Lems Chelsea Boot Tuff Pro Review: Great Boots Built Around the Natural Shape of Your Feet

I like boots. I don’t wear them much anymore because it’s always so danged hot here in NWFL. Most of the ones I wear are work boots, which don’t really work for casual dress. So, when I was offered a pair of Lems Chelsea Boot Tuff Pro, I jumped without even asking how high. They looked like a nice pair of boots with a rugged sole that would look great and still be tough enough for rougher terrain. How did they work out? Well, as the Blind Prophet from O Brother, Where Art Thou said, “Join me, my son. Join me”, if you want to find out.

If you don’t already know, Lems is a small company out of Boulder, CO. All of their shoes are designed in the US and are assembled in China.

What Is It?

The Lems Chelsea Boots Tuff Pro are a pair of boots with a leather upper, Vibram Megagrip soles, and a pull-on design. Built to follow the natural shape of the foot, the shoe is widest at the forefoot and toes, allowing flexibility and unrestricted movement.

What’s Included?

• The boots
• 2x insoles
• Thank you card with sticker

Tech Specs

• Water Resistant: Yes
• Fit: Lems WIDEST Natural-Shape™
• Upper: Full-Grain Leather
• Lining: Leather ankle cuff and polyester
• Outsole: Rugged rubber outsole with 4mm lugs
• Insole: Adventure Poly Insole
• Stack Height: 16.0mm (not including 3.5mm insole)
• Drop: Zero-Drop
• Weight: 13.8oz (M10)
• Vegan: No

Design and Features

First and foremost, the Lems shoes are a good-looking pair of Chelsea boots. The full-grain leather used looks great and is supple. Strangely, at least to me, the color is called stone. Call it what you want. It looks good on these boots. The soles are the ubiquitous Vibram soles, their Megagrip variety. The lugs are pretty pronounced and are grippy for pretty much all terrain.

Lems lists the boots as true to size, and they were right on length. I wear a US 14. Yes, a 14. Hey! I’m a big guy, ok? The issue I had was the width. I’ve never had to buy wide shoes before, so I was surprised by how tight the boots were across the middle of my foot. Lems also lists them as their WIDEST Natural-Shape, which again made me wonder how they could be so tight. There are 2 separate insoles included, so I used the thinner, black insert to give myself a little more room.

All Lems shoes are built around the natural shape of the foot, which they say promotes the following:

• Improved posture
• Reduced injuries
• Increased foot strength
• Quicker recovery times
• Natural foot strike landing

If you want to read more about their design philosophy, you can get it here. I can’t speak to the listed benefits. What I can say is that the boots have a wide toe box that I find quite comfortable. My toes weren’t all jammed together, and I had some wiggle room. The heel cup also curves more and higher around the back of my heel, giving good support and preventing them from sliding up and down.

The Lems Chelsea Boot Tuff Pro also has an easy pull-on design, but your mileage may vary. Initially, I found them difficult to pull on and off. First, they were new. The leather needs to break in. Next, I think the heel cup shape that I like so much when on was keeping my foot from sliding in easily. Once I did get them on, they fit like a glove, although tight across the middle of my foot, like I mentioned. I was worried about the pull tabs/straps/loops lasting. I had to pull on them so hard. I thought surely I would tear something. So far, I haven’t noticed even a loose thread.

Final Thoughts

I know this sounds like I had a bad experience with these boots, and yes, when I first got them, I was a little worried because I really wanted to like them. And you know what? I do! After wearing them around town a couple of times, the boots have broken in and feel great to walk in. They’re still not “easy” to pull on, but they’re getting better. I attribute part of this to the thickness of my socks. I guess they’re a little thicker than your everyday, run-of-the-mill, so that’ll definitely affect it.

The boots no longer feel tight across my foot, even with my thick socks, and my toes are happy. The Lems Chelsea Boot Tuff Pro are now my go-to boots when I go anywhere that shorts aren’t acceptable attire. Basically, any time I walk out the door in long pants, they’re on my feet. The boots are well-made and very comfortable, which helps when you’re paying $205 for a pair.

I know the price is in line with many other brands, but as Dad of five, I rarely would spend that much on myself. Now that I’ve experienced them for myself, I’ve changed my mind. I’m eyeballing a pair of their sneakers now! My only word of caution is that if you actually need a wide-sized shoe, you may want to look elsewhere.

Lems also has a great Return and Exchange policy that you can read about here. They suggest that if you’re a first-time buyer, you should order a couple of different sizes to see which fit best. You can take the ones you choose to return to one of their Happy Returns Return Bar locations and drop them off. Most of the Returns Bars near me are UPS shipping stations, but I also noticed a couple of Ulta and Staples locations.

The Lems Chelsea Boot Tuff Pro retails for $205; it is available directly from the manufacturer.

Source: Manufacturer-supplied review sample.

What I Like: The look; The build; Comfortable; Comparable price; Good materials

What Needs Improvement: Their WIDEST Natural-Shape size was initially tight, and I don’t have wide feet