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

[zeushubris]

Got some Vibram Raptor half soles put on my boots.. Was absolutely necessary for me to have something put on if I wanted to wear these here in Minnesota..

Here is a different question. I have really flat feet and always wear some kind of insoles in my shoes. Would it be better to start wearing insoles right from the beginning, or would it make sense to break in the boot without the insoles first??

Hey,
Could you please post more pictures of these? Specifically, some angles from the side. I'd be really interested in having this done but I want an idea of how the sole will affect the profile of the shoe. Thanks!

 

[bl@ster]



Here's a short video of my Iron Ranger Boots.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

LOL, this video was awesome. The losing focus/gaining it back was epic.

 

[pvoytko]

Been wearing my 8111s during the summertime and they are still comfy in 80-90 degree weather.

Also love the feel of these way more than my moc toes.

Just overall a fantastic boot

 

[ruben]

I'm having real sizing problems with these and was wondering if anyone could help.

I have two pairs, 10D and 10.5D (I'm normally an 11D):
-the 10.5s fit well out of the box, but are a bit roomy in the toe and have a bit of heel slip.
-with the 10s, one foot is ok, but the other is pretty uncomfortable, no room to slide forward, tight at both sides of the foot, and with my last three toes almost smashed.

When reading stuff online about these I continually come across references t them being uncomfortable at first but stretching out.
I'm tempted to keep the 10.5s, but if the 10s will stretch out a touch in length and at the sides then they might be the better boot for me.

anyone with experience on how these break in have any advice?

 

[arkane]

Have you tried size 10 2E? That just might do the trick.

If you insist on sticking with the D width I would go with the 10.5

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

 

[azcodito]



I'm having real sizing problems with these and was wondering if anyone could help.
I first picked the 11D and thought it was good. After a week of wear I was slopping all over the place. Sold them and picked up a 10.5D and was a little worried because it was tight. After two weeks I was glad I did. They have broken in nicely and feel perfect. I wear a 12 in Nike and adidas. 11.5E in white's smoke jumpers and 12D/11.5EE in Danner. I think IR are one of the most missized boot out there. If your toes aren't hitting the front when you walk down an incline I think you should be good.

I have two pairs, 10D and 10.5D (I'm normally an 11D):
-the 10.5s fit well out of the box, but are a bit roomy in the toe and have a bit of heel slip.
-with the 10s, one foot is ok, but the other is pretty uncomfortable, no room to slide forward, tight at both sides of the foot, and with my last three toes almost smashed.

When reading stuff online about these I continually come across references t them being uncomfortable at first but stretching out.
I'm tempted to keep the 10.5s, but if the 10s will stretch out a touch in length and at the sides then they might be the better boot for me.

anyone with experience on how these break in have any advice?

 

[azcodito]

first picked the 11D and thought it was good. After a week of wear I was slopping all over the place. Sold them and picked up a 10.5D and was a little worried because it was tight. After two weeks I was glad I did. They have broken in nicely and feel perfect. I wear a 12 in Nike and adidas. 11.5E in white's smoke jumpers and 12D/11.5EE in Danner. I think IR are one of the most missized boot out there. If your toes aren't hitting the front when you walk down an incline I think you should be good. Maybe try the 9.5

 

[spacemanvt]

i sized my beckmans and IR hawthornes the same. The leather is definitely more malleable in the IRs but not bad. 11Ds for both. I am normally 11.5 in most shoes.
Any smaller and I would have been in serious pain. I will post some pics of my Red Wings... I have beat them to ****.

Next pair up is the 875s.

 

[mistercitizen]

I just picked up a pair of Red Wing Iron Rangers 8111 in Amber Harness. I debated about the color to get, but ultimately I think that the Amber Harness brown color is very classic. Black would've probably been my next choice, but I already have a pair of Wolverine 1000 Mile Krause boots in black Horween Dublin Leather, which I love the look of..... more so than the Iron Rangers in black. I have a pair of Wolverine 1000 Mile Addisons in brown Horween CXL, which I am guessing will be a similar look to the IR 8111's in Amber Harness, except for the wingtip design and the different type of leather.

I ordered size 11D in the Iron Rangers, which is the same size I have in my Wolverine 1000 Mile boots. I'm finding that after a few weeks of wear that the Wolverine 1000 Mile boots have a little more room in them than I initially thought when I first tried them on. I don't know if it's that the leather has stretched or a function of them breaking in, but they feel somewhat loose in the heel to me, and also a bit roomy in the toe box. I also wear an 11D in the Alden Barrie Last, but I'm an 11.5D to 12D on the Brannock device. My solution on the loose Wolverine boots will be a padded insole, but I have not found the ideal one yet. I have a few and one is not thick enough, while another seems to be too thick. I'm pretty confident I can get an ideal fit with the addition of an insole in my 1000 Mile boots, and I actually think that with the 1000 Mile boots which don't seem to have a ton of arch support and contour to the footbed, an insole may not be a bad idea anyway.

