Great Boots
The boots arrived today and instantly went on my feet, five hours latter and a three mile walk I took them off without a bit of discomfort or pain from the start they fit like a old friend not something that needs to be broken in and hope they fit latter. After nearly sixty years with Red Win Shoes having feet that were hard to fit since a child I learned long ago to get a fitting first then the shoes. I really recommend not going by your tennis shoe size and try and transplant that to an American Boot bought on the internet. Go to a dealer get fitted, see the shoe,feel the shoe then buy where you want.These boots I received were made 12/16 they are not 2nd's they had their inspection cert signed by Debra and had none of the markings the 15 or so factory 2nd's I have owned ( a small hole at the top of the tongue or a saw tooth area on the inner fold of the tongue) telling a dealer that someone had changed returned boots. The only reason I could see why Amazon marked these down is that they had previously been sent out and the left boot had been tried on while the box was beaten and tattered the boots were flawless and the garbage did not mind a beat box.If you want comfort and support especially on cement you can't go wrong and while the soles won't last forever they will be comfortable and can be replaced even to another style that will wear longer. Besides they look great weather you are old waiting for that Trout to bite or young waiting for the Red Head to notice you.
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A
Amazon Customer
March 25, 2016
Awesome boots AFTER they are broke-in
Here is the scoop on these Red Wings. First they are 100% Legit, they are not knockoffs. I was worried myself because I didn't notice the logo on the side, after doing some research I discovered that Red Wings do not imprint their logo on the side of some of the newer makes.Size wise I read a bunch of mixed information. I ordered 1 full size down originally but I had to send them back for only a 1/2 size down. So make sure you order 1/2 size smaller than your normal sneaker size. To give you more context, I wear size 9 in Nike tennis shoes, so 8.5 Red Wings worked perfect.Okay here is the most important part, the break-in period (I can only speak to the "Charcoal Rough and Tough" model I purchased)... the leather on these boots is quality thick leather. It is no joke and breaking them in is no joke either! I'm used to wearing soft leather Frye and Kenneth Cole boots that aren't necessarily built for work... so breaking in these Red Wings was hell, I'm not going to lie to anyone. Every forum you read online you will discover this is almost a given with Red Wings, you earn them. For me the piping at the top of the boot was digging into my ankle bad until they finally broke-in.Here are a couple tips to help others. If you have problems with the piping digging into your ankle like I did, then for the first two weeks leave the top two eyelets of the boot unlaced. Once they're broke-in you can lace them all the way up with no issues at all.This is a big recommendation here. I used "Sofsole Leather Lube" (you can find it here on Amazon) on my boots to soften the leather. This helped the most, and also add protection to the boots in the process. NOTE: It did darken the leather though, the gray turned almost black (which is what I kinda wanted anyways), I attached a picture of them after I lubed them. Just massage the lube into the boots really well and let them sit over night, the next day wipe off any excess and brush them up.It took me wearing them as my main boot for about 2-3 weeks to break them in. BUT, once they're broke-in you have the best boot you could ever want... they take the shape of your foot and feel great.Hope this helps others.
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C
Craig Hlavka
March 28, 2015
Colors and sizing.
These are great boots. Don't be afraid to return your shoes if they don't fit. Amazon has a painless return policy. You'll have your money refunded within 2-3 days once you drop them off at UPS (if you used a credit card). Also, just as common practice when buying off Amazon, make sure you are aware of who the vendor is. In this case I made sure the vendor was Redwing Heritage. A little note was included with the shoes that said, "inspected personally by a Donna...examined every detail of this shoe, etc". Reassuring me to no doubt.I went with 10 D first, but had to return them for a wider fit. So, I went with a size 10 2E. Out of the box the width was great, the fit was a bit roomy, not loose, but not quite as snug as I wanted them to be. Simple fix, by putting an insole in the shoe the fit became snug. Vuallah, like a glove and no heel slipping. Just Awesome.Another thing, about the color selection. I had a hard time deciding between going with brair oil slick, or with a more classic leather color. So, when I found these advertised as "brown" on Amazon, it seemed like a good compromise, although I was curious as to what they'd be because I didn't see "brown" on the official Rewing heritage website. As it turns out it appears to me they are the Briar Oil Slick, and they look great.Made in the USA, baby!
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