This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. Learn more on my Private Policy page.
welcome to boot spy my name is william today i'm raking my redwing boots from the worst to the best let's get into it [Music] guys thank you so much for joining me as i said today i am ranking my red wing collection from my least favorite to my most favorite so whether you are a fan of red wing and you just want to know which one i prefer um or if you're looking to get into boots and you're looking at red wings and you're wondering which one you should start with then stick around to the end because i'm naming my favorite red wing boot at the very end of the video but also you want to make sure you stick around and see the first one because which one is my least favorite wedwing boot before i get into this before i start i first want to say that i've actually had experience with five different red wing boots but you'll see me only holding four of these right here gave one pair to my brother so i'm going to include that that is the blacksmith so i don't currently still have that with me but i let my brother have it because i have so many pairs of boots and that was just a really cool boot i liked it a lot so i gave it to my brother so i don't have that one with me but uh let's kick it off with my least favorite right now and that is the red wing classic chelsea now this is a pretty new boot it is a new addition to the heritage collection and as you can see it is a chunky style chelsea boot it's not that i don't like this boot uh i do like this boot and actually you can see i i've worn it a good amount and i put it on i actually almost wear this boot every single day even if it's not for very long to just go outside i love the fact that it is uh easy to put on that it has this nylon pull tab that just boom you just like put it on go out for any sort of chores anything like this i helped my brother grab a smoker today and it was like weighed 400 pounds of steel and i definitely put these ones on these were the boots that i chose for that job uh helping him lug it into his backyard so it's not that i don't like these boots it's just from a style perspective they're built on the same bump toe last as the iron ranger and the blacksmith so have a similar shape like that but there's nothing to me so special about these boots that i you couldn't find elsewhere you know it's if i'm going for a chelsea boot i want something a little more sleek more refined something with a lot more elegance to it and this doesn't quite fit that bill to me it's just like a uh you know it's just a slip-on type work boot for light duty work i do have this in ebony harness i love the leather i'm also not such a huge fan of wedge soles i just don't think that they look all that great they are super comfortable so i'm gonna say the big pros of the red wing chelsea super comfortable really easy to put on the leather is phenomenal the construction is great i mean it gets the same 360 degree goodyear welt but overall for me a chelsea boot should be a lot sleeker a lot slimmer and this is more that bulbous work wear type chelsea boot which to me i would rather go with something like an iron ranger like the blacksmith something with a little just looks the part a little bit more in my personal opinion after that i'm going to put up the red wing classic mocto now some of you are going to disagree with me because this is one of red wings most popular boots this is in the slate mule skinner leather again another fantastic leather 360 degree goodyear welt and then it has the crepe wedge sole on here same sole so the chelsea and the classic mock same sole but and and pretty similar construction as well but for me you know the classic mock toe it's great it's a great looking work boot it's a classic heritage boot but his style just doesn't get me going uh you know one of the issues that i have with this boot is it does take a little while to put on because there are no speed hooks at all no speed hooks so it takes a little bit longer to put on that's not such a big issue the pros of this boot is that it is a pretty durable boot you're dealing with all leather insole a cork filler in the midsole 360 degree goodyear welt you can always replace this outsole whenever you need to i did notice that the outsole is pretty grippy it has a lot of traction on it i did a test comparing this to the thursday diplomat the thoroughgood yeah the thorough good mock toe and the dander bull run and the red wing was turned out to be one of my favorite maktos it was tied up there with the thursday diplomat because the slip resistance was awesome and there is 2.3 millimeter thick leather out here so and and also all sp foot tanning company leather is incredible it's really really well done so overall this is a great boot but from a style perspective i mainly wear my boots for style and it's a pretty chunky it's got a pretty tall profile to it and ultimately it doesn't fit into my wardrobe as well as some other options like the thursday diplomat one notch higher than the red wing mocto is the red wing blacksmith now i put this above the mokto because i really enjoy i like the the way it looks it looks very very similar to a red wing iron ranger the biggest difference is that it doesn't have the cap toe it's a little bit different in the back stay and then it also has this kind of this kind of piping around the ankle right here that the that the makto has so the red wing black space a little different again i do not have this as part of my collection anymore because i gave my pair to my brother because i have so many pairs of boots i don't need all of that and i just wanted him to have an awesome pair of boots so i gave it over to him so it's no longer