Opinion Needed on Boots..

Woodhog · June 13, 2009, 12:41:09 PM

Would anyone have an opinion on these boots compared to Leather boots.

They are nylon, appear quite tough and would not have all the care of leather.

I find my leather boots get all cut up in the brush and rocks after a while

They say they are also waterproof....

The pair I looked at locally also had scuff pads on the toes and the heel.

FTD · June 13, 2009, 12:54:45 PM

Woodhog...
I'm not sure that the nylon will hold up a whole lot better than leather. Maybe not as good. Also, I assume they are Gore-Tex lined or something. When the Gore-Tex fails, how are you going to waterproof them?

Have you tried "rough out" leather boots? I have a pair of Whites Smoke Jumpers that are rough out with double leather vamp. I think they would survive a bomb blast! I also have had them rebuilt once and the left boot is half size bigger than the right, so are my feet coincidentally enough!

nhlogga · June 13, 2009, 02:52:19 PM

i buy redwings. tough as nails. working in the woods i can get a couple of years out of them.

CLL · June 13, 2009, 06:00:56 PM

Looks like the boots we wore in Vietnam, only ours sure wasn't waterproof. :D

woodmills1 · June 13, 2009, 07:01:40 PM

I wear only redwings, yes they cost, but I still have the first pair i ever bought.

arojay · June 13, 2009, 10:13:24 PM

I once had a pair of boots that looked like those pictured. They were made of ballistic nylon and made by the Kaufman company. These boots had no real upside but had two or more downsides one being that they were incredibly tough. Why is that a downside, you ask. Because I hated these boots and they simply would not wear out. They were not waterproof but at the same time would not breathe so your feet were always sweaty and stinky. I was too cheap to throw out a pair of boots that were not worn out so I wore them for a long time before I mysteriously lost them.

There are several top quality leather boots on the market. Look for some with double leather uppers for toughness and dress them with a beeswax based treatment and the leather won't go soft. If you are on a budget, Bailey's sells a boot that laces to the toe and has double uppers. I had a pair for a few years of logging, construction and firefighting and while they don't fit like a custom boot they were more comfortable than the average 'off the shelf' boot.

JasonV · June 13, 2009, 11:33:11 PM

Are you guys wearing steel toes- with the Redwings? I have a pair of the orange boots with Kevlar that I've been wearing for any cutting or other job that I would want protection, but they aren't very comfortable and leave my feet sweating a lot. This is a good thread and I'm curious what you guys will recommend. I'm definitely looking for steel toes, though.

woodmills1 · June 14, 2009, 06:39:52 AM

steel toed redwings

I also wear red wing socks nearly all the time. I have a few pair of fancy dress up black socks for wakes and weddings

Red wing socks are long fibered wool and in combination with Gold bond medicated foot powder they cured my stinky feet problem

If you think the shoes are pricy wait till you see the socks

I buy the socks when they have a buy 2 get one free sale

Cedarman · June 14, 2009, 06:52:06 AM

Woodmills, why would you want a 3d sock ?

Even if it was free.

Phorester · June 14, 2009, 08:01:52 AM

Good point Cedarman. Seems like a better deal would be , buy 3 get one free. ;D

I've worn Redwing logger boots for probaby 25 years. Steeltoed, black, vibram soled. A couple years ago i bought a pair of Thorogood firefighter boots. Black, vibram soled. Made in America. Both brands are comfortable and last. Both brands cost around $200. I buy uninsluated boots. Wear 2 pairs of socks all year. Cotton athletic socks next to my feet, wool over those. More insulation in the winter, more cushioning in the summer.

I always have 2 pair of boots. I switch out every few days, or if one pair gets completely wet, I have the other pair to wear until the first ones dry out.

Ron Scott · June 14, 2009, 09:41:34 AM

Yes, always good to have more than one pair of boots to cover the situation. I do the same.

woodmills1 · June 14, 2009, 05:05:05 PM

rotating 2 or more pairs of shoes will also make them last longer

I buy the 6/pack of pairs of socks so on sale I pay for 12 pair but get 18

crtreedude · June 14, 2009, 07:08:30 PM

Timely topic. I am in need of boots. Not like I actually work in wood you understand, but I do a LOT of hiking around the plantations reviewing work. What I really need is a boot that is for say a forest ranger, and can't be insulated. I really like Redwings, do they make something suitable?

nhlogga · June 14, 2009, 08:20:08 PM

crtreedude, redwing makes many types of boots. i'm sure they make a boot that would suit your needs.

scsmith42 · June 14, 2009, 08:22:43 PM

I asked similar questions about comfortable steel toed work boots a while back, and received a lot of great feedback.

