 G'day, how you going? Welcome to Bootlossophy, my channel about boots and boot-related things. If you're new here, I'm Tech and I work and film on budget country in Western Australia and I acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land. Today, I'm taking a look at my Grail boots, the White's MP Service Boot, and I'm going to compare the models, their lasts and the sizing. Ever since I started collecting boots, I've been drawn to the World War II-style military boot or what can be generically called the Service Boot pattern. I started with the Thursday Captain, which you can see in my review up here. Really a good-looking modern interpretation of the Service Boot, but made dressier and sleeker to be versatile across all kinds of casual outfits and, if you keep it clean and polished, possibly even in some smart business casual gear. Since the late 2000s and particularly the mid-2010s, Service Boots have been all the rage amongst boot collectors and just about every brand will have a version of a Service Boot. When I started researching different brands of boots, and Service Boots specifically, there was one model that I thought was beyond my reach, White's MP Service Boots that land in Australia at just under 1000 Aussie dollars. And so, the White's MP Boot became my Grail Boot. So as my boot collection grew, I just put the MPs to one side in my mind as something to desire, but probably not obtainable. However, recently, over a two or three month period, three examples of really nice, almost unworn MP Boots became available on eBay. For around 500 Aussie each, I had to pull the trigger, or triggers. So these are the three that I have in different make-ups and different sizes. The White's MP Sherman toe cap model in natural Halloween on a half lug sole. The MPM1 TC, the most popular cinnamon wax flesh uppers, also from Halloween on a full day night sole. And another Sherman toe cap, this time in Halloween, British tan Chrome XL on a day night sole. The MP Sherman is distinguishable from what they call the MPM1 version in the way the back stays are different. In the MP Sherman, the back stays are two piece back stay. And in the MPM1, it's a single piece back stay. You can get either in toe cap or plain toe versions, and you can get both in either the half lug sole or the day night sole. White's have over the years renamed these boots from just service boots to Sherman's, to Stuart's, and then to M1's and so on, and have been all over the place in their names already. But obviously the name MP is derived from military police to give them their World War Two military heritage, as are the names Sherman and Stuart, which were American tanks in the Second World War. And in turn, those tanks were named after US Civil War generals. Even the name M1 is symbolic of so many pieces of American military equipment called M1's like jackets and those top World War Two carbine rifles and the M1 Abrams tank. I'll be doing a more detailed review of the White's MP boots in a future video, so I won't go into too much detail now. If you want to watch that detailed review though, where I'll go through the construction, the history of White's, the history of the style, as well as my opinion of value for money, hit that subscribe button so that YouTube will tell you when it gets put up. What I'm going to do in this video though is to look at the different lasts they can be made on and make some sizing comparisons with other boot brands. My first MP boot was this one in natural chrome excel. This is built on the MP last, which is a modified berry last, the same berry last as used by Alden. Shoe lasts are the mole around which bootmakers form the boot around the last to make the shape of the boot. Some bootmakers designed their own lasts while some buy the design from dedicated last makers. Firms like Jones and Vining, for example, design lasts which they designed for a shoemaker or just licensed to several of them. In the modified berry last used here, now called the MP last, it's a long torpedo shaped last, reasonably narrow and long with room in the instep and in the toe box and a rounded quite anatomical toe. I measure US 8.5D on the Brannock device and I usually wear 8D in American heritage service boots. This is an 8D built in this MP last and it's a little long, giving me a little more than the thumbs width in front of my toes that I usually like. And at the D width, it's actually quite snug. I believe I could have gone a 7.5E that's a full size down from Brannock and a full width up and it would still have fitted and perhaps more to my normal fit. Now my next MP boot is this one in cinnamon waxed flesh. This is also an 8D but this one is made on the White's 55 last. Again, it's marginally longer than I normally wear but there is more toe room and ballroom in the more rounded toe box area. It feels roomier for the exact same size. Despite being a little longer than my usual wear, they both fit well and they're comfortable. It's just a bit different to my normal fit. In thick boot socks that I intended to wear with them, they're perfectly fine. In thinner dress socks, they are roomy but I'm not swimming in them. So when this one came up on eBay, this is a 7.5D in the MP last as well like this one. I decided to get it anyway to try the fit in a full size down even though the width was a D. I expected the length to be about right but I was a bit concerned that it was a D width and on E but I rationalized that by saying that in chromic cell which I know to be quite a stretchy leather, I could stretch the width with wear or if necessary get it professionally stretched by my cobbler. Now hear me, this is not advice I'd give someone else. In fact, quite the opposite. I would normally say that you should not expect your boots to stretch, you should buy them to fit but can I say these are white MP boots in a tan color that I love? Did I tell you by the way that these are my grail boots? Anyway, I thought I'd spin the wheel and take a chance. When it arrived, I was relieved to find that it was snug at the ball of the foot but not at all painfully tight. The length is