Red Wing Boots - Your Opinion

[justanotherguy]

Hello,

I am thinking to get a pair of 875 this weekend. It is my first pair of red wings... I have always admired them but finally pulling the trigger. Always been a fan of boots, never went back to sneakers ever since I got my Dr marts and timberland.

Anything I should know of before I get my pair?

How often do I have to clean + condition it? And I have read on forums that applying conditioner such as mink oil or other type of leather oil will darken the boots and I am concerned because I do not want my 875 to get dark but I wanna preserve the life of it as well. Can anyone enlighten me on this? and how do I prevent denim stain on the boots because I'll be wearing my raw denim with my 875. A heads up would be helpful because my pair bleeds heavily.

Thanks!

 

[ElBron21]

Hello,

I am thinking to get a pair of 875 this weekend. It is my first pair of red wings... I have always admired them but finally pulling the trigger. Always been a fan of boots, never went back to sneakers ever since I got my Dr marts and timberland.

Anything I should know of before I get my pair?

How often do I have to clean + condition it? And I have read on forums that applying conditioner such as mink oil or other type of leather oil will darken the boots and I am concerned because I do not want my 875 to get dark but I wanna preserve the life of it as well. Can anyone enlighten me on this? and how do I prevent denim stain on the boots because I'll be wearing my raw denim with my 875. A heads up would be helpful because my pair bleeds heavily.

Thanks!

Ive had 877s for almost 3 years now. I clean and oil mine once a month. I highly recommend you do the same but I'm sure every other month is fine. Some of my pairs of red wings are approaching 5yrs old and they still look great even with heavy wear bc of this regiment. But to each his own, just oil the leather from time to time at the bare minimum. Ive grown to love oiling mine all at once on a Sunday afternoon listening to baseball on the radio and drinking beer. But i digress...
Anyways, Idk where you live but if you have wet falls/winters you may want to get over the concept of the color darkening and use sno-seal and/or mink oil to make them WAY more water resistant than when you purchase them. (And def consider gettin the 877 over the 875s if you do have wet falls/winters.) Plus they will look a bit diff than someone elses 875s per se, which I like. And if they have been treated with sno-seal/mink oil I bet the denim won't be able to bleed on them. But i have no experience with this, Im not into nice denim really. I do own 1 pair of black Baldwin jeans but they haven't bled on any of my boots.
If you still don't want the color to darken then (which on some of mine I do not as well) I use Bickmore number 4 and/or Shinola neutral conditioning cream. I'm not the biggest fan of the boot oils red wing sells, but I did buy their mink oil recently and its okay. It's def just personal preference, and I just prefer Shinola and Bickmore a lot more (both companies made in USA too). I really like using Shinola's saddle soap to clean the leather off before I oil them. You'll find something you prefer as you go along..

 

[spedrunr]

I've had these for awhile but I'm thinking of trimming the tongue at the 5th eyelet. When I lace it up over the 5th eyelet, there's this crazy lump that presses into my ankle bone. I hate cutting any leather or altering the boots but it's super uncomfortable. Other than that, they're killer boots

 

[justanotherguy]

@Elbron21 thank you for the reply and giving me insights on these boots. I live in Singapore which is sunny all year round with occasional rain here and there. Particularly rainy during this season though.

I read on how to care for your boots on the red wings heritage Web page and they taught me to use the leather cleaner than apply their natural oil boot to it then apply a coat of leather protector. A tad bit overwhelming for someone who has never cleaned their shoes but if that's what it takes to preserve their lifespan I will do it. Just that red wings care products are a little expensive over here as well.

About darkening of the boots... I don't think my country has access to shinola here. Is it possible to condition and oil the boot without darkening it? Because I really like the orange feel to the boots. Any darker it would look more like 1907 instead.

Any more advice would be awesome!

