Why are people so pissed at Red Wing boots? Well, there’s something hidden deep inside of this new boot that they just released that completely changes what makes a Red Wing boot, a Red Wing boot and I’m going to show you guys because I cut one in half. So what could be so catastrophically wrong with this boot? Because it’s actually a pretty cool boot. It’s one of the first times they’ve ever offered the world-famous Oro-Legacy leather in an Iron Ranger and it’s one of the first times they’ve ever put a wedge sole on an Iron Ranger so it is a pretty cool boot.
Well, Stridewise released an interview he did with one of the main product designers at Red Wing and it raised a lot of eyebrows and a lot of people are starting to question the future of Red Wing. And now that these are finally released, it’s time to find out is this toe cap real? Did they get rid of leather on the inside of this boot? And why is this boot significantly easier and more comfortable to break in than any Red Wing I’ve ever worn? And- and finally, and not to sound too dramatic, but is this boot a sign of the future of Red Wing and the potential impending death of Red Wing as we know it?
Well, let’s get to the cutting footage and find out.
This might be, actually it is the coolest sponsorship we have ever done. Skull Bliss sent me this ram skull. How cool is that? Little mount on it.
But check out this big boy. This big water buffalo. We got one more they sent us in the back of the shop. We’ll put some b-roll footage of a really cool longhorn with a carved skull, it’s all hand carved.
So if you don’t know who Skull Bliss is, they offer carved animal skull, decor elements that you won’t find anywhere else.
They take pride in working with skilled artisans and imaginative designers to bring you skull art that becomes a centerpiece in any room. Skull Bliss started in Bali and are proudly continuing that relationship with those artisans today and the skulls are ethically sourced. I know everyone’s thinking like: “they probably killed these animals for these skulls”, but no animals were harmed just for their skulls. Their authentic skulls are a byproduct of the local agricultural industries. They turn these would-be waste products into detailed artwork, a process that pays respect to the life of the animal and that’s surprisingly affordable.
I thought for sure they had to be thousands and thousands of dollars, but they’re pretty, they’re pretty fair priced. So check out Skull Bliss via the link in my description. It kind of just it speaks for itself, it’s the easiest sponsorship ever. It’s cool skulls that you can just buy and have shipped to you and they’re all carved and they’re really cool, so thanks again to Skull Bliss.
Okay, we got it chopped, let’s see what’s inside.
At least the toe cap is still a real toe cap, that was a big concern people had about this. It’s still two full layers and the counter is still a leather board heel counter. And we’re also still good in the leather department. You know, it’s that Oro-Legacy leather that everyone loves, that’s really famous with the Moc Toe.
Two millimeters compared to the Moc Toe that I have that’s cut in half.
Two and a quarter, so pretty- pretty similar. Excuse the boy. So at bare minimum, at least they haven’t sacrificed the quality of the upper, but we’re not out of the woods yet. Because you can see here the lining is completely changed. The old Iron Rangers have this almost cotton canvas lining and this has almost like a sneaker lining.
Which in the Stridewise interview, he said that it’s for moisture wicking and more breathable and easier break in. But I- but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this lining and I’d almost rather have this because it’s thinner and it’s probably more breathable and I would rather have less stuff on the inside and this just seems it would wear out faster than this cotton canvas.
But ultimately, I would way rather have a leather lining like this, the Moc Toe. It’s maybe not as breathable, but out of the three boots here, I would choose this one last. I don’t like this, it’s almost like a basketball jersey material.
And one thing they have changed that I actually am a fan of, is the original Iron Rangers, it’s a 270° Goodyear welt and then at the heel, it’s a nailed hill. Well, this new Iron Ranger is a 360° Goodyear welt and really there’s not that much difference in- in quality and durability. But the one thing I really like about 360° Goodyear welt is it’s a lot easier to do repairs and resoles at home. And it just opens up a lot more possibilities for fun resoles like shameless plug of this ASMR video where we took this and swapped it out for this really good-looking lug sole.
But now to the part that everyone is pissed about: the guts of this thing.
