 How you going? Are you new to quality stitched sole boots and you saw some great American heritage work boots on your social media like these Knicks boots? Then you probably jumped on a couple of websites like Knicks or Whites and some other Pacific Northwest brands or even more accessible brands even like Red Wing. Reaction? 5 or 600 US dollars for boots? Even Red Wing at over 300 US dollars? What kind of Superman bizarro universe have I wandered into you think when my usual boots cost 100 or 150 US dollars or here in Australia a couple of hundred. But wait on, I have an alternative for you as a starter in quality Americana work boots. G'day welcome to my channel Bootlossophy where I review boots and related things. I live in Perth in Western Australia and I acknowledge the traditional custodians of these lands I live and work on, the Wajik people of the Nungar language group. If you're new to my channel I hope you consider subscribing if you want to learn about boots. If you're a regular viewer this is the fourth and last in my series called New to Quality Boots and you know that I've been following a theme where people new to quality stitched sole boots can enter into our world with entry-level quality boots at a reasonable price. In this video I'm looking at American heritage style work boots. Now I make that distinction because most countries outside the Americas tend to wear specialist and more technical work boots on job sites. Here in Australia for example our construction workers and miners wear technical and Gore-Tex lined lace up and zip-sided work boots. The lighter trades may also wear Chelsea work boots like Blundstones, Redbacks, Mongrels and Rossies. But in the US I notice that a lot of blue collar workers will wear heritage style work boots and many of these designs are ruggedly attractive and many people now particularly in Asia and Europe are seeking those styles for hiking or casual wear and not just for light work duties. I have to be honest though here in Australia if a tradie wore a pair like these to a job site his mates would laugh at him out of the yard. Hey but at the pub after work cool. At any rate where you are you may have come to realize that many cheap work boots are made of lesser quality materials and have their soles cemented or glued on. This means that they can't be recrafted when the soles wear out and so don't last you that long. On top of that they are probably not very comfortable once the weaker materials start to break down. So you've probably noticed boots where the soles are stitched on like in good your work construction or stitched down construction. If you want to understand the differences you can check out this video up here. These traditional forms of construction go back over a hundred years or more and mean that they can be re-sold when your out soles wear out. For example these red-winged boots are good you're welted meaning a strip of leather runs around the edge of the boot is sewn to the uppers on the inside and then separately sewn through the outsole on the outside. A cobbler can cut the stitches on the outside and replace the outsole without disturbing the uppers. This means that your boots with the untouched uppers can last for decades. Cemented or glued out soles once they're worn out cannot be easily replaced. Basically you throw them out so buying cheaper boots with cemented construction is really a false economy and it's not great for the environment. But of course they are better made quality stitched boots and because of that they're more expensive. And when you're talking about the best from the US Pacific Northwest they are really well well made and from really good materials they're handmade with a history of boot making going back to the 19th century in some cases. They are boots used by US construction workers timber industry workers and their wildland firefighters who get parachuted into a fire so they need to be good boots. So being the best they sell for five or six or even seven hundred dollars and above that's US dollars. There is a definite unitary design and aesthetic in the boots that we're talking about. Each is different but if you aggregate the design and style they'll look something like these Knicks Falcon boots. They tend to look chunky with rounded toes for comfort with or without a sprung toe which is the turning up at the toes for a rolling gate. There will be at least six inches high at the shaft running some of them to eight inches or more sometimes for protection around the ankle. Like these white MPs they may have a toe cap or like the Knicks they may be plain toe. Like the MPs and these Truman boots they will tend to be made of tough leathers in the uppers and the waxed flesh leathers are very popular. I'll talk about what's waxed flesh in a minute and like these Truman boots they will feature an outsole with grip more often than not commando outsole with aggressive lugs. Construction wise they'll be stitched down where the uppers flange out and are stitched directly to the soles or they'll be good year-weltered as I explained earlier. Both these methods not only prolong the life of the boot but they also increase water resistance. The better ones will have stiff veg tanned leather heel counters, the firm pieces inside the boot which provides a stable heel for walking and working in. They may be designed as work boots and here the gatekeepers who think work boots should only be worn by workers are going to go wild but darn they are attractive rugged pretty butch boots that you can wear for light jobs and look cool at the pub casually. So if you've been attracted to the look and the fact that you can dig in your backyard with these boots on for the next 30 years or so the ticket shop for boots you want is real but don't give up. I have a couple of affordable alternatives for you to consider and before we start I am not sponsored by these boot companies and while I did get the boots I'm about to show you for free it was clear that I had no obligations to say nice things about it. In reality I asked for three or four pairs of boots to review and I was very politely told that I could only have one