Lathrop and Sons- Bad Experience

[carter33]

I recently decided to give lathrop and sons a try for custom insoles, I was only going to purchase the custom insoles as the few pairs of Scarpas I have had all been great for my feet. I first spoke with James and he was very helpful with talking me through the steps and getting the process started. I paid the $150 for the imprint kit and that went well also and returned them along with the other requested info. I was contacted to set up a time for a consultation with Steve, we set a time for last week. I took time away from work to make the appointment and waited about 15 minutes for the call before calling them, no answer. I waited another 15 minutes, no answer. Eventually I received a call and he apologized that time had gotten away from him. Stuff happens, I get that. I re scheduled for today, again taking some time away from work. After essentially missing a scheduled appointment with a customer I expected a phone call fairly close to the scheduled time and waited 10 minutes before calling myself, no answer. Wait another 5 minutes and call again no answer so I called James with no answer. At this point I have taken 45 minutes away from work to make the consultation happen. James called back fairly promptly and I explained that one appointment had been missed and now I have taken extra time and I feel been more than flexible and am frankly frustrated.

At that point I decided to cancel the process as I am quite angry even though that means essentially losing out on my $150 that I sank for the imprints. This could be a fluke and the product may be great but my experience was not impressive. The kicker is I suggested to my dad that he give them a call and he wound up dropping I believe close to a grand on full custom boots.


***UPDATE*** They did refund my costs without me having to ask so good on them for doing that

 

[sndmn11]

Did they give you the $150 back?

 

[Dos XX]

Way overrated, IMO, based on my experience.

 

[carter33]

Did they give you the $150 back?

They did not, I didn’t fight for it though to be transparent. Was pretty angry honestly and should have at least asked but wanted to be done with the situation.

 

[TheViking]

Spend the money on Sheep Feet - 10x better than L&S insoles. Those are a true custom insole. L&S 'custom' insole process seems fishy to me. It's a flat piece of rubber, no arch support, no heel cup/plates, etc.

Speaking from experience.

Edit: only potential downfall to Sheep Feet is you might have to upsize your boots a 1/2 size.

 

[carter33]

Spend the money on Sheep Feet - 10x better than L&S insoles. Those are a true custom insole. L&S 'custom' insole process seems fishy to me. It's a flat piece of rubber, no arch support, no heel cup/plates, etc.

Speaking from experience.

Edit: only potential downfall to Sheep Feet is you might have to upsize your boots a 1/2 size.

I made an appointment with the local podiatrist, probably the route I should have started with. Plus insurance covers it or some of it at least, not sure on all the details yet. Sheep feet was another option I was considering though.

 

[yfarm]

Contacted them about in person visit. Told them what I needed, was in central Illinois on a trip, drove 4 hours to the store. Got there, found out their inventory was in a warehouse they ship out of and did not have my size in the store. Got the feeling the warehouse was not in Robinson as he said there was no way to get my size that day. Tried on sizes on each side of the needed size and width and made a decision to purchase and have shipped to me. No offer to defray shipping costs. Boots arrived, fit fine, no question about the quality, are a very stiff boot, more than I need for the type of hunting I do. Did a weeklong high altitude hunt in the snow, feet stayed dry, got cold as expected for a stationary hunt in the snow. Used arctic boot covers and solved that issue. Son ordered the same boot with the custom insoles, my impression of the insoles is the same as above. He ended up selling the boots after one hunt and bought Schnees Beartooth 200s, much happier with the ground feel of the boot and comfort with little or no breakin. There is a lot of their marketing and expertise based on the father’s profession, saw no evidence of that on my visit, was a small town shoe store.
As an aside,wish Schnees made the Beartooth with 600 insul, looking at the Kenetrek Mountain Extreme 1000 but concerned about sole stiffness.

 

[SDHNTR]

While I like the red gel Lathrop insoles personally and they work well for me in boots that fit my feet, there is nothing custom about them. The fact that they are marketed as such is laughable, IMO. Its the same insole just cut to fit each boot.

 

[TheViking]

While I like the red gel Lathrop insoles personally and they work well for me in boots that fit my feet, there is nothing custom about them. The fact that they are marketed as such is laughable, IMO. Its the same insole just cut to fit each boot.

Exactly

 

[SW hunter]

Ive had podiatrist make inserts. Worked fine. About same price as what sheep feet sells. Theres various franchise stores that do same thing for a little more.
I was embarrassed when I finally tried Sole and Superfeets for $50. Gave me what I needed for about $250 less. Lasted as long too.
I got sold the idea that I have special feet with special needs. They got me.

 

[carter33]

Update, they did refund my costs without me having to push for it or even really ask. So will give them credit for that, it would have been easy to have kept it and they ate the cost for the imprint material.

 

[croben]

I’ve had great experience with Sheep
Feet as well.

