I am new to heritage boots and am currently breaking in my first pair of Iron Rangers. I've been watching the other "big boot names" on UA-cam and although their productions are maybe a little fancier, I truly enjoy and appreciate your insight. I have learned so much more about boots in the few days since I've discovered your channel than the months I've been watching the "other guys". I will be eagerly watching your previous videos and look forward to new ones as you release them! Cheers from the US!
Hey, thanks for another great vid! I know I'm late to the game on the release of it, but I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed your comment on if someone were to wear an American heritage boot to an Aussie worksite, 'his mates would laugh at him out of the yard'. This would be true in the opposite direction up here in the U.S., if someone were to wear the boots in the graphic with all of the bright colors, zippers, and plastic, then they would too get laughed out the yard! Maybe Canada would be able to go either/or for that topic with their tighter federal controls on footwear in the trades. You have displayed a lot of interest in PNW boots and I have some local tidbits that you might find interesting. I grew up in an area adjacent to the Pacific Northwest and moved to very rural PNW as an adult where I am now in my late 30s. Spokane is the 'big city' that I'll go to a few times a year for shopping. Whites boots up here in the Northern Rockies are the boot. In the same way that in Australia RM Williams are 'the boot', or in New York City Timberlands are 'the boot'. I've been hearing 'selling my White's' as a euphemism for transitioning into an office-based career, typically due to the stress on the body that the blue collar work in this area entails, since I was a child. All PNW boots are called 'White's', doesn't matter if they are Hawthorns, Nicks, Drews, Franks, ect. They are called Whites. It's funny for me to think of them as heritage boots, but I suppose that is accurate. They don't feel heritage, they feel like the only pair of boots that are made that can survive a full field season in the wet, steep, rocky, dense vegetation of the PNW. There is another term that I have been hearing since childhood and have used myself and that is: "cooked my boots". The biggest employers in my region are public land management and timber extraction. It is typical in both sectors to work away from home for stints ranging from two weeks to several months. You stay in tents, in rustic cabins without electricity, in bunkhouses, ect. And you work outdoors running saws and swinging axes and tossing logs in dense wet brush all day every day. Standard in my line is to be away from even cell service for months at a time. So, you aren't going to have two pairs of boots with you which also means that you will not have dry feet. The area will see rain or snow daily for months at a time every spring and fall. Those times of year, everyone, every night does their best to dry their boots next the wood stove. At some point, everyone leaves their boots too long or they get them too close or they leave them unattended unaware that someone else was stoking the stove, and they overheat the leather. When that happens, it starts to crack and it feels hard and dry to the touch. That means that it will fall apart in the next six months which means that it is time to order your next pair now. That often feels like a painful $500 mistake to the newbies, though you do better at it with time. You might find it interesting that the patina that is most admired regionally is not a 'cared for' look. People will say "nice boots" or "those look like good boots" when you have a new pair of whites. But when the tread is worn 3/4 down and the toe is curled aggressively up and the dry work leather is showing the aggressive highlights and lowlights of your abrasion patterns, thats when way more people say all variations of "I like your boots", and "who makes those" and "I might try that brand next". To achieve that look, though, I'm afraid that I cannot follow your boot care guides. My personal guide to achieve would be :you cannot use a shoe tree, conditionings must be at 1/2 the frequency of would be best for the leather, you must fully saturate with water and then aggressively dry with heat the boot for months daily followed by months of treating daily with sweat, sap, and dust, and you must clean the dirt and mud off no more frequently than on a bi-weekly schedule. Thanks for spreading the love on PNW brands, I have always worried that they might go under with how small and how few of those operations there are. This internet driven influx of popularity gives me hope for their longevity as producers. When it's time for me to sell my whites (made by Nicks), I plan on purchasing a pair of MP boots to carry me to retirement. So, I suppose that is my grail boot as well.
If someone's finding this video in the future and wondering "can i wear these for actual work and be fine?" Wore my iron rangers on the jobsite for a whole year and now 3 years down the line they're the most comfortable shoes ive ever owned. Got a pair of 877 8in mocs as my second pair of red wings, very excited to break em in (Yes I did darken them severely with the mink oil the red wing man told me to buy)
Great series!!! I bought one pair of Thursdays earlier in the year and fell down the full rabbit hole. Currently breaking in my first pair of Nicks. The ramp up was quick hahahah.
I've found the Whites Perry Moc toe to be the most comfortable traditional work boot I've found to date but I want to try the lower priced JK and Franks after decades of wearing Redwing, Danner and Thorogood for the last 35 years.
Some PNW brands also have links on their sizing pages that give you a table of the boot sizes and corresponding last measurements. Using that you can measure the length of your foot, and the circumfrance of the ball of your foot at the widest point and use those two numbers to line up a size.
My sizing technique, and it's worked pretty well, is to find my EU size (42 sandal, 43 shoe) and then use the maker's size guide to see what they have as the equivalent. Thanks for this series. You're relaying many helpful things.