They’ve completely changed the way that they’ve made their boots. Red Wing is famous for making heritage style boots out of heritage style materials. All, all the heritage boots that I’ve cut apart of theirs have a huge slab of Veg-Tan leather as the insole.
See, both of the the Moc Toes and the Iron Rangers have that. But this new version, they’ve switched to a really thin piece of leather with the Poron foam underneath and a fiberboard lasting board.
Which people who love heritage style stuff, including myself, we kind of fall into this- this common trap of only wanting leather everything, durable everything. Everything. And- and we’re a little bit resistant to new technology and changes that the sneaker world is a lot better at accepting. But here’s the problem, ask any cobbler and they’ll tell you that fiberboard breaks down significantly faster than leather. Case in point: All of the Moc, the worn-out Moc Toes we did in the last Moctober.
The leather insoles still in good shape and all the fiberboard insoles, they’re all split and they’re all cracked and they’re all at a point where if you had these resold, you would have to replace the lasting board. And leather is not without flaws, if you look close in here, you know, leather still cracks and it breaks in half. And you, a lot of times you see these little teeny cracks in leather, but you tell me which one you would rather have. And obviously, my opinion is based on a pretty small sample size of 10 or 20 boots, but go watch any of Trenton and Heath’s videos where they’re tearing apart Blundstones and these other boots that use fiberboard. They’re always split, they’re always cracked.
They’re always having to replace them with leather and they’re always complaining about the synthetic materials in the construction of boots and shoes. And a little bit to Red Wings credit, you know, this is a pretty thick fiber board and this leather that tops the Poron foam is fairly thick.
But it’s far from this super thick insole it’s usually in them that they’re like five millimeters thick. So why? Why is Red Wing doing this?
Why- why are they sacrificing the one thing that set them apart from all the other brands that are the $350 and under category? Well, there’s some good reasons and there’s some not so good reasons. The good reason is they are significantly more comfortable. Like, it’s night and day difference between breaking in a pair of these. And- and there’s a reason that Thorogoods are always really popular for work, because of those synthetic materials, it is really comfortable underfoot instantly and through the lifetime of the boot.
Another reason is, everything’s going up in price. We just happen to live in this stage of inflation right now and I’ve seen it in my leather working business, everything’s going up in price.
White’s just raised their price, Thorogood’s raised their price. And then so, part of it might be to keep this boot at this $350 price point. But the biggest reason, is I think they’re trying to save money.
There’s a reason why these brands like Thursday at that $200 price point, they use fiber board rather than leather because it’s a lot more expensive to do the leather. So do people have the right to be upset at Red Wing? I 100% understand why they are, and objectively, the quality has dropped. I don’t think anyone could really make a case that THIS is a higher quality sole construction than THIS. Are they, are they worth the money?
Well, there’s a lot of people making boots with fiberboard for a lot less money than these Red Wings at $350.
But usually, they’re made in China or Mexico or Italy. So- so part of the price of this boot is coming from the fact that it’s made in the United States. But, right now, you can get the Iron Rangers, the regular Iron Rangers for the exact same price and it still has the leather insole in there. So, for that reason, I would say they are overpriced.
If they were $50 cheaper, maybe then there’s an argument there. And I’d really like to hear Red Wings justification for keeping this boot at the same price with synthetic materials.
Maybe it is the same price, but at that point, why not just do the leather? So, I really, really hope this isn’t- this a sign of things to come for Red Wing because if it is, it really might be the death of Red Wing. And maybe I’m overreacting, maybe it won’t be and maybe this is just them trying out a new style of construction because it is quite comfortable.
And at the end of the day, I’ve got plenty of boots that I don’t wear because I could never get them broken in.
So let’s hope this isn’t Red Wing going the way of fast fashion to increase margins, to make more profits. Let’s hope this is just a thing of the past and it’s just a bad dream because this bums me out. So let me know what you guys think about this and I’ll reach out to Red Wing about their official stance on this. Because it’s only fair to let them, let their voice be heard on what this is all about and their opinion on what they’re doing here.
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