Red Wing Gentleman's Traveler

Originally Posted by Get Smart

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my spam for the day
selling my Red Wings (black 7.5, black cherry 8, black chelsea 7.5)

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...72#post1443472

Are you keeping any GTs for yourself? Not wearing them anymore?

^^ they're great boots....tbh I prefer Doc Martens and would rather see someone wear the GTs than have them sit in my closet

Originally Posted by upnorth

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I think alot of problems with the sizing is the really the result of one's width and also the wearer's preference. Adding to those problems is the confusion amongst most people that boots should fit like dress shoes or sneakers.

The general Red Wing recommendation to downsize 1/2 a size is based on the assumption that one's feet is normal width, i.e. a D width. Where one is below a D width, they might consider downsizing a full size or even better, look for another brand. E or EE size width should most probably not downsize at all.

Fact is most work boots and the GT is no different usually is made to be slightly larger and it is very normal for the heel to slip just a little until they are fully broken in. I went to a Red Wing store and they had me on a brannock scale. Boy did I get an education!

Amongst the measurements taken, include the length from the back of the heel to the ball of your feet. This length is probably the best gauge of whether a boot fits or not, i.e the widest part of the boot should correspond to the widest part of the foot (where the ball of the feet is). If it does fit, then the amount of extra toe space in the front is not a major issue. If it does not match, you will be better off with another pair, perhaps an iron ranger in an EE width. Unfortunately, Red Wings and in particular the GTs are not really made for everyone.

Yes - my issue was that the heel felt like it had a reasonable amount of slippage with a size 9, which was too tight in the toe width and length for me. Trying on a 9.5 the length and width felt pretty good, but there was too much heel slippage for my liking, even when the boot was laced quite tight. I'm not sure if this would change after breaking them in or not, but for the price I didn't want to risk it.

For reference, I tried on a pair of Frye Brando's in size 10D and they seemed to fit much better. Didn't pull the trigger on them though as I wasn't totally sold on the style of the boot...

I have the same question. I have some black Kiwi polish (should I use brown?) and wanted to verify that applying it on my black cherry GTs would be ok. I would lose the contrast stitching and the light brown sole area right?

Originally Posted by lalolanda

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just bought these on dark cherry some weeks ago, but i am kind of new with boots that actually require some care. how do you polish them without altering the contrasting stitching? i got some shoe cream polisn named tana on burgundy. would that be okay for these boots?

Originally Posted by kit99bar

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I have the same question. I have some black Kiwi polish (should I use brown?) and wanted to verify that applying it on my black cherry GTs would be ok. I would lose the contrast stitching and the light brown sole area right?

Just be careful not to get polish on the contrast stitching when you polish them. You can also use neutral polish (which won't change the color of the stitching) as a base and use colored polish only on the areas that need it.

If you don't want to alter the color, you should use a burgundy polish. I use AE chili with good results.

I have size 9E feet.
In that case, I shouldnt size down at all, should I?
Will GT even work for me in terms of sizing?

Originally Posted by theinsider

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I have size 9E feet.
In that case, I shouldnt size down at all, should I?
Will GT even work for me in terms of sizing?

The comments on Zappos suggest they run a hair narrow, so if you go TTS, they're going to end up a bit long.

You'd probably be better off going with boots that have actual wide sizes, or Doc Martens which supposedly run wide as it is.

Originally Posted by theinsider

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I have size 9E feet.
In that case, I shouldnt size down at all, should I?
Will GT even work for me in terms of sizing?

I have wider feet and GT's just didn't seem to work for me unfortunately...

Too much movement in the heel in the larger sizes (which felt ok in width)

I just picked up a pair, the width is great but I seem to have quite a bit of toe room. Will these break in funny? Should I move on and try something else?

Shrinking is not part of the breaking in process, if that is what you are asking

I am considering a pair of charles trywhitt boots that are storm welted danite soles for wearing around the city. They are made in Northampton and I assume the quality will no doubt be decent. With the GBP at current levels, they appear to be a rather good alternative to Red Wing which are quoted in USD.

I am curious though how these might compare to US made Red Wing in quality? I've been to the Red Wing store and while I am suitably contented with the quality of the leather and craftsmenship, I can't help but wonder if there is anything out there that could make my money go further. I know nothing much about UK made boots, as all my previous boots were work boots from Carolina. Are English boots made at the same price range of better value? Your thoughts?

build quality: about the same
leather quality: tyrwhitt is almost guaranteed to be worse
design preference: subjective

New colorway now at Cultizm:

Thanks for sharing, I hope they're not much darker IRL.

Wow that new color is verryy nice and I'm sure will age beautifully...