Your content, aside from being very informative and educational for a newcomer to the boot world like me, is also very relaxing if I'm gonna be honest I really enjoy the slow pace you in take in explaining things
Really appreciate your sharing and research into your obvious passion of boots. I just ordered a Thursday Captain but keep fingers crossed that the sizing is ok. Cheers.
It's not really true that cemented boots can't have their soles replaced. Many can in the same way that glued on wedge, crepe or commando soles can be removed from GYW boots. They are either peeled off using glue thinners or ground off using the machines. There are lots of YT videos of Timberland boots being re-soled for example. It of course very much depends on the purchase price as to whether it is worthwhile paying $100 or so to get them re-soled. It is true that some boots with combined EVA/PU midsoles and outsole that come as a unit, cannot easily be replaced but even in these cases, if the cobbler can get access to the combined sole, they can be re-soled. And there are cobblers that specialise in re-soling this type of boot sole which is fairly common feature in hiking boots.
They're honestly all different. Different people seem to mean different things by the word quality. Viberg and Nicks are both stitchdown. Viberg are very well finished but not as substantial as Nicks. Trumans are lower cost but also more ordinary Goodyear welted construction compared to either Nicks or Viberg.
I've got a pair of Nicks and Trumans and it is about different levels of quality. The Trumans are beautifully stitched and well put together and will last me along time. My Nicks are admittedly not quite as well done asteticly, but they are tanks that can probably outlast me and the next apocalypse. The quality of the Nicks is being overengineered towards durability. While I do not have Viberg, I cannot deny that they seem to be better put together than Trumans and seem to have some of aspects of hand made craftsmanship like the Nicks. Maybe in a few years my wallet will recover enough to get some Vibergs to experience them myself.
Just want to throw my 2 cents in on sizing. My Brannock is 10.5D. I wear 11.5 in Nike, Adidas, Cons and Tims. I wear 10.5D in Red Wing and 10D in White's and Nick's. Just my experience.
I am new to heritage boots and am currently breaking in my first pair of Iron Rangers. I've been watching the other "big boot names" on UA-cam and although their productions are maybe a little fancier, I truly enjoy and appreciate your insight. I have learned so much more about boots in the few days since I've discovered your channel than the months I've been watching the "other guys". I will be eagerly watching your previous videos and look forward to new ones as you release them! Cheers from the US!
Hey, thanks for another great vid! I know I'm late to the game on the release of it, but I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed your comment on if someone were to wear an American heritage boot to an Aussie worksite, 'his mates would laugh at him out of the yard'. This would be true in the opposite direction up here in the U.S., if someone were to wear the boots in the graphic with all of the bright colors, zippers, and plastic, then they would too get laughed out the yard! Maybe Canada would be able to go either/or for that topic with their tighter federal controls on footwear in the trades.
You have displayed a lot of interest in PNW boots and I have some local tidbits that you might find interesting. I grew up in an area adjacent to the Pacific Northwest and moved to very rural PNW as an adult where I am now in my late 30s. Spokane is the 'big city' that I'll go to a few times a year for shopping. Whites boots up here in the Northern Rockies are the boot. In the same way that in Australia RM Williams are 'the boot', or in New York City Timberlands are 'the boot'. I've been hearing 'selling my White's' as a euphemism for transitioning into an office-based career, typically due to the stress on the body that the blue collar work in this area entails, since I was a child. All PNW boots are called 'White's', doesn't matter if they are Hawthorns, Nicks, Drews, Franks, ect. They are called Whites. It's funny for me to think of them as heritage boots, but I suppose that is accurate. They don't feel heritage, they feel like the only pair of boots that are made that can survive a full field season in the wet, steep, rocky, dense vegetation of the PNW.
There is another term that I have been hearing since childhood and have used myself and that is: "cooked my boots". The biggest employers in my region are public land management and timber extraction. It is typical in both sectors to work away from home for stints ranging from two weeks to several months. You stay in tents, in rustic cabins without electricity, in bunkhouses, ect. And you work outdoors running saws and swinging axes and tossing logs in dense wet brush all day every day. Standard in my line is to be away from even cell service for months at a time. So, you aren't going to have two pairs of boots with you which also means that you will not have dry feet. The area will see rain or snow daily for months at a time every spring and fall. Those times of year, everyone, every night does their best to dry their boots next the wood stove. At some point, everyone leaves their boots too long or they get them too close or they leave them unattended unaware that someone else was stoking the stove, and they overheat the leather. When that happens, it starts to crack and it feels hard and dry to the touch. That means that it will fall apart in the next six months which means that it is time to order your next pair now. That often feels like a painful $500 mistake to the newbies, though you do better at it with time.
You might find it interesting that the patina that is most admired regionally is not a 'cared for' look. People will say "nice boots" or "those look like good boots" when you have a new pair of whites. But when the tread is worn 3/4 down and the toe is curled aggressively up and the dry work leather is showing the aggressive highlights and lowlights of your abrasion patterns, thats when way more people say all variations of "I like your boots", and "who makes those" and "I might try that brand next". To achieve that look, though, I'm afraid that I cannot follow your boot care guides. My personal guide to achieve would be :you cannot use a shoe tree, conditionings must be at 1/2 the frequency of would be best for the leather, you must fully saturate with water and then aggressively dry with heat the boot for months daily followed by months of treating daily with sweat, sap, and dust, and you must clean the dirt and mud off no more frequently than on a bi-weekly schedule.
