Feet Up! The Work Boot Thread

[dh66]

The uppers have an extra piece of leather. The backstay is a 3rd piece of leather, over the other 2 pieces. Goodyear welted to a rubber midsole. Synthetic Faux Norwegian Welt. Synthetic lasting board with poron, and an insert. Vibram wedge sole. Eyelets, speed hooks, then an eyelet at the top which I never use. Typical Thorogood build. Comfortable. No painful break-in. I expect to own these for the rest of my life. They can easily go through a resole where the worn sole is pulled off, and a new sole glued on. Then a cobbler can stitch on a new midsole for another resole. After that, the welt can be changed, and the shoe is rebuilt with a leather insole and leather midsole. Only problem is that all of those resoles will cost more than a new pair of shoes.


Thorogood offers a budget Made in USA shoe. Maybe not the best components with the synthetic lasting boards and poron. But certainly a lot lighter and more comfortable out of the box. You can spend more for shoes with leather insoles. But if you're actually working, the synthetics may be the way to go. If you have a requirement for orthothics or special orthopedic footbeds, then these may be the better option. When you need arch support, a doctor will not point you towards a flat piece of hard leather.​

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Really like the looks of these, and have often considered grabbing a pair for myself.

 

[dh66]

Wesco jobmasters taking a break from the job

 

[Fifty150]

Really like the looks of these, and have often considered grabbing a pair for myself.

The model no. is

814-4233​

Unfortunately, this model is discontinued. I got lucky when I got mine, on clearance. I believe that it was one of their better shoes. You are in luck if you can fit a size 6.

Thorogood brought the style back temporarily. It looks the same. But it isn't. There is now a decorative stitch, where the extra piece of leather used to be. The same look of the lace to toe, "monkey boot". But missing the extra piece of leather over the vamp. And from what I see, it's also discontinued, on clearance, with limited sizes.

 

[Fifty150]

At the dishwashing station of Panda Express. I liked these enough that I bought them again. I have 2 pairs. I don't have any money. But I own 2 pairs of shoes. So that I don't wear the same shoes every day.

 

[Fifty150]

These just happen to be what I'm wearing this week. Personal bias. Completely my own prejudices. It has been wet. Wet enough that I can fairly judge the shoes' performance. All three shoes performed fine on wet pavement, wet grass, wet dirt, wet gravel, and all the assorted debris found in back alleys. People do buy shoes based on looks. They look fine to me. Of course, there will be other opinions. The bulbous toes tapering into a narrow waist could be considered clown shoes. I don't even know what people would consider stitchdown boots that are just wide all over.

Wolverines because I like the way that they feel. A personal prejudice. On my feet, 1000 Mile Boots feel the best. It's far from a "perfect" shoe. In this world, nothing is "perfect". Texon lasting board is the biggest turn off. So far, no problems with it. I fully expect them to hold up. People resole them all the time, and reuse the lasting board. The shoe is stitched to a very good quality leather outsole. The other thing that I don't like. Leather soles. I just don't like slipping and sliding all over the place. My pair has a sole saver.

Red Wing are a close second. I have several pairs. I favor the Iron Ranger. Again, there is no way to describe when the shoe fits your foot right. For my feet, these are neck and neck with the 1000 Mile Boot. Maybe I just have to wear them more to get my feet to like them. They are built on a leather insole, so it starts off right. The shoes are attached to a Vibram mini-lug sole and matching proprietary heels. People cry over things like not having a leather midsole. Or criticize other shoes for using reconstituted leather midsoles and heels. The Iron Ranger works just fine with completely synthetic soles and heels.


I could stop right there. I would be happy with just 1000 Mile Boots and Iron Rangers, and rotating them accordingly. It's not a perfect world. I'm not perfect. I'm a fool. ばか Of course I have wasted my money on other shoes. I have lots of other shoes, and most do not get worn.


I have Jim Green. I try to wear them. On paper, the specs are there. It is a well built shoe. Stitchdown construction. Single piece of leather for the vamp. Real toe cap and heel counter cover. Fully leather lined. Leather insole. Leather midsole. Very robust. Rigid. All of that leather makes the shoe heavy, hard to break in, and the shoe doesn't easily mold to flex with the foot. I want to like them more. I want to like wearing them. On my feet, they just don't have the same comfortable feel. My feet don't hurt. I think that the two factors are weight, and the soles are a hard rubber. The hard rubber is long wearing. It just doesn't give you a soft bouncy step.


