overall good info and while I don't have issues hearing other youttube videos and all the volume setting are at 100 I hvae a VERY difficult time hearing this video unfortunately
in the rossi review, you said the toe box on rossi was wider than redback, but here you say it's narrower? whuich would you recommend most for skinny ankle but max toe spread?
Thanks mate these videos have been very helpful. I'm in Australia and looking for a durable work boot. I decided on the Mongrel. Found a cheap set of factory seconds on Ebay for 90$ AUD.
This was so helpful, thank you. I wish yet suggested it earlier in my research. As for “clown shoe” I don’t agree with this term accept for the Blundstone 500 series. instead I think of this as vintage work shoe shape which is more accurate. Thank you for the knowledge about how the sole inner will behave over time, I was wondering why in the tropical jungle of north Australia my cheap Blundstone fail after only a year. I wish there was better tropical boots even if the comfort wasn’t great…
is the foam in yours crumbling? it's hard with polyurethane and hydrolysis. You can see on productreviews . com . au that all these companies have complaints on hydrolysis. i've never worked in tropics, so can't readily give you a recommendation. climate would be brutal enough to be tough on adhesives of boots that are glued. have you tried mongrel/rossi/redback or only blundstone? My mongrels seemed to be the least durable. Rossi seemed the most durable using nitrile on some of their outsoles but they recently moved a lot of manufacturing out of australia, and I got a mortons neuroma from the narrow toebox. i'd avoid blundstones just because their price tag at least in US is way too high. i don't know how hot it is out there, but for US I most often see jungle boots get recommended, which is a boot without liners that get wet easy but dry quickly. The US jungle boots of old are not very comfortable. I think there is only one or two makers of them left. McRae is one. Would not necessarily recommend, but just mentioning. A lot of modern US Military boots are similar to a jungle boot design. Garmont Bifida and Belleville can be decent, but I wouldn't expect 5-10 years out of them. i'm in a cold wet environment, and just started buying cheap eva boots for extended wet outings. but the heat can shrink eva (croc material). I know a few people use them in the south in US which can be similar to your climate. Just don't leave EVA outside on porch. doesn't work well for traction in steep/wet rock terrain either. they don't last super long, but I honestly have yet to find anything that is durable, uses hydrophobic leather, remotely comfortable/ergonomic, and doesn't weigh 3+ pounds. Tingley's are cheapest here and cost me $40 last time I paid. Torvi/some other russian brand has ones with a liner and they glue a harder material to the sole so that they are more durable. I imagine your environment would delaminate though. lemigo is a polish brand that does eva boot truthfully there is probably a brand in australia that makes some or distributes them for dirt cheap. just have to check the material. 'rubber' boots usually aren't made with actual rubber anymore and use pvc/eva/polyurethane.
comfort: I find mongrels more comfortable because the wider fit and possibly wider outsole. i also have lower arches, but not flat. people I know with high arches find redbacks more comfortable. leather: I think redback's leather is better. quality control: i think Mongrel has better quality control. ihis is such a crapshoot though because again, hydrolysis. if you go to "product review . com . au" it will reflect this. I bought my redbacks from the boot warehouse on ebay but they stopped shipping to us. they were less than $100 from what i remember and the person that owns them still uses them today so about 7 years old? if you are looking to buy them from a place, i'd currently recommend 'everything australian' and no i've never made a penny off my channel so not sponsored. durability: the person that owns the redbacks i reviewed. they aren't walking a million miles but it is their main boot. if you are using these boots super heavy i'd expect 1-3 years. as i've said in some videos avoid sharp rocks as i can wreck redbacks in a single day in a lava field but it wrecks all boots. i think this is a weak point of tpu even though it is fine in most terrain. i think a redback without hydrolysis issue will last longer because simpler design from what i recall, i've read other accounts of redbacks lasting a long time (max you will get out of tpu you lightly use before some type of breakdown in elastic or midsole/outsole is about a decade anyways. lycra is polyurethane and the elastics i find in other clothes last about 10 years.) aesthetics: redbacks look better but mongrel has a newer model i haven't tried that is much less work oriented looking if that matters. note: everything in life is a tradeoff so only you can decide what will work best for you.
My Aussie boots lasted 4 years before the sole simply fell apart. I hardly wore it. They tell me all PU (Poly Urethane) do this but I call BS on that. Another older cheap Chinese brand (also PU sole) is still good after 6 years.