good, a little bit shorter and I think a few wears in the width will stretch the ball of the foot enough to forget about fit while I'm wearing them. In thinner socks like dress socks or athletic socks, they're a pretty good fit despite the D width. Now, the sayings that a pair of boots should fit snug like a firm handshake. My MP lasted boot in 8D in the natural Chrome XL feel like a firm handshake at the sides but like the guy has slightly slippery hands. The 55 lasted boot in Cinnamon Wax Flesh also in an 8D is a looser handshake like a quick one with a friend you know well. The MP lasted British 10 pair in 7.5D, still not broken in, do feel like a firm handshake with a very large hairy man and you want to be very careful what you say to him when you're holding his hand. Anyway, to me, this goes to show how forgiving sizing could be. If you're an average measuring kind of guy and you're within a length and a width of your brannock, you could make it work. In fact, you can play with sizing up and down as long as you also play with going up and down in width. One really important aspect is that the flex point where the boot is intended to flex matches where your feet bend. All three, despite the half size differences all match where I bend my feet as near as damn it. Both the MP last and the 55 last give me really good arch support. The white arch E system gives you noticeably pronounced arch support in the arch so that adds to the comfort of that firm handshake. Now, how does the MP boot compare in sizing to some other popular service boot patterns? Come on in closer and let's take a look. Let's take a look at the Thursday captain boot. I take a size eight standard in Thursday's captain boot. They don't come in measured widths just a standard or wide that should fit wider list, should fit in theory, double E or triple E wide feet. Now these in the eight standard fit me fine. I did have a tricky break in because I found that the toe box, especially that toe cap area to be a bit narrow, they eventually opened up as I broke them in and they now fit me really well, comfortably in fact with that proverbial firm handshake. Now, if I check out the length against the MP in 8D, not forgetting that the captain is also an eight, you find that the eight in whites, if I try and get them as accurate as possible, is a little bit longer. Ignore the wealth, just look at the end of the toe. It's a good, I would say, half a centimeter longer. So it's not incredibly much longer and it doesn't feel as if it's hugely much longer in this MP in the 55 last. In the 55 last though, it is conceivably much wider in the toe box area and with that rounded anatomical toe is actually really nice. Now if I swap that over for a very lasted 8D MP, once again, the length in this one is marginally longer despite this being an 8D and this being an 8. And it seems to me even a little longer than the one in the 55 last. Let's take a look. I try and get it right. Oh, it's about the same. Yeah, it's about the same. And the width in the 8D is not that far apart from the captain. Although with that more rounded toe, I find that it gives me a little bit more room there. Now, if you compare the captain eight with the MP seven and a half in the MP Barry last, if you look down from the top, that's a little bit wider. So it stayed in the same proportion as the 8D, even though this is seven and a half D. And again with that rounded toe, I just feel a little bit more toe room than in the captain. Length wise, the seven and a half and the captain in eight, let's try and line it, is just about right the same. In fact, if not, if anything, it's even slightly longer. So that's the Thursday captain. Now let's take a look at the iron ranger. I'm also an 8D in the Red Wing iron ranges. These fit me really well and have broken into really mold to my feet. The bump toe, giving more room in the toes than the captains. And the last is actually a wider last with a rounded toe. So it's a slightly weaker hand shape, but it's still a good grip. Now, let's take a look at how the iron ranges in 8D compares to the 55 lasted MP in 8D. If you look at the length, it's definitely longer. But maybe with that bump toe flattened out, it's not that far apart. In terms of width, the 55 lasted 8D MP is a little bit wider, I think you agree. Than the iron ranger. So it's an interesting fit. I mean, this is not totally snug and this is very comfortable. Compare that to the MP last in an 8D. And I think visually it actually looks longer. Yeah, even if you flatten that out, it looks longer. However, the shape of the toe is quite similar in its roundedness. A little bit snug, quite relaxed. Comparing the iron ranger now to the 7.5D model, if you look at the length, that's actually almost exactly right. Width wise, very, very comparable, particularly with that rounded toe in both of them. Okay, now let's compare that to the Richmond boot from Parkhurst. This is the Richmond boot from Parkhurst, relatively new kid on the block with getting a great reputation. This boot is built on the 602 combination last, which is, I believe, a narrower B width in the heel, opening to an E width in the toe box and built with a little sleeker volume as I address the issue last. This is a size eight. Again, like Thursday, no width designation. I love the fit on these. The combination last really locks my foot in and the rounded toe box gives the ball of my foot a good firm hand shape but with room to wiggle. Now, let's take a look first at the 7.5 MPs and you can see the size is really about the same. So eight in Parkhurst, 7.5 in whites, MPs, about the same. Top down, you can see that there is a more almondy shape to that rounded toe as opposed to the MPs. So really, all in all, a similar size, I think. Taking that with the 8D, oh, that's visually much longer, isn't that? Longer than the other comparisons I've had so far. Yeah, look, I think that's about a centimeter in length in that. Take a look at the 55 lasting in the MPs. Definitely broader in the ball of the foot. That's why it's much more comfortable in terms of slipping in and out. Although I