Here is a link to the post:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,22929.0.html

Scott

thedeeredude · June 14, 2009, 09:34:01 PM

Is it good to wear safety toes logging? Working around draft horses we were warned not to wear steel toes because if they step on your foot the steel toe will shear your toes off. And that's just a 2000lb over sized dog, not a large tree. I wear steel toes at work but I really hate the feel of them and would much rather have non safety toe boots.

woodmills1 · June 14, 2009, 10:44:57 PM

I really like the redwings of medium height. the loggers are better at protection but not as comfotable. I have their 2249 and 2406, iactually have 2 pair of 2249 as well as the high top loggers. BTW always get brown red wings so you can use their oil to tune them up. they last forever and.....free laces and .free stitching for life.

steel toes I always wear for wood, maybe not for horses or elephants.

Clark · June 15, 2009, 04:50:18 PM

Quote from: crtreedude on June 14, 2009, 07:08:30 PM
Timely topic. I am in need of boots. Not like I actually work in wood you understand, but I do a LOT of hiking around the plantations reviewing work. What I really need is a boot that is for say a forest ranger, and can't be insulated. I really like Redwings, do they make something suitable?

crtreedude - These are what I wear:

http://www.redwingshoes.com/productdetails.aspx?prodid=1039

No insulation and they have lasted me quite some time. I highly recommend a pair of SuperFeet as Red Wing has not designed anything but a flat surface into the sole of the boot.

Clark

Raider Bill · June 15, 2009, 05:38:45 PM

Quote from: crtreedude on June 14, 2009, 07:08:30 PM
Timely topic. I am in need of boots. Not like I actually work in wood you understand, but I do a LOT of hiking around the plantations reviewing work. What I really need is a boot that is for say a forest ranger, and can't be insulated. I really like Redwings, do they make something suitable?

But do you want lug soles? Working logs I'm sure you would but for walking and general use I think they pick up too much crap which causes me to track it all over the place.

My new hiikers have semi lugs. Here in Florida mud/clay isn't a problem as all we have is sand But in Tenn it's red clay that sticks to everything.

Woodhog · June 15, 2009, 06:18:15 PM

Quotecrtreedude - These are what I wear:

http://www.redwingshoes.com/productdetails.aspx?prodid=1039

These are one fine looking boot, but when I wear boots like these in the woods they dont stay that way for long...

The toe area gets all scratched, picked, torn, with little digs out of the leather.

Hence I figure they need toe protectors, my old boots have them and one is half torn off...

If you note the way the leather piece is stitched around the heel of the boot, the seam is facing the wrong way, when I wear a boot with this type of heel stitching, that seam eventually gets all torn up and starts to open in spots along the stitch line.

I think its from limbing and working the boot thru spruce brush etc from the limbs and sharp pieces, also the rocks around here are hard granite and if you just scrap your leather boot against them the wrong way, they get cut and scratched to pieces.

I thought the nylon ballistic boots might hold up better, but looks like it might be back to a pair of those stinking orange power saw boots that look like ducks feet. Those you can patch up with rubber glue etc...

Clark · June 16, 2009, 01:34:31 AM

Woodhog,

Honestly I've never had a problem with seems or stitches coming undone on my Red Wings. I've got about 3 months of fire fighting in them and an additional 3 years forestry work with some cutting/limbing/brush monkey work. This includes work in Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho and now Washington/Oregon. They've seen their fair share of wet, dry, limbs and rocks.

The toe area is getting a little beat up but it's not something that will put these boots out of commission for quite some time. Honestly they are the best boots I've ever owned...but I'm not even 30 so time will tell!

Clark

woodmills1 · June 16, 2009, 06:32:37 AM

here is a shot of my redwings+

from the left oldest pair(since 97) resoled once, second(from 2000) worn as regular shoes to school for years then wood work, resoled, stitched and toed and new style inner soles, they need a repair, next two are relatively new worn as dress shoes for 3 years and placed into working servce 2 years ago. the sneakers in the back are steel toed woorxs by red wing. the muck luks are orange rubber, felt lined for real wet days, they are from 1989 but not red wing.

ErikC · June 16, 2009, 09:52:28 AM

I never knew you could get such life out of boots. :D I buy the best I can find, White's and Danner and still have to have them repaired or get new ones every couple of years. The longest I had was 4 years, but rebuilt twice during that. I don't feel wearing them every day they should give me more than that.

woodmills1 · June 16, 2009, 10:00:35 PM

I only buy the brown ones that can be oiled by me, and as you can see they all need oil. >:( >:( :( :D :D :D

Phorester · June 20, 2009, 02:41:31 PM

Quote from me; "I've worn Redwing logger boots for probably 25 years." Let me clarify that I've worn that brand for 25 years, not one pair of boots. I usually get 4 - 5 years out of one pair.

THEDEERDUDE, how much of a risk is a horse stepping on the feet of people working around them? Are there actually many accidents of that type, or just the fear of one?

Seems to me that if a 2,000 pound horse stepped on my foot I'd still have a big problem no matter what kind of boots I had on. I wonder too if maybe the steel toe would deflect a horse's hoof off your foot with most of its missteps onto your foot unless it was a straight down step that got you.