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Red Wing Iron Ranger Boots - what's the dilly yo?

heavyhoody

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Mar 16, 2013
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Been eye-balling the IR for some times, but decided to jump on this instead.. anyone owning this pair?
I have those boots as well! I love them. I have a pair of harness brown IR's and a pair of the black brogue IR's. I love both but I like the style of the brogues more. Enjoy them!!
 

Erkle

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anyone looking for a pair of amber harness IRs in 9.5? brand new. PM me
 

brewernq

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So I oiled my amber harness IR with obenaufs oil. Apparently obenaufs oil makes them very dark. It has been about a month now and they are still darker than I want. Is there anyway to lighten them up? Would washing them with saddle soap, then oiling with something else help?
 

heavyhoody

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400

My new brogues. While I realize not everyone is crazy about these, I love them. The build is high quality. The chaparral leather is really thick and stiff as hell. I also own the amber harness IR's. The oiled harness leather is much thinner and softer. These will take a little time to break in. Haha.
 

DesmondD

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I got my size 9D IRs (amber harness) just over a week ago, so figured I'd post a quick review.

The size 9 fits great - they feel comfortably snug on my feet, have a minimal amount of heel slip and I can wear them with thin or thick socks without feeling much difference in the fit. Any tightness felt with a thicker sock is easily remedied by tying the laces a little looser.

The colour is interesting - both pairs that I've had are a bit lighter in colour than I expected. I haven't had a chance to snap any pics yet, but the colour is about the same as this - a bit lighter than most of the pics you see on the net.
No big deal though, as I plan on hitting them with Obenauf's oil and LP at some stage.

Break in has been pretty tough so far - still feels as though the boots are breaking my feet in (as opposed to the other way around). In particular, the leather footbed/insole still feels hard and I get burning pains in the balls of my feet if I stand in them for a few hours or more.
Also, the sides of the boot where the leather is doubled is really thick and is causing the bony edge of my feet some discomfort.
No blisters yet, though!

The positive thing about all that agony is that I'm sure that once the boots do break in, they're going to be comfortable and indestructible.

Styling these boots is proving a little difficult - jeans work fine (so long as they're no skinnier than Levis 511s) and I still haven't worked out whether I like them with chinos. Possibly because my chinos are mostly a slim cut. Not sure I'd be game enough to put them with a suit.
If your pants are too slim/skinny, you run the risk of having clown feet syndrome.


Finally, my sizing. I didn't have the chance to try them on instore, so I know how valuable sizing advice online is!

I wear the following sizes in shoes
10.5 - Nike Structure Running Shoe
10 - Converse Hi-top Chucks (with a beefy insole, so I am probably more like a real 9.5 in these)
9.5 - Sperry Topsiders A/O
10 - Sanuk Scurvy Boat Shoes
9.5 - Onitsuka Tiger Ultimate 81
9.5 - Dress shoes

My feet are a little odd - the left foot is nearly a half size longer than my right and a slight bit wider. I also have narrow feet.
My left (bigger) foot measures the following with no socks: 26.5cm (10.5inch) long and 10cm(4inch) wide.
This equates to about a 9.75C on the brannock device.

As mentioned before, I got my IRs in a size 9D, after returning size 9.5D because they were a bit too large/loose.

So there you have it - I'll try to get some pics up at some stage.

On another note, does anyone use these boots for moderate hiking - 8 to 15km? Just wondering how the leather footbed goes for comfort on longer distances like this?
 

Lamoff

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My new brogues. While I realize not everyone is crazy about these, I love them. The build is high quality. The chaparral leather is really thick and stiff as hell. I also own the amber harness IR's. The oiled harness leather is much thinner and softer. These will take a little time to break in. Haha.
Mine actually comes out the box pretty comfortable...
 

heavyhoody

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They are comfortable, the leather is just a hell of a lot stiffer than the amber harness leather of my regular iron rangers
 

linafelt

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Pretty sure there is a picture of actor Bradley Cooper wearing black Iron Rangers in a recent People magazine...
 

Erkle

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ive got a pair of brand new amber harness in 9.5 if anyone is interested
 

lackluster

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ive got a pair of brand new amber harness in 9.5 if anyone is interested

Its a shame they're not a 10D, if they were I'd take 'em just to have a second pair. I've picked up about 5 pairs of new Red Wings in the last 6-8 months and my amber harness Iron Rangers are my favorite. Super comfortable, perfectly worn in, nice soft oil tanned leather that's perfectly formed to my feet.
 

Distorbiant

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I love how the toe becomes more snubbed as the leather softens up in that area.
 

Erkle

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Jan 22, 2013
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Its a shame they're not a 10D, if they were I'd take 'em just to have a second pair. I've picked up about 5 pairs of new Red Wings in the last 6-8 months and my amber harness Iron Rangers are my favorite. Super comfortable, perfectly worn in, nice soft oil tanned leather that's perfectly formed to my feet.
cant go wrong with amber harness. i have a pair of chukkas in amber.
 

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