For what it's worth, you can't compare $149 Jim Green to shoes that cost almost $400. Made in USA is good, but doesn't make it better. Construction in South Africa seems to be just as good. Maybe getting Horween Chromexcel or SB Foot is good. Maybe Leather From Hart and Cordova Leather are also pretty good. I try to work Jim Green into my shoe rotation more often. Thinking that it's a well made shoe, and I just have to get used to it. I also want to get my $149 worth. On my feet, they just don't have the same feel. Maybe someone else, with different feet, will feel better in them.​

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[Fifty150]

ばか

Cap Toe. Plain Toe. Pretty boring. These may be the boots that I wear most. I probably wear 1000 Mile Boots, Red Wing, and Florsheim more than my other boots.​

 

[TLW '90]

It's new work boot day for me.

Thorogood 814-6201

 

[Fifty150]

Very nice. I've been looking at those same boots.

 

[TLW '90]

Very nice. I've been looking at those same boots.

Go for it.
I got 3 years out of my previous pair and they still have a lot of life left in them.
For your job, they would probably last quite a long time as well.

 

[theeprimitivesound]

My Wesco horween cxl horsehide Mr Lou's!

 

[Fifty150]

I got 3 years out of my previous pair and they still have a lot of life left in them.

Are you going to rebuild them?

 

[TLW '90]

Are you going to rebuild them?

I wore an uncomfortable depression into the footbed or cork filling on the left boot which is why I bought a new pair.
I may think about rebuilding them myself, but with the work that needs to be done it would cost too much to have a professional do it.
If it were just the outsoles ( they're not that worn ) I would, but they need more than that.

 

[Fifty150]

an uncomfortable depression into the footbed or cork filling on the left boot

Thorogood construction is with lower cost materials. That has been the reason that I only bought a few pairs, as they went on sale. I understand the price point of USA manufacturing. I also understand that a similar built boot, could be half the price if assembled in another country.

Thorogood boots usually have an insert footbed. This is good, because you can get rid of it and use your choice of orthotics. Swap in a pair of sneakers footbeds, and it's like you're wearing a sneaker. These do wear out. And you can replace them. Usually, that does the trick.​

Under the footbed, the boot is lasted onto a lasting board. Usually Texon or Bontex,. Followed by the cork. Then there's the rubber midsole and rubber outsole.​

with the work that needs to be done it would cost too much to have a professional do it.

It sounds like a good cobbler could replace the lasting board with a leather insole, attach new welts, refill the cavity with cork, sew on a leather midsole, then attach any sole you want.


That would cost more than a new pair of shoes.

A rebuild can often cost more than the shoes. Which makes very little sense economically. I get that the cobbler has to cover the cost of doing the job, payroll, taxes, rent, utilities, and other business overhead. I get that the end product is going to be even better than a new pair of shoes.


I'm not sold. I am not spending $400 on rebuilding a pair of shoes.​

If there was nothing wrong with the shoes, and it just needed a new rubber sole attached, then I would consider $150.

 

[TLW '90]

I am completely aware of how my Thorogood boots are made, and that's how I know what went wrong with them.
There is a depression inside the boot, and I'm fairly confident that it's a depression in the cork filling that the footbed has caved into a bit.
I swapped out the insoles and that lessened the discomfort of it a bit, but it started increasing again over the past week.

Again, I'm fully aware of how they're made.
They have the removable cushion insole, a layer of foam glued on top of the Texon footbed, the gimming then the welt, cork filling, rubber midsole, and Meramec urethane outsoles.


Remember that most Thorogood boots are of a traditional/ heritage style, but are work boots first and foremost so they don't have all the material standards of a true enthusiasts heritage boot.
They choose the best quality versions of all the materials they choose to use and choose them so they can offer as comfortable reliable and affordable of a boot as they can for blue collar Americans on a particular budget while paying blue collar Americans to make them.
They offer good quality but not fancy jobsite ready full grain American leathers, oil & slip resistant outsoles, Solid brass speed hooks, safety toes, steel & fiberglass shanks, and the cork filling that's far superior to recycled carpet foam.
They're great work boots for the money, as much of a boot as many tradesman need, and really the only " lower cost materials " are the texon " lasting board " the thermoplastic heel counter and the PVC welt.
Otherwise they actually do some things better than redwing does, and definitely do nearly everything better than just about all other Goodyear welted work boots for the same money or less especially anything made in the USA.