 

[JosephD]

I have a couple questions on the iron Rangers, these may have been asked before but I searched and couldn't find answers that satisfied me. I've ordered a size 10.5 and 11 but can't quite figure out which fits better. In the 10.5s I have just short of a thumbs width of room and in the 11s I have just over. The main thing I'm concerned with is how these will change shape as they break in. I always hear that these take a couple weeks to break in and get comfortable-but how are they uncomfortable? My 10.5s feel quite tight, so much so that I can't lace them up past the the first hook and with thick wool socks they are much too tight to wear. This tightness is the most uncomfortable in my forefoot. The 11s feel much better when I put them on and feel like they fit perfectly with thick wool socks, however with regular socks it feels like the flex point matches up slightly better on the 10.5s. And I can lace the 11s up to the second hook fine. So I want to make sure whatever size I go with will feel best once it's broken in, and advice I would greatly appreciate. And FWIW I wear 10.5 in wolverine 1ks and 11.5 in 1907s and those both fit perfectly

Edit: my other concern about the 11s is they feel quite good right away and won't need a 2 week break-in period

 

[gfloridafan93]

If your boots are too small, you will be miserable. I would go with the bigger size for sure.

 

[ElBron21]

I've had these for awhile but I'm thinking of trimming the tongue at the 5th eyelet. When I lace it up over the 5th eyelet, there's this crazy lump that presses into my ankle bone. I hate cutting any leather or altering the boots but it's super uncomfortable. Other than that, they're killer boots

I would suggest just tying them up real tight and champing through the pain for a week or 2.
By then the leather will have sorted itself out and that pinch wont be there anymore.
This has happened to me with my both 11" lace ups with how the tongue was forced to fold when i laced them all the way up. They pinched pretty badly but eventually the leather is forced to flatten out and soften, so to speak. This will happen with yours too, I wouldn't alter the tongue.

 

[ElBron21]

I have a couple questions on the iron Rangers, these may have been asked before but I searched and couldn't find answers that satisfied me. I've ordered a size 10.5 and 11 but can't quite figure out which fits better. In the 10.5s I have just short of a thumbs width of room and in the 11s I have just over. The main thing I'm concerned with is how these will change shape as they break in. I always hear that these take a couple weeks to break in and get comfortable-but how are they uncomfortable? My 10.5s feel quite tight, so much so that I can't lace them up past the the first hook and with thick wool socks they are much too tight to wear. This tightness is the most uncomfortable in my forefoot. The 11s feel much better when I put them on and feel like they fit perfectly with thick wool socks, however with regular socks it feels like the flex point matches up slightly better on the 10.5s. And I can lace the 11s up to the second hook fine. So I want to make sure whatever size I go with will feel best once it's broken in, and advice I would greatly appreciate. And FWIW I wear 10.5 in wolverine 1ks and 11.5 in 1907s and those both fit perfectly

Edit: my other concern about the 11s is they feel quite good right away and won't need a 2 week break-in period

I suppose Id go with the 11s too.
But I would def trust yourself in what feels right, buy em, and just see what happens..
Personally all of my boots have 'sctretched' a but after they've broken in with wear, but I do not think that its very substantial really.

 

[ElBron21]

@Elbron21 thank you for the reply and giving me insights on these boots. I live in Singapore which is sunny all year round with occasional rain here and there. Particularly rainy during this season though.

I read on how to care for your boots on the red wings heritage Web page and they taught me to use the leather cleaner than apply their natural oil boot to it then apply a coat of leather protector. A tad bit overwhelming for someone who has never cleaned their shoes but if that's what it takes to preserve their lifespan I will do it. Just that red wings care products are a little expensive over here as well.

About darkening of the boots... I don't think my country has access to shinola here. Is it possible to condition and oil the boot without darkening it? Because I really like the orange feel to the boots. Any darker it would look more like 1907 instead.

Any more advice would be awesome!

You're welcome!
There is a lot of videos on youtube that show people how to clean leather boots
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=red+wing+boot+care
I know redwing specifically has one here - >
You'll figure it out mate. Its fun honestly.