part of my collection but it is number three on my list of five i put it right in the middle it was a really great boot while i owned it while i had it and i love it but you know ultimately not my favorite but what's next my second favorite red wing boot that i own i just got it it's very recent purchase for me but it is immediately shot up to the top of my list it is the red wing sawmill now this is in briar oil slick leather and this boot is phenomenal so it is built on the same number 23 last as the makto so as you can see it's got the you know similar toe box similar shape it's about the same same exact height so it's built on the same last same shape but there are some critical differences that to me make the sawmill a much better boot than the red wing mokto now it's not that any of these small details are better necessarily but the way they all add up to a different looking boot to me i absolutely love it so first thing that i noticed that i really really like is that it has these d-ring gunmetal eyelets and then two speed hooks so this is a very quick boot to get on you just you know it's winter day you just put it on it's no problem it does have the puritan triple stitching right along there it has a 360 degree goodyear storm welt so as you can see right here uh we're dealing with there's this extra little ridge that helps add a little more weather resistance not a ton but it definitely makes it a more weather resistant boot overall you also have this color right here this foam collar uh that helps it just feels great helps insulate your sock you know if you're wearing a wool sock it helps kind of press up against your ankle so you're you're snug there and it's also got a this is one of the only boots here that is not the lining in here is not leather it is fabric and it has insulation in it so that is going to keep your foot a lot warmer now this also has and you know there's no way you're going to see it but it has a wolf footbed in here so the insole is leather has a cork filler has a steel shank unlike the red wing mock toe so this has a steel shank in it and then because it has the wool footbed again that helps add more heat keep that heat trapped against your feet so this is definitely a winter boot uh this is not necessarily something you know i would definitely wear the mock toe in summer compared to this this would make your feet sweat all day long if you're wearing this in the summer but in the winter it is pretty hard to beat it also has a vibram lug outsole so when i'm looking at this boot all the details you know it's like the cool d eyelets the makto construction the goodyear storm welt the heavy rubber lug sole plus all the extra details inside and then you got this leather collar right here to me that all just adds up to a really really cool looking boot that in my opinion blows the mock toe out of the water construction's the same it's about the same shape but overall when i'm looking between these two i would definitely pick the sawmill over the makto pretty much any day except actually only half of the days i do in winter i would not do it in summer now it's time for my ultimate favorite red wing boot that i own that is of course the red wing iron ranger this is the one of the boots that started it all for me i remember seeing people wear this boot back before i owned any pairs of boots i was wearing like you know just like vans and stuff like that and i would see people wearing this boot and was like what what is that man that is so cool looking and it kind of popped up over and over again and it took me a long time to get this pair of boots if you follow this channel for any amount of time you may know that my first pair of boots was a thursday captain and i really loved those boots and they got me in they got me into it like i was i'm sold and it took me still even after that it took me probably like a year a year and a half to actually just go all in get myself a pair of red wing iron rangers and i have never looked back i really enjoyed this boot it has been such a good companion on hikes it's been such a good companion on when i'm doing like outdoor work just style walking around town it really does a lot now i've had this boot for one year and as you can see the heel right there is still holding up really really well there's a little bit of wear and tear but it's doing really well that's that vibram 430 mini lug sole so this has a ton of traction and it's also really durable i'm this is the 811 it's amber harness this leather has just aged super well it's getting this beautiful patina on there i love how it's kind of scratching and scuffing up and i see people still around even in my apartment complex here i see people wearing these boots and they just look awesome and i could tell they've had them for like three four years so i know this is going to last a long time i love the way it feels on my foot and it is just an iconic classic and something you can recognize from a mile away so there you have it guys that is how i would rank my red wing collection from my least favorite to my most favorite if you'd like to go more in depth with any of these boots i have video reviews on all of them you can find those links down in the description below the only one i haven't reviewed yet is the sawmill this actually just arrived like two or three days ago so i still have a review coming on that but there you have it those are my red wing that's my collection from my least favorite to my most favorite i hope you enjoyed watching it if you found it helpful let me know by giving me a thumbs up and also let me know how you would rank your red wings if you have a collection let me know down in the comments below until next time put your best boot forward
