heel section and black Scotch grain on the shafts. I chose for this pair (I will be having another pair as they are astonishing vfm given their sturdiness and replaceable soles), Vibram commando soles with extra brass screws at the toe, brass rivets added from the B5 WW1 boots, had the leather sole edges dyed brown as they normally leave them natural and requested brown leather laces. I didn't get on with the laces so I swapped them out for some waxed cotton black ones. I also had my boots fully leather lined in natural veg tan as an extra. Around nine customisations from standard, just less than 8 weeks from order to delivery and £170 all in.
The brown kip out leather from the WW1 boots is said to be really serious, extra heavy duty stuff and the same goes for that used in the hill and fell boots. Lenny McLean leather!
So mate, if you want a pair of WW1 boots in waxy tan for example but with a triple leather sole instead of double, undyed sole edges to show of the leather layering, a stacked leather heel with with a rubber top piece then they'll do 'em if you ask nicely. They'll also stick whatever half soles or heel pieces on you supply them with or whatever they have in stock as unlike the Northampton manufacturers with their Goodyear welted footwear, Lennons don't have a problem with glueing on rubber or PVC soles as it doesn't damage their type of construction.
They will even send you swatches of leather for you to choose from. Some of the leather comes from the world renowned Horween tannery in the Chicago area of Uncle Sam; the sole leather, I have read, is English and some of the other upper choices are as well.
PM me and I'll give you Libs Slattery's email address as she deals with all the orders. As an aside, she is the original William Lennon's great granddaughter. I think that's right anyway - I hope I haven't forgotten to omit another 'great' and added an entire generation onto the poor lady's shoulders. She is an absolute gem and a real hoot to boot (pun intended).
I'd supply pictures of mine but I won't be back at our house for a good while yet (kitchen fitting) and my camera skills are pants. Needless to say the boots are the canine's cajones but they are perhaps not as neatly finished as a pair of the Northampton shoemakers' are i.e. the sole edges are a little rougher and the stitching, although totally solid (probably more so) isn't as nanometre perfect but then they are working men's boots designed for serious hammer in thee most arduous environments and by the looks and feel of mine, I'll be deid lang afore the boots are! Although in certain styles they may be considered dressy by some, they are not city office-boy mincers!
Next time round (Christmas hopefully), I reckon I'm going for a pair of 107F field boots in unlined waxy tan with the stitched toe cap from the 78TC but no rivets. Triple (or quadruple if they'll do 'em) leather soles finished with Mastergrip brown PVC half soles and heels (a couple of quid on ebay) as when worn out, they can be replaced diy style by the owner fairly easily and extra long brown leather laces to wrap around around the boot and through the leather pull on tab.
youve sold me on these, im going to have a good think and decide which ones i fancy 