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– Welcome to BootSpy. My name's William, and
today, we got a Boot Battle. In this corner, the Red Wing Iron Ranger, and in this corner, the
Wolverine 1000 Mile. I'm gonna compare these
boots, head-to-head, on several different factors, and at the end of this video, you'll get the verdict on
which of these two boots is right for you. Let's get into it. (energetic music) Guys, thank you so much for joining me. If you enjoy boot reviews
and boot comparison videos, please hit that subscribe
button down below, and also give me a thumbs up. Both are super helpful for the channel, and I really appreciate it. So as I said, today we are comparing the Red Wing Iron Ranger
versus the Wolverine 1000 Mile. Both of these are classic American boots, we got Red Wing from Red Wing, Minnesota, and we have Wolverine
from Rockford, Michigan. Now these are classic versions
of these super hardcore, old style, early 1900s workman's boots and they both pride themselves
on their rugged durability.
First up, let's talk about their style. So the biggest difference right away that you're gonna notice is that the Red Wing Iron Ranger has this cap toe, whereas the Wolverine 1000 Mile, the standard version, doesn't. Now you can find some Red
Wings like the Beckman or the Blacksmith that
don't have a cap toe. They look more similar to
the Wolverine 1000 Mile. You can also find the Wolverine 1000 Mile with cap toe versions, but basically I'm just looking
at the two classic versions, like when you say Red Wing Iron Ranger, this is the one we're talking about, and when we say Wolverine 1000 Mile, this is the one we're
talking about right here. The Wolverine 1000 Mile has a
little bit of a lower profile. It's not quite as tall as
the Red Wing Iron Ranger and it's also a little bit more narrow in the ball of the foot.
Other than that, the
big differences is that the Red Wing Iron Ranger has this very contrasting hardware on it, so the eyelets and the speed
hooks, those are nickel-plated, and they really stand
out from the leather, whereas in the Wolverine 1000 Mile, at least for the Cordovan No. 8 colorway that I have, it's got these brass eyelets that really blend in a
lot more with the leather, they really compliment it, whereas this really
contrasts with the leather on the Red Wing.
In terms of how versatile
both of these are, you know, the Red Wing Iron Ranger is a super rugged looking boot, the Wolverine 1000 Mile is
also pretty rugged looking but it has a little bit
more shine to the leather, it's also a little bit sleeker, so it trends more towards
that dressy boot category. I wouldn't ever call it a dressy boot, it's definitely a rugged
boot, but it's, you know, if you're only comparing these two, the Wolverine is way dressier
than the Red Wing Iron Ranger.
For that reason, Round 1, in style, I'm giving it to Wolverine 1000 Mile because it's slightly more versatile in many different applications, I mean, I think guys who
like really rugged work wear, they can go with the Wolverine 1000 Mile and then guys with skinny jeans, this is going to work with their style a little bit more as well, even though, you know,
people with skinny jeans and guys who do rugged work wear and ride motorcycles and stuff, they also love the Red Wing Iron Ranger.
I just think the Wolverine 1000 Mile is a little more versatile in that area, so they get the point. Round 2, we're talking
about leather quality. Now the Red Wing Iron Ranger,
this is the amber harness. The leather is from S.B.
Foot Tanning Company that's based in Red Wing, Minnesota, it's basically Red
Wings' in-house tannery, this is an oil tanned, full grain leather, it's quite thick, it's
about 2 millimeters, and it is very, very soft, very pliable, and it has this kind of matte finish, and it feels very smooth,
very creamy to the touch, and it's, you can tell,
especially around the heel, just how soft it is. With the Wolverine 1000 Mile we're dealing with Horween
Chromexcel leather. Horween's a Chicago-based
tannery, been around forever, and some of the best boot
makers use Horween Chromexcel. When I opened up the Wolverine 1000 Mile, it had a white cardboard insert
that was basically saturated with oil, and that's kind
of a clear sign like, "oh man, I'm getting high
quality materials here." The leather is a little bit
stiffer between these boots, this also has about 2
millimeter thick leather, and in my experience, it
was pretty easy to break in, and it's just been a really
solid, durable thing.