I'm wondering if anyone could tell me how their Iron Rangers fit compared to Wolverine 1000 Mile boots? Do you go the same size or size down on one compared to the other?

Thanks,

Ben

 

[f800gs]

For my 1KM and IR I sized the same 12. I measure 12.5 on the brannock they both fit great with a midweight smartwool hiking sock.
The IR for sure has more room in fact I could add a thin insole with the same sock weight. Both Great boots!

 

[mistercitizen]

For my 1KM and IR I sized the same 12. I measure 12.5 on the brannock they both fit great with a midweight smartwool hiking sock.
The IR for sure has more room in fact I could add a thin insole with the same sock weight. Both Great boots!

Thanks. Sounds like for you the IR is a little more roomy than the same size 1000 mile boot. My 11D 1000 miles definitely have plenty of room, so it will be interesting to see if I feel the need to return the size 11D IR's for size 10.5D's or if I feel like I can make up the "roominess" with an insole. I have a feeling I will want some sort of insole in the IR's anyway, just for a little extra cushion and comfort. I tend to slam my heel to the pavement when I walk for some reason, so a little extra cushion in the footbed usually is a good idea for me. Then, there are some shoes that just feel great without anything in them.

Ben

 

[f800gs]

On my foot I feel both boots are pretty close in lenght and width but the Iron rangers have more volume.

Most running stores REI etc have all of the superfeet available to try on and wear around to test out.

 

[mistercitizen]

On my foot I feel both boots are pretty close in lenght and width but the Iron rangers have more volume.

Most running stores REI etc have all of the superfeet available to try on and wear around to test out.

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to give the copper Superfeet insole a shot for my 1000 mile boots. I don't have an REI store near me so I just ordered one. I like that the Superfeet brand has so many different types of insoles to choose from. It's nice that they take into account the shape of your foot AND how much volume your foot has...... and they have a product available accordingly. I don't know for sure since I've never had a foot doctor tell me, but I suspect I have a low to medium arch and I have a low instep. I always seem to have plenty of room in my heel too. The copper Superfeet insole is for low arches, yet will fill up the volume of a roomy shoe or boot..... which is what I think I need in most shoes.... and boots especially.

I have an old pair of Red Wings that are nearly 20 years old. They are a classic work boot style, although I don't know the model number. I've beat them to hell and not taken very good care of them over the year. The back of the boot at the ankle is swished down from cramming my feet in them wrecklessly over the years.... and the stiching has even come undone on the back around the heel counter because of this. They are size 11.5D and they've always been roomy on me...... and probably too roomy. I would typically wear two pairs of thick athletic socks with them to fill up the space. Over the years, the leather has stretched out as well, so that adds to the "roominess" of the boot. I recently got a Dr. Scholl's work boot gel insole for them, and that helped to make the boot fit much better in terms of filling up the space, but the extra padding on the insole around the arch wasn't necessary for me and it actually makes it feel like I have too much arch support. It gives me the feeling that I'm more likely to roll my ankles because of the additional height on the inside of my feet. I'm thinking that the copper Superfeet insole might be the answer to this kind of situation since it has a lower arch profile.

Anyway, thanks for the Superfeet suggestion. They are pricey, but they get pretty good reviews. One of the few bad reviews I read about one was by a stupid woman who was trying to get one of the insoles designed for shoes to work in her spiked high heels and tried to trim the insoles to get them to fit and then complained about them not working and being a waste of money. Gotta disregard such lunacy.

Ben

 

[linafelt]

^^ My experience with IRs (which I love the look of) compared with 1000 Miles or any other boot actually, is that they are slightly long but incredibly narrow. I think the so called EE is comparable in width to a normal D in most boots. I would order same or half size down, but the EE width.

But of course, sizing is sometimes weird and idiosyncratic. The good thing about IRs is that they are easily returnable.

 

[Neognosis]

My experience with Iron Rangers would indicate that they aren't narrow at the ball or heel, just very narrow at the narrow part of your foot, the instep. This only makes getting the fit right more crucial, as if the wide part of your foot doesn't line up right with the wide part of the boot, you have much, much less room for error than with most other boots.