Red Wing Heritage Boots

[mortonm]

I wear a pair of Beckmans just about every day - have had them for about 2 years. The sole that comes on them is junk. It looks luggy, but the rubber is ridiculously hard and the "tread depth" is minimal.

They do not have much support or cushioning, to be sure. And zero insulation (which is one of my favorite things about them).

With a good heavy pair of socks, they are comfortable all day in an office environment or casually running around on the weekends.

I would NOT wear them if I was on my feet all day, though.

I had mine re-soled about 3 months ago direct from Red Wing (cost about $100), and had them put on the proper luggy Vibram sole. This has made a tremendous difference in comfort and usability - and looks in my opinion.

So I now have a kind of Beckman - Roughneck hybrid.

The simple classiness of the Beckman upper combined with the vibram lug sole is a nice blend of vintage style and capability

Do you have any pictures? I am looking to get my 875s resoled and I am considering the lug tread. I also am looking to buy a pair of Beckman's and would do the same thing after the original sole wore out.

 

[MattScott]

They don't come in grown-up sizes... ...and look a little girly for me...

So you guys all swap shoes at the office?
ummmkay.

I always found those boots humorous, as if they were really meant for Brooklyn or LA with their complete lack of grip on the bottom.

 

[mortonm]

I always found those boots humorous, as if they were really meant for Brooklyn or LA with their complete lack of grip on the bottom.

Go back a hundred years, I don't think you will find much grip on any shoes or boots. New York, Los Angeles or otherwise

 

[proper4wd]

Do you have any pictures? I am looking to get my 875s resoled and I am considering the lug tread. I also am looking to buy a pair of Beckman's and would do the same thing after the original sole wore out.

I can take some photos later today or tomorrow, stand by

 

[mortonm]

I can take some photos later today or tomorrow, stand by

Thank you!

 

[Hilldweller]

Go back a hundred years, I don't think you will find much grip on any shoes or boots. New York, Los Angeles or otherwise

What you found for the outdoorsman was a barefoot traveler in the summer and handmade moccasins in the winter stuffed with deer fur for warmth. My ancestors anyhow.
Nice flexible footwear that fit well.
But there is a line from my family's history that tells the tale of that all too well: "...they were much afflicted with rheumatism and slept with their feet toward the fire..."

 

[MattScott]

Go back a hundred years, I don't think you will find much grip on any shoes or boots. New York, Los Angeles or otherwise

Shall we talk about the other stupid things people did a hundred years ago?

 

[mortonm]

Shall we talk about the other stupid things people did a hundred years ago?

I wasn't attempting to be confrontational.

Just because they have flat soles doesn't mean they cant hold up to heavy use and are purely for fashion.

Would I buy a pair for hiking? With that sole? No

Would they work? Yup

 

[mjmcdowell]

Red Wing Boots.......

I am just so confused....... anything "Danner"....... period. mjmcdowell

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Picked up a pair of Iron Ranger's a year ago and wear them 3-4 times a week. Slow to break in, which I believe is due to the older boot tech, but now very comfortable.

Jim

 

[Shoeman]