It does kind of scuff easily, so you do have to spend some
time working those scuffs out, the Red Wing Iron Ranger
does not scuff as easily as the Wolverine 1000 Mile. For Round 2, leather quality, I'm going to have to give
the point to Red Wing. Now I'm not complaining about
Horween Chromexcel leather, because this is truly
an outstanding material but my preference goes to Red Wing, because the leather is so soft and supple and then also I just really
liked the finish of it. I like the way it's been creasing compared to Horween Chromexcel, and I also like the finish here, it's very matte, very creamy, and so it just kind of
breaks into your foot and it looks a little
bit more custom-made, it kind of breaks in a little
bit nicer in my opinion, so really, it's pretty subjective, I could definitely see
somebody making an argument for choosing Horween
Chromexcel over this leather, but my preference is for the Red Wings so I'm giving them the point. Round number three, we're talking about the sole quality.
Now, with the Red Wing
Iron Ranger you have a Vibram, full Mini Lug sole, and basically, this adds a ton of grip. Back in 2018, it was nitrile cork, it changed up to the Vibram Mini Lug. This helped add grip, it
helped add durability, and it also has the Vibram
heel right here as well, and so I'm a big fan of this sole. I've been wearing it
for several months now and there's almost no
wear and tear on the heel, so that's really promising to see. On the Wolverine 1000 Mile,
you have a leather sole with the Vibram stacked heel. That heel helps add shock absorption, grip and a little bit of resistance against that sort of scraping
that you do as you walk, and between these two boots, I think it's kind of no contest. I do think the Red Wing Iron Ranger, that Vibram Mini Lug sole
is just a huge improvement over the leather sole,
mainly for wet weather, Red Wing Iron Rangers is
going to perform much better in wet conditions compared
to the Wolverine 1000 Mile.
When it comes to fit and
sizing, that's a tie right here. For both of these, I recommend
going a half size lower than your true size. I'm a normally a size 10.5 in my sneakers, that is my true size, and for both of these I had to size down a half-step to get size 10. They fit really well when
you're going a half size down, but that's something, before
you buy either of these boots, make sure you're getting
at least a half size lower. As for the break-in period,
huge difference here. The Red Wing Iron Ranger
was a pain to break in; blisters, sore feet, it
took quite a few long walks in these bad boys to really break them in, whereas the Wolverine 1000
Mile, it was a breeze man. I didn't have any problems other than, maybe the ball of my foot
was a little bit sore, but no problems breaking this in. Really, I was expecting the
worst, but I got the best, so the winner in this
category for break-in is Wolverine 1000 Mile.
Lastly, we have the matter of price. Now, the Red Wing Iron
Ranger is about $320 when I picked it up, and then the Wolverine is about $360, so the $40 difference, you're getting a pretty comparable
boot in terms of quality, but the price is better, is lower on the Red Wing Iron Ranger, so I'm going to give the
point there to Red Wing. So my final verdict in
the Red Wing Iron Ranger versus Wolverine 1000 Mile boot debate, is, you should get the
Red Wing Iron Ranger.
The reason why I'm choosing this boot over the Wolverine 1000 Mile
is for a few key reasons. Now these are both rugged style boots and I think Red Wing
really leaned into that. It's just is not really as ambiguous as the Wolverine 1000 Mile
that kind of straddles between a dress boot and a rugged boot, whereas the Iron Ranger is unmistakable, meant as a burly boot. The other reason why I would
go Red Wing over Wolverine is because the sole, I really
liked the Vibram Mini Lug sole that adds a ton of grip,
it adds a ton of durability that you just don't see,
necessarily, in the leather sole of the Wolverine 1000 Mile. To speak on the 1000 Mile's behalf, it does have incredible
Horween Chromexcel leather, and I do love this color, and honestly I have been
wearing the Wolverine 1000 Mile a little bit more than the Red Wing in the last couple of weeks, so, by no means is this like, this didn't lose by a long
shot, it's just my preference.
If I could only have one, I would probably pick up
the Red Wing Iron Ranger. This is a very subjective argument; I think if you like the
style of Wolverine more, then you're going to
get an incredible boot, I mean, so many of the same qualities that make the Red Wing Iron
Ranger an amazing value, you're getting with the
Wolverine 1000 Mile, that Goodyear welt, that triple stitching, super rugged, super durable, you're getting all those
things with the Wolverine, but ultimately, subjectively, I like the Red Wing Iron
Ranger a little bit more. If you want to see separate reviews of the Red Wing Iron Ranger
and the Wolverine 1000 Mile, make sure you hit that
subscribe button down below, check out the channel. We have tons of different reviews, including one on the Red Wing Iron Ranger and on the Wolverine 1000 Mile, so you can kind of get
standalone views of those, I also have links to both of these down in the description below, as well as links to our
reviews on bootspy.com where you can get more
detailed information on both of these boots.
So guys, thank you so much for joining me on today's Boot Battle, until next time, put your best boot forward..