 

[Fifty150]

I think about open trenches, concrete dust, chemicals, heat, steam, raw sewage, and all of the other unpleasantness of a work environment. I would want those PVC welts, the rubber midsole, the rubber outsoles. And it would be senseless to have some sort of fancy leather. The synthetic lasting boards and layers of poron are for comfort. When people complain about hard break-in or discomfort with traditional leather "heritage boots"........ that all goes away with synthetics.


I have a few pairs of the "roofer" style Thorogoods. I think that they are good shoes. For the price range, there are not many competitors for that level of quality.

 

[TLW '90]

Weinbrenner definitely has their priorities straight and hits their target well.
There's really not much I'd change about Thorogood boots personally.
That vamp lining really is my biggest complaint, I always wear through it and it can sometimes be noticeable.
It's way better than the vamp lining on the Justins I used to buy, but could still be better.
If they can't use a cheap glove leather they could at least use a thicker canvas or something.


I'd love to see more models in my size and offer the flyway models without the " waterproof " lining, but beyond that they aren't doing much wrong.

 

[Fifty150]

In as far as a boot which is actually suitable for work, Thorogood is at the top of the list. When you narrow it down to Made In USA, the list gets shorter. Then when you really narrow it down to affordable work boots, you have less than a handful of options. I'm thinking about boots that someone could afford to buy, without spending a small fortune (i.e. Pacific NorthWest, 1000 Mile Boots, Red Wing Heritage).

Maybe price isn't a big deal to some people. But I'm not going to spend $400 on work boots. For me, work boots need to be under $300. Maybe around $200 with the right sale. Or under $200 if not Made In USA.

For Made in USA; Red Wing Work, Carolina, and Danner come to mind. There are other Made In USA shoes like Rocky for public safety & postal.

I used to get Sears Roebuck, made in China, for less than $100. Wolverine has $100 boots from China. I've worn them. The quality isn't much different. They will all last at least 1 year. Then you get your uniform allowance again, and buy another pair. Same type of construction and similar components. If I were short on money, and had to have something to go to work in, I wouldn't care too much about where it was made.​

 

[Tilli]

In as far as a boot which is actually suitable for work, Thorogood is at the top of the list. When you narrow it down to Made In USA, the list gets shorter. Then when you really narrow it down to affordable work boots, you have less than a handful of options. I'm thinking about boots that someone could afford to buy, without spending a small fortune (i.e. Pacific NorthWest, 1000 Mile Boots, Red Wing Heritage).

Maybe price isn't a big deal to some people. But I'm not going to spend $400 on work boots. For me, work boots need to be under $300. Maybe around $200 with the right sale. Or under $200 if not Made In USA.

For Made in USA; Red Wing Work, Carolina, and Danner come to mind. There are other Made In USA shoes like Rocky for public safety & postal.

I used to get Sears Roebuck, made in China, for less than $100. Wolverine has $100 boots from China. I've worn them. The quality isn't much different. They will all last at least 1 year. Then you get your uniform allowance again, and buy another pair. Same type of construction and similar components. If I were short on money, and had to have something to go to work in, I wouldn't care too much about where it was made.​

You might want to consider a William Lennon boot from the UK. I have a pair if their Derby boots. They are tough as nails, handmade the old way and for a fair and resonalble price.

 

[TLW '90]

I have seen the inside of a lot of less expensive imported boots ( formed my own opinions based on what I saw ) and few lived up to Thorogood.
Almost all of them use a thinner ( even if only slightly ) nubuck type leather, cheap stamped or even plastic speed hooks , almost all are fully lined with a cheap sneaker like material, few have a leather counter cover inside, most use something inferior to cork for the filler, ofen layers not glued together that well, many have voids inside, and I just don't like the modern aesthetic that most have.
I used to buy cheaper imported work boots and was never happy with anything about them, I stepped up to a more expensive American made justin and they were better, but the Thorogoods have been even better and more comfortable.

I work maintenance at a truck stop and don't have a uniform allowance.
They give me my uniform shirt & hat, and will " waste " a pair of work gloves or safety squints off the shelf if I need them but that's it.

 

[Fifty150]

Thorogoods have been even better and more comfortable.

I agree with you. Thorogood boots are the best bang for the buck, when it comes to work boots. They have been able to keep the cost affordable, and sell a durable item.







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