Thanks for spreading the love on PNW brands, I have always worried that they might go under with how small and how few of those operations there are. This internet driven influx of popularity gives me hope for their longevity as producers. When it's time for me to sell my whites (made by Nicks), I plan on purchasing a pair of MP boots to carry me to retirement. So, I suppose that is my grail boot as well.
That is so good! Thank you! What a load of amazing true to life and region info! Honestly I can’t than you enough.
If someone's finding this video in the future and wondering "can i wear these for actual work and be fine?" Wore my iron rangers on the jobsite for a whole year and now 3 years down the line they're the most comfortable shoes ive ever owned. Got a pair of 877 8in mocs as my second pair of red wings, very excited to break em in
(Yes I did darken them severely with the mink oil the red wing man told me to buy)
Great series!!! I bought one pair of Thursdays earlier in the year and fell down the full rabbit hole. Currently breaking in my first pair of Nicks. The ramp up was quick hahahah.
I bought my first pair of thorogood boots a year ago and now I’m breaking in some nicks and got Drew’s for work. It does escalate quickly.
My wife is wondering where I’m getting all this money for boots.
I've found the Whites Perry Moc toe to be the most comfortable traditional work boot I've found to date but I want to try the lower priced JK and Franks after decades of wearing Redwing, Danner and Thorogood for the last 35 years.
+1 here. Exactly the same situation I’m in with the same experience 😂.
Some PNW brands also have links on their sizing pages that give you a table of the boot sizes and corresponding last measurements. Using that you can measure the length of your foot, and the circumfrance of the ball of your foot at the widest point and use those two numbers to line up a size.
My sizing technique, and it's worked pretty well, is to find my EU size (42 sandal, 43 shoe) and then use the maker's size guide to see what they have as the equivalent. Thanks for this series. You're relaying many helpful things.
Your boot reviews are the best out there,such a great job,as always.
Your content, aside from being very informative and educational for a newcomer to the boot world like me, is also very relaxing if I'm gonna be honest
I really enjoy the slow pace you in take in explaining things
@@cyantile5490 thanks mate
Really appreciate your sharing and research into your obvious passion of boots. I just ordered a Thursday Captain but keep fingers crossed that the sizing is ok. Cheers.
Got a pair last year. Very hard flexi wax finish which takes ages to age. One of my favourites
Appreciate your passion and insight on boots brotha.
It's not really true that cemented boots can't have their soles replaced. Many can in the same way that glued on wedge, crepe or commando soles can be removed from GYW boots.
They are either peeled off using glue thinners or ground off using the machines.
There are lots of YT videos of Timberland boots being re-soled for example.
It of course very much depends on the purchase price as to whether it is worthwhile paying $100 or so to get them re-soled.
It is true that some boots with combined EVA/PU midsoles and outsole that come as a unit, cannot easily be replaced but even in these cases, if the cobbler can get access to the combined sole, they can be re-soled. And there are cobblers that specialise in re-soling this type of boot sole which is fairly common feature in hiking boots.
Love this series! Hope you'll cover entry level of dress boots
Where is the hat!? Have you tried the WA made Chelsea’s from Bodkins in Freo?
Not yet!
Anastazi boots I think is the name of the WA make
Thank You for sharing!
Surprised no mention of Jim Green Numzaam?
@@Doc.Holiday old video
@ Roger that…. You do a great job!
GREAT VIDEO. Thanks!
What's the difference between service boots and work boots?
That’s a bloody good question! For me, “modern” service boots have a sleeker, dressier last, but I haven’t been able to find a 100% answer!
As quality goes how
Do you compare nicks viberg and truman boots ?
They're honestly all different. Different people seem to mean different things by the word quality. Viberg and Nicks are both stitchdown. Viberg are very well finished but not as substantial as Nicks. Trumans are lower cost but also more ordinary Goodyear welted construction compared to either Nicks or Viberg.
I've got a pair of Nicks and Trumans and it is about different levels of quality. The Trumans are beautifully stitched and well put together and will last me along time. My Nicks are admittedly not quite as well done asteticly, but they are tanks that can probably outlast me and the next apocalypse. The quality of the Nicks is being overengineered towards durability.
While I do not have Viberg, I cannot deny that they seem to be better put together than Trumans and seem to have some of aspects of hand made craftsmanship like the Nicks. Maybe in a few years my wallet will recover enough to get some Vibergs to experience them myself.
I believe Iron Rangers have no midsole... so perhaps not gold standard...
Just want to throw my 2 cents in on sizing. My Brannock is 10.5D. I wear 11.5 in Nike, Adidas, Cons and Tims. I wear 10.5D in Red Wing and 10D in White's and Nick's. Just my experience.
Valid. Feet are different.