I have come to hate red wing shoes

Bought a pair of red wing 6672 steel toe athletic boots and had problems with the little cloth pieces the strings go threw from the start. Even got a replacement pair after the first month but the second pair was just as bad.

I noticed red wing has fixed the problem by putting metal lace pieces on the shoes but went up $50 on the price.

Now the shoes need new soles so I called red wing and they tell me the shoes can not be resoled because the soles are glued on.
I will admit these have been a comfortable pair of water proof <a href="http://www.redwingshoes.com/red-wing-shoe/6672-red-wing-shoes/6672-red-wing-mens-athletic-brown">boots</a> but I am not spending $175 on another pair.

So Wal-Mart here I come. Hope you have my size. If I am going to buy China junk just as soon get it for $25 rather than $175.

I have a pair of RWs that I purchased last year. They have replaceable stitched soles. I have had more than one guy walk up and ask me where I got them. Two of them explained that they were USA made Red Wings. I dont know if there is any validity to that or not.

the last pair of red wings i bought had made in china on the tongue tag. never again. i buy american. i want my grandkids to have a job in this country someday. boycott walmart.

(quoted from post at 09:31:08 10/06/12) I have a pair of RWs that I purchased last year. They have replaceable stitched soles. I have had more than one guy walk up and ask me where I got them. Two of them explained that they were USA made Red Wings. I dont know if there is any validity to that or not.

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Red Wing did in fact send some of thier manufacturing off shore to compete with other boots. Most of the folks I know make sure they are buying the boots made in the US. Late time I was in a Red Wing store the boots were clearly marked as to where they were made.

Again it's a case of a company being forced by the consumer to move ops off shore in order to compete.

Rick

Red Wing makes a USA made line of shoes/boots but boy-oh-boy are they expensive. They are not better made either, just a little extra ink on the box exclaiming they are made here. I used to get their oxford shoes for just a hair over $100 a pair, $60 on sale..... now with the USA ink on the box.... $250. No joke.

If you want to put a new sole on your shoes, you need to buy a pair made with a Goodyear welt. Some people routinely burn out the soles and still have good leather so for them its a good idea to get a proper shoe so they can be fixed. If you are a DIY kind of person, you can resole your boots for about $10. Soles are available on ebay and quart of Barge cement should last you a lifetime (unless you find out how good it is for other stuff).

Avoid the formed soles like the plauge. Not only are the soles not fixable, they tend to start pealing off. Also, the foam that they put around the edges for support tends to break down much sooner than the rest of the shoe, expecially if you dont wear them everyday. I had a pair of hicking boots like that and I decided I didnt use them enough for hiking to justify keeping them so I wore them to work. Got to work and was doing carpet, made a tight turn to grab a tool and I could feel the sole rip or tear. Look down and all that foam was crumbling. I had a heck of a time finishing the day just keeping the rubber under my feet. Unreal, couple year old boot with 20 or 30 miles on them.... right in the trash.

Are Mason shoes still made in Wisconsin?? gobble

(quoted from post at 12:20:15 10/06/12) Are Mason shoes still made in Wisconsin?? gobble

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Last I knew they were, in Chippewa Falls, WI. They also have a outlet store where they sell many different brands so it might be considered a shoe store as I dont thenk they own all the brands they sell there.

Weinbrenner shoes are made in Marshfield and I believe Merrill. They also own several different brands. I think Weinbrenner is a union made as well, for those interested.

Couple year old boot with 20 or 30 miles on them?
Hahahahahaha lol that's so funny. Good way to put it!

(quoted from post at 12:32:58 10/06/12) Really? Not better made? You sure about that?

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Am I sure? Are you joking? Of course Im sure, they are on my feet every single day. Oiled as needed. When scuffed, I attempt to feather out the damage. New laces in the event they are needed (almost never). Glue under the sole if needed (rare). Stiching repair as needed (25-50% need a couple stiches). My point is, I take care of my shoes more than most and go to the extreme of even fixing them myself, including restiching any blown out parts. I use the largest needle I can get with the thread out of a leather awl kit but you need to wax dip it. I also have used tip-up line but I cant get the wax in it and they will fail sooner. Its a tight braid so wax dont go it in well and the line dry rots.

So yes, I am 100% positive that the Red Wings from China are of the same quality as the old made in USA Red Wings. I have even compaired them side by side before I even knew that one of them was a made in China pair. The old made in USA pair did have a slightly different leather cut on the rear of the shoe where it joins the quarters together in back. This difference in cut serves no functional use in my experience over many shoes. When resewing the quarters together it works once or twice but after that, just snip off that little tab. Anyway, it was just a tiny difference between the USA shoes and the made in China shoes.

I cant comment much on the economics of your situation as we each have our specific and unique situations so if it pencils out for you, great. I can say though, that my use of WalMart socks is not like your experience. While I dont track my usage as you do, I can easily guess that I get way, way more than 30 days of use out of them. I get a new package of socks once or twice a year so I way exceed the 30 days you are getting.