because they already filled the immediate partnership arrangements. The first of these entry level alternatives is Thursday Boot Company's Hero Boot. Now Thursday Boot Company is a relatively new boot company started in 2014 by two MBA graduates who famously could not find a quality boot at an affordable price so they decided to build their own. You may have seen this boot called the Titan in its early days when it first came out but its name got changed because I understand because of a prior registration by someone else. Just before I talk about the details of this boot though you should also know that Thursday also have a made in USA boot called the Logger which is very much in the American heritage work boot style but I chose this Hero Boot to talk about because I thought it was more versatile as an entry level boot for you to see if you enjoyed this type of boot in your lifestyle before you actually moved on to better and more expensive boots in this style. The Hero Boot sells for under 200 US dollars which is phenomenal for a Goodyear Welt boot made with some reasonably good materials. The Goodyear Welt uses a Storm Welt which means that the Welt has a carved lip that pushes up against the uppers increasing water resistance on top of all the other advantages I spoke about earlier It's built on Thursday's proprietary honey lugged sole. It's a rubber sole in a softer compound. The honey color is reminiscent of the outsoles on Timberland's classic yellow boot if you know that one but in this case it's made by Thursday with a slightly different but just as deep lug pattern. The honey colored rubber is softer than the black commando lug soles from outsole manufacturers like Vibram which means that it is squishier and therefore more comfortable but also potentially I think wears out a little quicker but unless you wear these every day I doubt you'd notice a difference in everyday life. Inside the boot the rubber outsole is glued and sticks through what I believe is a leather midsole. Inside the cavity that's caused by that thick welt going all the way around the edge Thursday uses a cork filler for comfort and inside the cork is inserted a steel shank. A shank is a stiff material usually steel that bridges the gap between the heel block and the ball of the foot. This creates a stability under your arches for keeping that gap held up for torsional stability over rough ground and for support going up ladders. On the inside Thursday users pour on antimicrobial insoles for comfort. Traditionalists will point out to the Pacific Northwest boots that use all leather argue to mold your foot for longer term comfort but the poron layer does give you immediate comfort when you put these on and if it breaks down it will take some time to do that and arguably by that time it's probably due for a resole anyway. Now I'm not being an apologist for non-natural materials but we're now in the 21st century and we shouldn't automatically downplay innovation and talking as a casual wearer of boots you'd have to wear them every day to notice the poron breaking down that quickly. The other offerings by Thursday in this hero model are becoming either matte black or tan rugged and resilient uppers. Those come on a black rubber lug sole and these honey lugs I think look more appropriate with this cacao waxed leather. The cacao leather is what's called a wax rough out or waxed flesh. It's a full grain leather meaning it's from the top or the best part of the hide it's about two millimeters thick and it's turned the wrong side up so that the flashy nappy side is actually outwards. The surface of the nap is then heavily coated with wax so that it almost feels like the smooth grain side of leather. Using waxed flesh allows the boot to take some punishment because the nappy side of the of the hide is more protective against cuts because of the looser fibers. Now if you put a hard coat of wax on it like these more expensive models the Truman Java wax flesh and the white cinnamon wax flesh it protects the leather even more and definitely waterproofs it. Plus it will also develop a very attractive patina as the wax cracks and starts to rub off and the lighter colored nappy fibers start to show through. Caring for the leather is not very onerous you can basically ignore it and allow the wax to wear and gradually flake off showing the nap and the patina. If that annoys you you can always rewax it with a waxy conditioner like Venetian shoe cream or if you really want to coat it with some hard wax like auto wax and then use a heat gun to melt it into the leather. You can check out how I did it on my Grant Stone Edward boots up here. On a day-to-day basis cleaning muck off with a damp cloth and then brushing dirt and grit off it will be all you have to do. Inside it's fully lined with soft glove leather so that also helps with comfort straight out of the box. Aesthetically the hero has all the hallmarks of an Americana heritage work boot. It's chunky, it has a rounded toe box, quite a simple and plain pattern really. It has a solid outsole, it's six inches high and laced by a pair of Kevlar laces. Now you might notice these kilties, they don't come with the boot. These are actually from Dale's Leatherworks so I'll give Dale a plug and go check these out on Dale's Leatherworks.com. Going back to the boots, Thursday sell these only through their website and through their single New York store. If you're outside the US you can buy them through Thursday's website. I'll leave a link below or through Amazon in their Thursday store. You'll have to check the exchange rate to figure out which is the better buy because at different times they will be different. The second boot I'd like to show you is the more famous Red Wing Iron Ranger. This may not look entirely like all these Pacific Northwest logger boots but it does have the heritage. Red Wing is a huge footwear company founded in 1905 in Red Wing, Minnesota in the US and in 2022 the sales revenue was 370 million US dollars. So they're big. This is the iconic Iron Ranger and sells for just under 350 US dollars. Okay that might be 200 more than you're used to spending but as an