I read an anecdote once (and this was in the EU) of manufacturers switching solutions in the last decade for environmental reasons. Similar with glues, I have read an anecdote that some of the old adhesives would cause health issues and thus they have changed to other solutions. I've read a lot of stories like this in the last 10 years. A lot of car manufacturers switched to using soy based wire shielding instead of petroleum (varmint bait) or changing solder for environmental/health reasons. There doesn't seem to be much testing as to the long-term impact for these design decisions. You can see a lot of salty Redback reviews on product reviews australia here: www.productreview.com.au/listings/redback-boots The person I gave these to is still using them, so that is about 6 years now. PU outsole/midsoles fall off fairly clean, it's a shame there isn't more places that repair the outsoles when that time comes but there isn't a lot of money in shoe making unless you are Nike or Adidas and most knowledge in design seems to be fairly insular as opposed to technology. In the US there is my shoe man who will glue a new sole on and david paige that resoles more German type hiking boots like Lowa and Meindl. myshoeman.com www.davepagecobbler.com
Hi I'm in need of some help/ guidance on getting a pair of Mongrels like the one in your review , In the past I asked you about Rossi Boots also in this 3 part review , since I'm right in between 9 1/2 and 10 MEN US .I end up getting a pair of Rossi Endura 8 1/2 Australia size , Now do to a Covid-19 Rossi is not producing , so after getting in touch with an Australian source he recommended to get a pair of Mongrels but Mongrel is not a true half size like Rossi , so my question to you is :do you recommend downsize to a 8 MEN AUS or go up to a size 9? I do wear thick socks for work and im planning to change the insole to a Redback easy impact Wich is a bit thicker that a regular insoles.
Since you are wearing thicker socks, and if you are willing to add a layer or two thinner layers of insole, I would size up if you willing to customize. I did feel most comfortable in sizing down with Mongrel compared to Redback/Rossi because of the extra width in the toebox. Hopefully this makes sense. I tend to throw out the foam insole and add a layer or two of wool insoles I find on Amazon 2 for $10 and cut them down to size. My only issue i've had in customizing is without laces, a snug fit is nice with australian work boots. Those foam insoles with the heel lift tend to help getting that angle to hold in the instep (bottom corner of heel to opposite front of your ankle). My wool insoles don't give that slight heel lift since they are flat. Suffice, if you are willing to customize, I would size up. I also read Rossi is making more of their footwear overseas from another comment.
@@jorgesoto5182 There's a website called productreview.com.au and the Mongrel Boots have a higher rating than Redback even. It's 4.1 rating is pretty good for a review based website as it tends to attract complaints first. Both have complaints of hydrolysis, but seems to be more rare with Mongrel's.
I recently read of an issue with certain wax conditioners getting under rubber rands in meindl and lowa upper end hiking boots and removing the adhesive bond. This is why I believe Lowa only recommend their own conditioner or a water based. I am curious how much this influences not just glue but direct attach boots. I generally use Obenaufs in the past. I like Huberds slightly more, just because its more oily and less waxy (and smells great too). For a water based, the only one I know of is Nikwax conditioner: www.nikwax.com/en-us/products/conditioner-for-leather/ I don't believe it penetrates as well, or holds on as long as the other conditioner but may help people with issues delaminating their leather. I've always applied leather by hand. The warmth of your fingers helps the conditioner melt into the leather. Other than a few ingredients i've read about degrading leather prematurely (silicon and minks oil), you're already doing fine using what you have. Unless it is something you plan to keep via resoling like a 13 pound wildland fire boot, a dress up shoe, or you are a sneakerhead storing them on your shelf, chances are the leather is only intended to last what they consider the life of the product (1-10 years). People trust Obenaufs because it was created for wildland firefighters, whom subject their leather to some of the worst conditions (multiple weeks of wear, extreme temperatures, heavy brush, and neglect).
Boot Warehouse I believe. Some of these companies have clamped down on shipping though to keep hydrolysis issues down and promote overpriced US distributors. Redback did this, but not sure if Mongrel did. Way cheaper to find an Australian one though. Had good luck with Everything Australian too, but prices may not be as good.
According to everything Australia the Mongrel’s are a bit longer than the Redbacks.
Love my Mongrel boots
overall good info and while I don't have issues hearing other youttube videos and all the volume setting are at 100 I hvae a VERY difficult time hearing this video unfortunately
Hi. Nice review. UK sizes do come in halves, it’s just down to manufacturers 😁.
please provide links to the models you are comparing in your video descriptions.
Unfortunately, Rossi has sold out to cheap labor. Redback, Mongrel, and R.M. Williams are aussie made. There may be others that are less known.
in the rossi review, you said the toe box on rossi was wider than redback, but here you say it's narrower? whuich would you recommend most for skinny ankle but max toe spread?