Anyway, the point of this post is, yes Im sure there is no difference in the USA shoes and the China ones. I have wore them both to rags and fixed them as needed. I encourage everybody else to do the same, you not only know your shoes better, you end up fitting your feet better and you can work longer days much easier. My feet are much happier now that I have taken a proactive approch to keeping good shoes on and fixing what I have. It also helps in educating yourself in what shoes to buy. There is alot of info on the internet that you can read about making shoes and shoe repair. I didnt invent the wheel, I just did some research on the internet on what other people were doing and went from there.

I have never "Worn-Out" any pair of Red Wings...My oldest pair are over 50 years old and I use them around here for everyday use.., trading off with a pair that is only 30+ years old, should the 1st pair need to dry..

I do treat mind about once per year with "Sno-Seal" applied with a hair dryer to melt it in completely and once cooled, wipe the excess off..
The Local shoe repair man puts any new heels and soles on and they just keep on being fine...
Sno-Seal has to be the BEST leather treatmen/Condiditoner to be found...

I will not use "Neats-foot oil" at all, anymore..
it seems to degrade the leather..
The Bees Wax in Sno-Seal water proofs the boots.. Yea, they will "Look Wet", but they will not be ruined and my feet seldom actually get damp..

Ron..

Rich, son in laws kid brother works for BNSF. They require a certain type of boot. Red Wing has severl pairs that meets BNSF's requirements. The store I get my RedWing stuff from carries then because they are several miles from a BNSF yard. According to Pee Wee the Chinese made boots don't wear as well. He's on a crew that does track maint so I bet they wear thier boots pretty hard with the crushed stone and such.

I was (my fault, wan't clear in my prior post) refering to say the brands of boots carried in the box stores as far as wear is concerned. That's the stuff I was getting a year out of. Not the Chinese Rew Wings. I'm wearing USA made ones. They were not that much more expensive than the ones from China. Never had a pair of those.

The sock deal is my fault too as I generally just have socks on in the house. But the box stoe socks don't hold up nearly as well. Maybe because the ones that they claim fit size 15's really seem a little tight. That is another advantage of Red Wing. The carry both boots and socks in 15. I don't have to order them.

I don't do shoe repair but I'm not above having them repaired.

Rick

Just picked up my new pair here a week ago.
I think it must be about the 10th pair of these I've had. I just call Chet's shoes where they keep my name, style and size in the computer and they are here a week later.
They went up since last time - about $160 now.
I'll keep buying them.

Ultradog, if I remember right, u said u never tie your boots! Lol

I do at first - for a year or so then I kind of slack off.
I'm in and out of them a lot though.
Like today; doing the fussy last minute punch list stuff on a bathroom remodel. Out to get a tool, back in across a fancy wood floor to fix something. Leave your shoes outside and work in your stockings. In/out, off and on, etc. Not really worth running tarps the whole route just to hang a mirror, fix a drip and install the towel bars that finally arrived.

I had a local place resole my 958 red wings, not sure if the construction is the same or not.

I recently received a pair of Redwings this year and have been pleased with them. Most comfortable shoes I ever got. They're aluminum toe, so they're not quite as cold and heavy as the steel ones. I take care to oil them as necessary. They're from China, as the label says, but I have no gripes with them. I'd prefer if they were made in the USA, on principal, but as long as they last a good long time (this is my first pair of 'em ever) I've got no issues. They've already lasted longer than the $50 shoes I was getting at Wally World and places of that ilk (usually the sole would split in two or the sidewalls would blow out), and they still look nice as well.

wife bought me a pair of Carolina brand boots. But I think they are made in China now too.

I have recently gotten some red wings didnt notice the made in chiina till it was too late GRRR they are heavy, uncomfortable ,slippery soled,just bad boots made in china at a made in U.S.A. prices look at some hi tek magnums. china made, but reasonably priced boots they are light weight with a good traction sole and comfey out of the box I will have a pair last about two years before they start to fall apart and I have em on almost every day

No red wimgs i've seen have been from china. my 1st pair 606s lasted 5+ years (they still good just a small hole @ my rt little toe). 1+ years on my second pair, i wont buy anything else. The ones from china must be the knock offs that are made for style?!? I pay about $150 a pair $70-$100 for timbrelands that last a year at best. when thy get comfy they worn out!!

i am wearing my first pair of RW boots just now at my job they have composite toe and met-guard (required) they are much heavier than my old ones (wolverines) and seem hard to break in they also make across top of both feet at ankle kind of sore. not sure if i am going to like them

I bought a pair of supposedly Red Wing shoes from Guide Gear and when I got them the logo was red but not that of Red Wing and the shoes were marked Red Wings. They were good solid, long wearing shoes and sturdily built at a cheap price but they were not what they were advertised to be.

My uncle had a shoe truck after he got out of college where he would drive to the industrial sites around town and had a good Red Wing shoe business going.

Mark

I quit buying RedWings when they quit doing the stiched leather and rubber sole and went to the molded glue on crap.

I've bought Carolina's ever since and they hold up great and are a good sturdy boot. I like the short linesman's boots and they are made in USA. I did buy a pair of their insulated logger style and was bummed to find out that model was imported. They fit like a pair of worn in slippers though...

Look up Danner boots if you want excellent hunting boots made in USA. They are in Oregon and make some real nice boots. They also make boots that are sold under other names.