do love the Parkhurst 602. And interestingly, the length isn't as far apart as the other pair. Okay, I'll now take a look at the Grant Stone diesel boots. Another relatively new kid on the block. Grant Stone's diesel boots, this one is in Black Chrome XL. They make the diesel boot on the Leo Last. This one is labeled an 8D. I believe that the Leo Last is also a combination last because these feel snug in the heel to me but still comfortably roomy in the toe box with a slight almondy round shape. Again, this is a fit I love. And again, my heel feels locked in but the rounded toe is very comfortable all day. This is a slightly lighter hand shape. You know you're shaking hands but it's friendly. Now let's take a look at this against the MP Last in 8D. So they're both 8D and you can see that they are marginally longer in the MPs. As for width, if you ignore the sort of rounded shape of that toe with a slightly more almondy shape, the ball of the foot width is roughly the same. Let's take a look at the 55 Last. From the top it's much wider in the ball of the foot. Definitely wider and a much more rounded toe. As for the length, you know again it's not that much different. Okay, let me straighten this background. And let's have a look at another Grant Stone boot. This one is their brass boot. So I wanted to look at this one. Look, I know I'm cheating slightly because this is not a service boot pattern. But I did want to look at their brass boot because it's built on a different last and it's called their Floyd Last. Clearly not a service boot pattern. It's actually a mock toe. But I wanted to throw in this roomier lasted boot from Grant Stone where the last was designed for a mock toe with more volume in the toe box. This is also an 8D in size and fits me really well with some discernible extra room in the toes. Now, while these fit me, I don't like to fit as much as in their Leo Last. There is quite a lot of volume for my skinny ankles and talking handshakes, I'd say firm in places but with open fingers. Let's take a look at this against the MP boot in the 55 Last. And if we look at length, again, it's only marginally longer, clearly a lot more volume in the toe box. And then if you check it out from the top, the MP is definitely wider. Let's compare that to the MP Last, the MP Modified Berry Last. From the top, the width is not that far different. This is an 8D, this is an 8D. And the length is once again not that far apart. Let's take a look at the 7.5D. And if you look at the length, that's just about right, if not slightly shorter than the Grant Stone in the Floyd Last in 8D. From the top, reasonably similar width. Not forgetting this is built for a mock toe, so that's why it's built to be slightly more voluminous. Now, another service boot design is the Wolverine 1000 Mile. This is a dressy boot last, similar to a dress shoe, but with a slight bump toe. No toe cap, but the design gives it room in the toe as it turns up at the end here. This is also an 8D, it fits me reasonably well, but I'm not the biggest fan of the fit because it's a D all over, and the Grant Stones and the Parkhurst feel a little tighter in the back end. This feels a little bit sloppy. This one is definitely a loose handshake. Now, let's take a look at the 7.5 compared to the 8D. The 7.5 MP is, you know what? I think it's a little bit longer, such as the stress of buying different brands of boots. Taking a look at the MP in an 8D, theoretically the same size, and it is definitely longer. But, I would say by about a centimetre. The width, well, check for yourself. The width is definitely wider with a much more rounded toe in the MP. Okay, now I want to cheat again, and I'm going to compare the MPs to a pair of Truman boots. I guess these Truman boots can be said to be more of a work boot pattern rather than a service boot, but I wanted to compare a rugged looking boot. This is an 8D and another fit that I love. I don't believe this is a combination last. It's a D width last, and so proportionally up and down it's one width. I don't know, maybe it's the build quality, but it just fits. These fit in a really good handshake, not firm, not loose, just right. Now, let's take a look at those against an 8D in the MP last. This one, of course, is the, oh, sorry, this is the seven and a half in British tan, and you know what? The length in the seven and a half is still, I think, marginally longer than the Truman and 8D. As for the width, totally different toe caps, but the width is about the same. Let's compare them to an 8D now, really 8D in this case. And the length is definitely longer. The width, just a tiny little bit narrower in the whites. In the 55 last, definitely wider, and in an 8D, is marginally longer. So, in summary, how would I size MP boots? I think if you wear a regular size in heritage boots, you're not gonna go catastrophically wrong in the same size in MP boots, as long as your brannock measurement to the ball of your feet are in the ballpark. As I said, I'm 8D in almost every boot I own, and the MPs in 8D are actually fine. The MPs in seven and a half D is a little bit better in length and more snug than normal in the width, but okay. I expect it to settle in as I break them in. However, I have to say that if I were to buy them new to get absolutely perfectly the right size, either in the MP or in the modified Berrylast or the 55s, I would go seven and a half E, one full size down from your brannock and one width up. Now, that is my opinion, based on wearing these three pairs. Bearing that user case in mind, what I'd do if I were you though is to reach out to Whites, check their fitting page on their website, and then actually reach out to them to confirm what they think of your feet, because no two feet are the same. So there you have it. I hope you liked this little discussion of the sizing and lasts of the Whites MP boots. If you did, you know what to do, right? Click on like and subscribe to help me grow my channel and to catch my other loads of other videos and boot reviews, leather bags and stuff as I post. Until then guys and girls, take care and I'll see you soon.