Camp Mocs for Summer

Boat shoes may be the casual footwear of choice for most of the trad world, but I myself like camp mocs. I mentioned last week that I had some camp moc ideas and I do. In fact, I was this close (imagine that you can see my gesture) to pulling the trigger.

I didn’t pull the trigger on the Rancourt Gilman Camp-moc in unlined natural Horween Chromoexcel (see here). The ones with red clay soul. The ones in the image directly above. Now in my eyes that is one good looking camp moc. The problem I am having is spending $250 on a pair of shoes that I am only going to wear casually without socks. I also have hard to fit feet and these are MTO so you can only return for fit or store credit if they don”t workout. Not the easiest sell.

While the Rancourt mocs are not totally out of the picture I have another camp moc project in motion. Some of you may recall that I have a pair of LL Bean Signature camp mocs (on left foot below). They never fit quite right. I had to wear them with thick socks or they slipped. If I wore them without socks they rubbed my ankle raw. They did look good though.

Bean Mocs

I did what I always do in these situations. I tossed them in the washer on hot. I am hoping to shrink them up a bit so that they fit a little more snug and don’t rub my ankle raw. I will try to get a few wears in the coming weeks to gauge the results. If not, Rancourt here I come!

oxford cloth button down
Jerrod Swanton is a simple man interested in simple, classic, and traditional style.

15 Comments on "Camp Mocs for Summer"

  1. jon dibenedetto says:

    Having ‘hard to fit’ feet I have similar issues: I bought a pair of Quoddy blucher mocs (didn’t fit) so I returned them. Same problem with Rancourt ranger mocs . Both had great leather and excellent construction. I have the Bean signature camp mocs in the picture: of course not the same quality as Quoddy or Rancourt but they fit my difficult to fit feet. Nothing like the smell out of the box of Horween leather but I’m ok with the Bean (corrected grain I’m assuming). To the casual viewer they look similar and it leaves me money for a nice English made summer polo.

  2. jon dibenedetto says:

    One question~ can you find the Signature Camp Mocs on the L.L. Bean site? I couldn’t locate them and am wondering if they are no longer made.

  3. Jon DiBenedetto says:

    Thanks !!! I’m ordering a pair and one of the Casco Bay in Canyon ( a back order).

  4. CT says:

    May I ask why you’d only wear camp mocs “casually without socks”? I have two pair from Rancourt and wear the Carolina Brown throughout fall/winter in New England. They look great with ragg wool socks and cords, denim, or moleskins. They are my go-to casual F/W shoe unless it’s a mess outside.

    I owned the Jackman camp mocs before taking the plunge with Rancourt; they were narrow and uncomfortable to wear and in that awkward price range where you don’t feel they’re worth the $80-$99 yet there aren’t any middle-ground options between there and $200+ for Rancourts.

    I will give the highest praise for Rancourt’s customer service. If you’re worried about size, call them and see what they can do. I went a 1/2 size down. The Carolina Brown that I wear with wool socks stretched out a great deal. The Bulldog Tan I wear in the warmer months and only with no-show socks haven’t stretched out at all. I’d go a little small and they’ll stretch perfectly to fit your feet.

    • oxford cloth button down says:

      CT – I agree that they look great year round! I just happen to be focusing on summer. A camp moc is my preferred summertime shoe and I definitely go the sock-less route. For shoes to fit me well with no socks they rarely fit well with socks and vice versa. Also by casual comment I was trying to imply that I would not be wearing them to work minus maybe casual Friday not that they wouldn’t work in the office.

  5. Keit says:

    I have high arches and a high instep, and have a lot of difficulty with loafers. I originally bought a pair of Rancourt Gilman Camp Mocs for sockless summer wear, but soon found that there was too much heel slip to wear sockless (TTS). So they became F/W mocs for wear with medium-to-thick socks. The next year I bought another pair a 1/2 size down (1/2 size down from Brannock), again intending to wear them sockless. They were initially very tight across the instep, to the point of causing pain almost immediately, but the chromexel eventually stretched to the point that they no longer cause pain. I also lost the chromexcel lottery on the second pair: one of the shoes has developed a distinct creasing pattern that I can feel from the inside on top of my foot.

    • oxford cloth button down says:

      Keit – Thanks for sharing. Sounds like we have a lot in common when it comes to feet. I feel your pain…literally!

  6. Richard says:

    I like the Bean signature mocs, both camp and blucher, but currently they have a contoured foam piece under the leather insole that is so compressible that my feet sink in and stick like glue to the insole, and consequently they wear very hot. I am pretty sure I will replace these insoles with flat leather, cut to fit, before they wear out naturally (already did this with old boat shoes and it worked out very well). I wonder if you have any thoughts on the current Bean moc insole vs. other makes.

    • oxford cloth button down says:

      I have not worn mine without socks at all, but I did do a test run this weekend and I can see what you are saying. They do run hot because of that insole!

  7. Tall Trad says:

    Another option, especially for those of you that are hard to fit, would be to go the custom route. Russell Moccasin Co. in Berlin, Wisconsin makes custom camp mocs made to your feet measurements, as well as boat shoes, penny loafers and other moccasin styles, and chukka-style hunting shoes. See http://www.russellmoccasin.com/camp-moccasin/ .

  8. mhj says:

    I received a pair of Gokey Savuage Oxfords this week which are pretty much like camp mocs. They’re very comfortable out of the box, a bit snug though even after sizing up. They have a lot of arch support and look like they will last forever.

  9. GLH says:

    I have a pair of custom Rancourt camp mocs that I love. I say custom because I wanted the natural chromexel leather (just like in the pic above), but I wanted brown soles and a kicker back. I think it only cost $25 extra to customize them. They take some breaking in, but I couldn’t be happier. I broke them in wearing thin socks and now I can wear them sockless, but I wouldn’t have gone sockless when they were new.

  10. andrew friedman says:

    i can’t speak to their camp mocs, but i have a pair of rancourt beefroll loafers, unlined Horween leather.

    quality is outstanding. leather used with the loafers is robust – anticipate they will stretch and form to your feet over the course of a few weeks. not sure if they use the same kind of leather with moccasins.

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