As for the oiling, there are some that don't darken the leather long term. The boots always look a little darker temporarily when you rehydrate and treat the leather with the oil. As long as you get boot oil the color will be alright, its the color boot oil/shoe creams and mink oils/wax based conditioners that permanently darken your boots. (Also, the bottles always suggest oiling a conspicuous, little area first to see if it does darken it).
Im not sure what kind of boot oil and/or conditioners you have access to in Singapore? Is there a cobbler or boot store in your city? If so go there.
If not then an online shop that delivers to southeast asia it is!

 

[Sonderist]

Ive heard told that Iron Rangers are not well suited to winter conditions. What is a good sole to have put on to fix this?

 

[ElBron21]

Ive heard told that Iron Rangers are not well suited to winter conditions. What is a good sole to have put on to fix this?

Yeah they are **** is snow and weather of the like.
A outsole with a heavy lug on it would fix this

 

[justanotherguy]



You're welcome!
There is a lot of videos on youtube that show people how to clean leather boots
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=red+wing+boot+care
I know redwing specifically has one here - >
You'll figure it out mate. Its fun honestly.

As for the oiling, there are some that don't darken the leather long term. The boots always look a little darker temporarily when you rehydrate and treat the leather with the oil. As long as you get boot oil the color will be alright, its the color boot oil/shoe creams and mink oils/wax based conditioners that permanently darken your boots. (Also, the bottles always suggest oiling a conspicuous, little area first to see if it does darken it).
Im not sure what kind of boot oil and/or conditioners you have access to in Singapore? Is there a cobbler or boot store in your city? If so go there.
If not then an online shop that delivers to southeast asia it is!

Hey,

Thank you for your reply! Eager to learn more hmm if I were to be using boot oil... It would be red wings natural boot oil right? I've seen their care video so I guess I'll take care of my boots as recommended by them but I've seen around somewhere guys with their pairs of 875 for a few years and the color is still pretty vibrant orangey and not dark at all. Hopefully with the boot oil it will only be temporary dark and will lighten with wear

What do you think?

Thank you!

 

[ElBron21]

Hey,

Thank you for your reply! Eager to learn more

hmm if I were to be using boot oil... It would be red wings natural boot oil right? I've seen their care video so I guess I'll take care of my boots as recommended by them

but I've seen around somewhere guys with their pairs of 875 for a few years and the color is still pretty vibrant orangey and not dark at all. Hopefully with the boot oil it will only be temporary dark and will lighten with wear

What do you think?

Thank

Ive used a bottle of the red wings natural boot oil before, that will do just fine with keeping the color

 

[willis88]

I have a couple questions on the iron Rangers, these may have been asked before but I searched and couldn't find answers that satisfied me. I've ordered a size 10.5 and 11 but can't quite figure out which fits better. In the 10.5s I have just short of a thumbs width of room and in the 11s I have just over. The main thing I'm concerned with is how these will change shape as they break in. I always hear that these take a couple weeks to break in and get comfortable-but how are they uncomfortable? My 10.5s feel quite tight, so much so that I can't lace them up past the the first hook and with thick wool socks they are much too tight to wear. This tightness is the most uncomfortable in my forefoot. The 11s feel much better when I put them on and feel like they fit perfectly with thick wool socks, however with regular socks it feels like the flex point matches up slightly better on the 10.5s. And I can lace the 11s up to the second hook fine. So I want to make sure whatever size I go with will feel best once it's broken in, and advice I would greatly appreciate. And FWIW I wear 10.5 in wolverine 1ks and 11.5 in 1907s and those both fit perfectly

Edit: my other concern about the 11s is they feel quite good right away and won't need a 2 week break-in period

Not sure why that would be a concern. Stick with the 11s as that works out well with the half size down from your 1907 with the insole supplied. Once they soften, you should be able to wear thinner socks albeit with tighter lacing.

 

[Schnurretiger]

@JosephD: If possible, wear each pair around your house for a day or two. Then you will see which pair is more comfortable. Pay special attention towards the end of the day, as this is when your feet are at their biggest and the smaller size might be too small. Good point about the insole: put one in, makes the boots much (MUCH) more comfortable. It took me 2 weeks to break in the right boot, and 4 for the left one, but now the both feel great and I don't mind wearing them the whole day and well into the night.