entry-level boot the history and looks might swing you anyway but you need to know that apart from the price the disadvantage of the Iron Ranger as an entry-level boot is the harder break-in process. If you're new to a heritage boot world the Thursday hero needs almost no break-in while the Iron Ranger has an infamous break-in process. Breaking in a boot is the process where you have to wear the boot for some time before it breaks in meaning that the stiff leather in the soles actually start to flex with your feet, that the stiff thicker than what you use to leathers bend and they flex around your ankle and foot and that the ball of their feet and toes and even heels start to feel comfortable from stiff beginnings. However if you're happy to do that in this entry-level phase of your boot journey you will be rewarded with a silver badge of courage. No not really. You will be rewarded with what will ultimately become a very comfortable protective and iconic boot. The Iron Rangers are also Goodyear welter. Their Goodyear welt goes three-quarters of the way around the boot that's called 270 degrees so this 270 degree Goodyear welt reduces the ledge that you get at the heel of a 360 degree welter boot which allows for a dressier sleek look but also in this case stops the wearer catching the heels on on ladders and stuff. The Iron Rangers are built on a leather insole and a leather midsole with a cork filler and a steel shank also so traditionalists see these as a gold standard. The outsole is a Vibram mini lug sole not this one this don't get confused this one is an older model with the original cork and rubber compound outsole. The aesthetics of the Iron Ranger are perhaps less Pacific Northwest boot but certainly is American heritage style. The chunky cap toe has been compared to clown shoes but in my opinion only if you haven't cared for your pair and allowed a really harsh toe spring to develop use a shoe tree. The rest of the boot is pretty US heritage standard it's six inches high laced up with a combination of eyelets and speed hooks rugged backstay to cover the heel counter and a standard block heel. The Iron Ranger is only partially lined in the vamp area with a canvas drill material that can wear out and be uncomfortable. The shaft is unlined which has its advantages breathability for one. The Iron Ranger comes in a variety of uppers from Redwing's own leather tannery called SP foot tanning. This model is in the Amber Harness oil tanned leather. You can feel an oily waxiness on it because it's tanned in oils to preserve and protect it and it results in what's called a pull-up leather meaning that if you apply pressure from your fingers to the leather you can pull up the oils and watch the oils move around inside. The leather should be conditioned a little more frequently than wax flesh maybe two or four times a year depending on where and your frequency of wear. You can apply an oil like liquid Neitzfoot oil or Redwing's own boot cream that has Neitzfoot oil in it. I'll leave a link to their care products below. Basically apply the oil or cream and let it dry and then brush off the excess with a good horse hair brush. You can't get this leather to be parade ground shiny not that you want to do that in my opinion unless you use a boot polish I guess which again in my opinion might wax over the oily leather and stop it gaining a well-worn patina. You do have to be careful what oils you use because some oils like mink oil while protected and will make the leather supple can really darken this mid-brown leather. Other than that just make sure to brush dirt and grit off regularly to avoid the build-up of the stuff. Now to sizing these boots and sizing American heritage work boots generally. Since these are US boots I'll talk in US sizes but just bear in mind that in the UK and most Commonwealth countries their sizes use the UK convention of sizing numbers which is one number down from the US. In most US work boots they make them quite large and so the accepted wisdom is to size down by a half. So taking my own example I measure a US 8 and a half on a Brannock device that's the aluminum thing that you stand on at shoe stores. In both of these I take a US size 8. The manufacturers tend to call their boot sizes a half size down from true I have no idea why. If you're new to boots and buying online getting the right size can be stressful so my recommendation is to reach out to the makers and ask. Give them a few examples of well-known shoes that you wear and the sizes that you take them in and ask them what size you should get. Most manufacturers Thursday for sure have a really responsive customer service online. Redwing being so big less so but if you're in the US there are plenty of Redwing stores so go visit one and get fitted. Less availability outside the US but in most countries in Europe and Asia there are Redwing franchises but if you're in doubt find your true Brannock size and order a half size down from that you should be reasonably safe. So in summary if you're new to quality boots and really like the rugged look of American heritage work boots but you bought at the prices don't despair. Thursday is a great entry level boot brand for quality boots. They are well made and well designed and their prices reflective of being made in Leon in Mexico which is a center for good boot making in the Americas. They use materials from lesser known but quality tanneries and they sell direct to consumer. All these factors bringing down the price for under US 200 US dollars and you can't go wrong with Redwing although as a first entry you need to save an extra 100 to 150 US and be aware of the breaking process. Check both of these brands out in the links below which I put in the description area. Well I hope you liked this video and found it useful. If you did please click on the like button which tells YouTube to show this to more people to help them and I hope you'll also click on the subscribe button because my boot loss of each channel brings you lots of videos every week on new boots long-term reviews of boots and all things boot related. So until the next time take care and see you again soon.