Thanks mate these videos have been very helpful. I'm in Australia and looking for a durable work boot. I decided on the Mongrel. Found a cheap set of factory seconds on Ebay for 90$ AUD.
This was so helpful, thank you. I wish yet suggested it earlier in my research. As for “clown shoe” I don’t agree with this term accept for the Blundstone 500 series. instead I think of this as vintage work shoe shape which is more accurate. Thank you for the knowledge about how the sole inner will behave over time, I was wondering why in the tropical jungle of north Australia my cheap Blundstone fail after only a year. I wish there was better tropical boots even if the comfort wasn’t great…
is the foam in yours crumbling?
it's hard with polyurethane and hydrolysis. You can see on productreviews . com . au that all these companies have complaints on hydrolysis.
i've never worked in tropics, so can't readily give you a recommendation. climate would be brutal enough to be tough on adhesives of boots that are glued.
have you tried mongrel/rossi/redback or only blundstone? My mongrels seemed to be the least durable. Rossi seemed the most durable using nitrile on some of their outsoles but they recently moved a lot of manufacturing out of australia, and I got a mortons neuroma from the narrow toebox.
i'd avoid blundstones just because their price tag at least in US is way too high.
i don't know how hot it is out there, but for US I most often see jungle boots get recommended, which is a boot without liners that get wet easy but dry quickly.
The US jungle boots of old are not very comfortable. I think there is only one or two makers of them left. McRae is one. Would not necessarily recommend, but just mentioning.
A lot of modern US Military boots are similar to a jungle boot design. Garmont Bifida and Belleville can be decent, but I wouldn't expect 5-10 years out of them.
i'm in a cold wet environment, and just started buying cheap eva boots for extended wet outings. but the heat can shrink eva (croc material). I know a few people use them in the south in US which can be similar to your climate. Just don't leave EVA outside on porch. doesn't work well for traction in steep/wet rock terrain either.
they don't last super long, but I honestly have yet to find anything that is durable, uses hydrophobic leather, remotely comfortable/ergonomic, and doesn't weigh 3+ pounds.
Tingley's are cheapest here and cost me $40 last time I paid.
Torvi/some other russian brand has ones with a liner and they glue a harder material to the sole so that they are more durable. I imagine your environment would delaminate though.
lemigo is a polish brand that does eva boot
truthfully there is probably a brand in australia that makes some or distributes them for dirt cheap. just have to check the material. 'rubber' boots usually aren't made with actual rubber anymore and use pvc/eva/polyurethane.
OMG, I love how you talk about boots that I'v never even heard of. And now considering getting a pair of
Any comparison between Redbacks & Mongrels?
comfort: I find mongrels more comfortable because the wider fit and possibly wider outsole. i also have lower arches, but not flat. people I know with high arches find redbacks more comfortable.
leather: I think redback's leather is better.
quality control: i think Mongrel has better quality control. ihis is such a crapshoot though because again, hydrolysis. if you go to "product review . com . au" it will reflect this. I bought my redbacks from the boot warehouse on ebay but they stopped shipping to us. they were less than $100 from what i remember and the person that owns them still uses them today so about 7 years old? if you are looking to buy them from a place, i'd currently recommend 'everything australian' and no i've never made a penny off my channel so not sponsored.
durability: the person that owns the redbacks i reviewed. they aren't walking a million miles but it is their main boot. if you are using these boots super heavy i'd expect 1-3 years. as i've said in some videos avoid sharp rocks as i can wreck redbacks in a single day in a lava field but it wrecks all boots. i think this is a weak point of tpu even though it is fine in most terrain. i think a redback without hydrolysis issue will last longer because simpler design from what i recall, i've read other accounts of redbacks lasting a long time (max you will get out of tpu you lightly use before some type of breakdown in elastic or midsole/outsole is about a decade anyways. lycra is polyurethane and the elastics i find in other clothes last about 10 years.)
aesthetics: redbacks look better but mongrel has a newer model i haven't tried that is much less work oriented looking if that matters.
note: everything in life is a tradeoff so only you can decide what will work best for you.
@@baronburgundywhat Model Mongrel are yours?
My Aussie boots lasted 4 years before the sole simply fell apart. I hardly wore it. They tell me all PU (Poly Urethane) do this but I call BS on that. Another older cheap Chinese brand (also PU sole) is still good after 6 years.
I read an anecdote once (and this was in the EU) of manufacturers switching solutions in the last decade for environmental reasons.
Similar with glues, I have read an anecdote that some of the old adhesives would cause health issues and thus they have changed to other solutions.
