Wesco & Dehner Boot Outsole / Heel Options

Sole & Heel Characteristics:

Most Wesco boot styles are designed with a heel about 1.1" / 28 mm higher than the soles. For instance, boots made with the Vibram #100 heavy lug sole are 2" / 51mm high at the back of the heel and ⅞" / 22mm in the sole.

On most styles it's possible to have the heels made higher or lower by adding or omitting the leather heel lifts which are stacked to make the heels. These are slightly wedge shaped pieces of stiff sole leather which are each about ¼" / 6mm 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, the same height as a standard "low" heel.

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.

Vibram #100

"The" original Vibram lug sole. Excellent traction, long wearing, fire resistant, low oil-resistance. Made of natural rubber and may will definitely leave black scuff marks on some all floors (though not on carpets.... yeah!).

Color: Black

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

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately ⅞" (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") or 2 lifts (½") 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. It does tend to leave scuff marks on floors. So listen to your mom and don't drag your feet. However this sole does not leave scuff marks on phone poles, motorcycles or forests.

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 #100R

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 as the #100 soles do. 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.

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately ⅝" (16mm) in the sole and 1 ¾" (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.

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately ⅝" (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

Color: dark brown.

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

Available on:

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: Approximately ⅝" (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 #232

Color: black

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

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately ⅝" (16mm) in the sole and 1⅛" (29mm) 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.

This sole option costs an additional $10

Vibram #132

Color: tan - also known as "honey Vibram"

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

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately ¾" (19mm) in the sole and 1¼" (32mm) 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.

This sole option costs an additional $10

Vibram #1275

Color: black

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

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately ¾" (19mm) in the sole and 1¼" (32mm) 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.

This sole option costs an additional $10

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.

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately ¾" (19mm) in the sole and 1⅞" (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

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately ⅞" (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 Armortred #1010

Color: white

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

Available on:

Thickness: Approximately 0.8" (20mm) in the sole and 1.2" (29mm) at the highest part of the heel

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

This sole option costs an additional $10

Vibram #4014

Color: black

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

Available on:

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

This sole option costs an additional $10

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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