 

[croben]

Contacted them about in person visit. Told them what I needed, was in central Illinois on a trip, drove 4 hours to the store. Got there, found out their inventory was in a warehouse they ship out of and did not have my size in the store. Got the feeling the warehouse was not in Robinson as he said there was no way to get my size that day. Tried on sizes on each side of the needed size and width and made a decision to purchase and have shipped to me. No offer to defray shipping costs. Boots arrived, fit fine, no question about the quality, are a very stiff boot, more than I need for the type of hunting I do. Did a weeklong high altitude hunt in the snow, feet stayed dry, got cold as expected for a stationary hunt in the snow. Used arctic boot covers and solved that issue. Son ordered the same boot with the custom insoles, my impression of the insoles is the same as above. He ended up selling the boots after one hunt and bought Schnees Beartooth 200s, much happier with the ground feel of the boot and comfort with little or no breakin. There is a lot of their marketing and expertise based on the father’s profession, saw no evidence of that on my visit, was a small town shoe store.
As an aside,wish Schnees made the Beartooth with 600 insul, looking at the Kenetrek Mountain Extreme 1000 but concerned about sole stiffness.

I’ve been very happy with the Crispi Wild Rock Plus GTX. I made the switch from the Kenetrek Mountain Extreme 400s, which fit my feet great, but I needed more insulation.

 

[kphunter]

Update, they did refund my costs without me having to push for it or even really ask. So will give them credit for that, it would have been easy to have kept it and they ate the cost for the imprint material.

There cs has been really good from my experience. They have replaced my first two pairs at no charge. I think that means they are bad at custom boots.

I think you made a good decision to bale before spending the$1200.

 

[Wyomuleskinner]

They are the worst insoles I've ever tried.

 

[bigmike23]

Just to chime in on the sheepfeet. For me personally, they weren't worth it. They are very comfortable for sure. And if you don't want to go through the process of finding the right insole for you they may be worth it. But I also have Superfeet Orange and the Trailblazer insole. And I cannot tell a lick of difference from those and my Sheepfeet. All 3 are superbly comfortable and my feet feel great at the end of the day.
Another option you can look at is Superfeets ME3D insoles. If a dealer is around you they can take a 3d scan of your foot for custom insoles. They cost 150$

 

[Stud Duck]

Ive had podiatrist make inserts. Worked fine. About same price as what sheep feet sells. Theres various franchise stores that do same thing for a little more.
I was embarrassed when I finally tried Sole and Superfeets for $50. Gave me what I needed for about $250 less. Lasted as long too.
I got sold the idea that I have special feet with special needs. They got me.

I go the podiatrist route due to insurance coverage and I've never had better insoles.

I have used Sole in the past and they're VERY good too.

 

[elkstabber]

My Lathrop experience has been great.

I've beat my feet up for decades and now at 50+ my feet need a lot more cushion than they used to need.

I've used Superfeet orange and green as well as some moldable insoles by Montrail. I used them in Keen and Meindl boots because I have flattened out wide feet that don't fit well in most brands. Then I sunk $350 into custom insoles made by a local podiatrist. The Meindl light hikers with custom orthotic insoles were the best I found for years. The insoles are hard but made to fit perfectly. Generally after about noon I'd need 2-4 Advils to put up with the pain daily.

Then in about 2019 I ordered the full custom plan from Lathrop. The boots were stiff, but truly handled any test that I put them through and they excelled in sidehilling. I'd never had a boot that allowed me to hike sidehill so easily. I packed out a couple of animals and never took the first Advil. I was completely pain free.

Since then I've bought another pair of Lathrop in order to rotate out the stinky/wet pair if I'm hunting from the truck. One of the seems blew out on my first pair and Lathrop repaired them and they've been perfect since.

I've been very happy with the Lathrop boots for hunting elk/deer in steep country. They are heavy, but otherwise they've been great for me.

I still use the Meindls with custom insoles for hiking on flat country or if I'm sitting a waterhole because they are way lighter and they also are cooler in hot weather. Every now and then I try to wear the Meindls into steep country and inevitably regret it. They cause the same pain that they always did. But, they're good for light hikes in hot weather.

The gel footbeds in the Lathrop have eliminated all of my foot pain. Maybe other gel footbeds would be good too but I've quit searching for now.

One last observation: I think I've noticed that the Lathrop boots are so good at stabilizing my ankles and feet that my knees have to work harder in steep terrain. My knee pain and swelling seem worse when I'm wearing Lathrop. Nobody said that getting old and hiking in the mountains would be easy.

 

[Darryle]

I have been using these, they offer several variety. I have a couple of sets from my podiatrist and a couple from the Good Feet store, no difference in comfort or the feeling of my feet at the end of the day. I average between 4 - 7 miles daily on my feet and no issues at the end of the day.