Just stumbled across this thread...very amusing for me personally as I have been a Red Wing dealer for 29 years. In complete disclosure, we are not a Red Wing owned store, so we can and do sell other lines as well. Therefore I have the antidote to the kool-aid. ;-) The Heritage stuff is very well built. A few of the styles were current production when i started in the biz. They are not built to modern customer comfort standards and a serious break in is required. I used to caution people that you will get a blister as part of the fitting spiel back then. Now, with almost all boots being lined and cushioned, I don't have to repeat that warning very often. We recently added 4 of the styles to inventory, and pulling them out of the box was a trip down memory lane. I could see the tack holes in the leather insoles, and the smell was just as I remembered.
Yeah, most of the soles are flat. That's how it was back in the day until Vitale Brimani (may not be spelled correctly) came up with his famous lug sole for mountain climbers. Off road grip is minimal. The 875/877 crepe wedge offers a bit more by being a softer compound and they have some cushion underfoot because of that too. I don't remember right now if the 899 is still in production, it was a made to order only recently, but that is a good off road old school boot too. Used to be our go to for the wildland fire guys that did not want logger heels. I have a 20+ year old pair myself, parked next to the same vintage 877's.
The Heritage was and is not really marketed to Overlanders or hikers or even joe six pack laborers. It's RW's attempt at a boutique shoe for the outdoors/rugged look city market, and it has hit a home run from what I hear. That being said, they are well made (in Minn.) boots built on some of the last remaining machines of their kind using old timey methods and materials, and with care will last a damn long time. Just wear a good wool sock, and go slow with the break in to avoid pain. Oil them every couple of months if you wear them daily...wait...I sound like I'm at work. Bottom line: good stuff, not for everybody. Like many other things in this world.

 

[Hilldweller]

Shoeman, who makes a flat-soled boot, wide, but not for "fat" feet?
I want flexibility but robustness. And it would really really really help if I could order one larger than the other...

 

[Shoeman]

Bill,
If you mean wide but with a low instep, which is all I can guess from your description, you should look for something made in a real width selection. By that I mean more than the medium and wide that has become the modern standard in the industry. The running shoe industry has coined the term "low volume" for what I think you are describing. They are very clever at marketing shoes made in one width. Using different lasts for different styles allows them to do this. Saves big money from a manufacturers standpoint. Many lesser expensive work and hiking boots that claim to be made in medium and wides use tricks like using a half size larger last for the wides, or have actually wider lasts but use the same midsole/outsole for both widths. Not helpful for feet on the fringe sizes.
I'm not here to sell anything, please keep this in mind everybody. As a suggestion for you, look at the Red Wing 953. Flat sole with a heel, made in AA to 3E and every width in between. It's a proprietary welted construction that gives good flexibility when broken in and is very durable as well as resoleable by RW or a competent cobbler. It's been in production for over 30 years, which in this business means it works. I don't know of anybody else making a similar style anymore off the top of my head.
As an interesting aside, Earl Shaffer, the first AT thruhiker, who did the whole trail 3 times, wore a pair of them for his last hike. He previously used similar basic work boots with minimal to no tread as well. Just goes to show you do not always need the boot equivalent of a long arm lift and 35's to get the job done.

 

[Hilldweller]

Thanks, Shoeman. That's close but I'd rather not have any heel at all.

Are you familiar with Russell Moccasin?
I tried to have them build me a custom pair of these: http://www.russellmoccasin.com/minimalist-thula-thula/
They weren't successful. I did everything on their instruction list to the "t" and the boots arrived two sizes too long, two sizes too narrow, and so large around the ankle that I could lace it eye-to-eye and it was still loose.
Rather than try to do it again and make a pair that fit, they had me return them and give me a refund. They shorted me $50 in the refund.

I'd like a product like they promised. Their leather was incredible. Their construction was incredible. The Vibram Newporter sole was perfect. Everything about the boot was what I wanted except they didn't fit...

 

[Shoeman]

Those are beautiful shoes. Too bad you could not get a set that worked for you. The page on their site that talks about fitting http://www.russellmoccasin.com/what-is-9d/ is one of the best explanations of shoe size versus foot size I have ever see, and I've lived that for a long time. In my head I roll my eyes when I hear a customer say something like "I'm a perfect 10.5D". Hear we go I think to myself. We used to work with a western boot maker in Arizona that did custom work like that for us. Add a bump on the left instep, cut the V in the top down an extra 3", etc etc. When it works it's great, when it does not...well...not so much.
If you want no heel, have you looked at the RW 877 or the Thorogood line? They make nice stuff and are in Wisconsin. Employee owned and they are not out to be the next Wolverine conglomerate boot company.

Geoff
KC1BPO