I've read a lot of stories like this in the last 10 years. A lot of car manufacturers switched to using soy based wire shielding instead of petroleum (varmint bait) or changing solder for environmental/health reasons. There doesn't seem to be much testing as to the long-term impact for these design decisions. You can see a lot of salty Redback reviews on product reviews australia here:
www.productreview.com.au/listings/redback-boots
The person I gave these to is still using them, so that is about 6 years now.
PU outsole/midsoles fall off fairly clean, it's a shame there isn't more places that repair the outsoles when that time comes but there isn't a lot of money in shoe making unless you are Nike or Adidas and most knowledge in design seems to be fairly insular as opposed to technology.
In the US there is my shoe man who will glue a new sole on and david paige that resoles more German type hiking boots like Lowa and Meindl.
myshoeman.com
www.davepagecobbler.com
Hi
I'm in need of some help/ guidance on getting a pair of Mongrels like the one in your review ,
In the past I asked you about Rossi Boots also in this 3 part review , since I'm right in between 9 1/2 and 10 MEN US .I end up getting a pair of Rossi Endura 8 1/2 Australia size ,
Now do to a Covid-19 Rossi is not producing , so after getting in touch with an Australian source he recommended to get a pair of Mongrels but Mongrel is not a true half size like Rossi , so my question to you is :do you recommend downsize to a 8 MEN AUS or go up to a size 9?
I do wear thick socks for work and im planning to change the insole to a Redback easy impact Wich is a bit thicker that a regular insoles.
Since you are wearing thicker socks, and if you are willing to add a layer or two thinner layers of insole, I would size up if you willing to customize.
I did feel most comfortable in sizing down with Mongrel compared to Redback/Rossi because of the extra width in the toebox.
Hopefully this makes sense. I tend to throw out the foam insole and add a layer or two of wool insoles I find on Amazon 2 for $10 and cut them down to size. My only issue i've had in customizing is without laces, a snug fit is nice with australian work boots. Those foam insoles with the heel lift tend to help getting that angle to hold in the instep (bottom corner of heel to opposite front of your ankle). My wool insoles don't give that slight heel lift since they are flat. Suffice, if you are willing to customize, I would size up.
I also read Rossi is making more of their footwear overseas from another comment.
@@baronburgundy Thank you.
I'll be placing the order on Monday.
I rather get Australian made boots than ones made elsewhere. Because of quality.
@@jorgesoto5182 There's a website called productreview.com.au and the Mongrel Boots have a higher rating than Redback even. It's 4.1 rating is pretty good for a review based website as it tends to attract complaints first. Both have complaints of hydrolysis, but seems to be more rare with Mongrel's.
Why you hating on Blundstones leaving them out of your review
listen to the video, he had poor quality once it went overseas
Rossi boots ?
Would love for you do a video on how you take care of your boots and what products you like ?
I recently read of an issue with certain wax conditioners getting under rubber rands in meindl and lowa upper end hiking boots and removing the adhesive bond. This is why I believe Lowa only recommend their own conditioner or a water based. I am curious how much this influences not just glue but direct attach boots.
I generally use Obenaufs in the past. I like Huberds slightly more, just because its more oily and less waxy (and smells great too).
For a water based, the only one I know of is Nikwax conditioner:
www.nikwax.com/en-us/products/conditioner-for-leather/
I don't believe it penetrates as well, or holds on as long as the other conditioner but may help people with issues delaminating their leather.
I've always applied leather by hand. The warmth of your fingers helps the conditioner melt into the leather.
Other than a few ingredients i've read about degrading leather prematurely (silicon and minks oil), you're already doing fine using what you have. Unless it is something you plan to keep via resoling like a 13 pound wildland fire boot, a dress up shoe, or you are a sneakerhead storing them on your shelf, chances are the leather is only intended to last what they consider the life of the product (1-10 years). People trust Obenaufs because it was created for wildland firefighters, whom subject their leather to some of the worst conditions (multiple weeks of wear, extreme temperatures, heavy brush, and neglect).
Where did you buy these Mongrel boots?
Boot Warehouse I believe. Some of these companies have clamped down on shipping though to keep hydrolysis issues down and promote overpriced US distributors. Redback did this, but not sure if Mongrel did. Way cheaper to find an Australian one though. Had good luck with Everything Australian too, but prices may not be as good.
an, what a waste of watching time, Please condense it, too much wasted time saying nothing much
Thank you for your sacrifice.
@@baronburgundy thanks for such a detailed review. Just the right amount of much needed information (that is generally missing when buying online).