Ranking 21 American Made Boot Brands from WORST to BEST

get roasted for this video I'm ranking every American-made boot brand from worst to best if you love high quality American made products you'll love the new Merino wool work socks from Camel City Mill I work with a local Factory here in North Carolina to produce what I consider to be the best work socks you can possibly get we have a lightweight boot sock and we also have a heavyweight boot sock both are made with 53 Merino wool which is naturally sweat wicking and it'll help keep your feet cool and dry in the summer and warm and insulated in the winter they feature light compression throughout the calves in the arch of your foot so your feet recover faster after a 12 hour work shift plus because they're made with such a high percentage of Merino wool they're super durable and won't wear down in the toes or the heel right now the downside of these socks is that we only have black socks available at the moment and we only have size large so if your feet are sizes 8 to 12 that's what it is but if you're you know smaller than eight or larger than 12 fortunately we don't have those sizes right now but one of the things once we sell through this first round that is one of the first things we're going to do is expand the sizes and get a new color so thank you guys so much for supporting Camel City Mill I'm super excited about these socks I'm super excited to get them in your hands now let's get into the video and talk about which American boot brand is the worst so actually before we get into this video I just want to say that I'm not trying to put any of these boot brands especially towards the bottom of the list I'm not trying to put them down and also a lot of times it's hard to judge what actually is the best so a lot of this is based off of my opinion my experiences and I also want to say that I really love and support American-made products so even the boot brands that are at the bottom of the list some of the ones that are coming up right now I have respect for these Brands they make great boots but when you compare them to some of the other ones there are some other brands that I like more or that I think make a higher quality product or offer better value for money so that's a little disclaimer I don't want to poo poo on any Brands but let's get into this list in 21st place I'm putting down Justin boots they have a limited line of boots that are made in the USA with Global Parts it actually says that on their website and they even attach a little nylon tab that says the same thing so I have to assume that they likely sew the patterns together abroad and then finish the process here in the USA overall I do think that there are better cowboy boots and better work boots than what you can get from Justin the 20th spot goes to L.L bean they make whatever this thing is called and most of the collection is made abroad however they've been making the famous Bean boot in Maine since 1912 So You Gotta Give Them credit for that while I personally don't own a pair of Bean boots there's no denying how handy these are when you get a full week of rain or that snowpack's just not melting the 19th spot is a two-way tie I'm going with Carolina Boots and Chippewa now there are definitely a few solid boots from each of these Brands and they're both decent Brands to shop with if you're on a strict budget of say like 150 or less they're owned by the same parent company as Justin Boots which is owned by Warren Buffett and the Geico Gecko so if you see Warren Buffett and that British lizard walking around in a pair of lager boots then you're gonna know exactly where they got them from so skipping 18 because 19 was a two-way tie the big number 17 on my list is Keen their American-made boots are really impressive in terms of their features and how well they hold up there are plenty of people who only buy King and it makes sense they have a limited line that's made in Portland Oregon and they're definitely Tech forward compared to other work boots on this list teens are solid boots for an excellent price and this is just my opinion but they are also horribly ugly the oldest brand on my list so far my 16th favorite American-made boot brand is popular among the motorcyclist crowd they were actually around for the invention of the Goodyear Wilt and they've definitely had a few hits over the past Century my 16th pick is fry Boots the classics are made in the USA and they're pretty good though I definitely say overpriced compared to what you can get from younger Brands the harness boot you see here it's an iconic Boot and I can definitely see riding a Boss Hog with these bad boys my 15th favorite American boot brand is one that makes a pretty solid mocto work boot I recommend them if you want something relatively inexpensive that you won't mind beating into the ground it's thorough good while Thorogood also sews their boots abroad and then just finishes assembly here in the US and there are some major issues like a plastic could do well they're still decent boots and the price is right as we get to the 14th spot there's a noticeable jump in quality here and the list gets more diff difficult to rank for me I'm gonna reiterate these are just my favorite American boot brands not necessarily the best best is subjective and I ain't going there for the 14th spot we're going with an American Legend this brand specializes in shoes but they also make a few solid boots that have been around for years it's Alan Edmonds I enjoyed my experience with the Higgins Mill for sure but I have some concerns that this brand it does such deep discounts all the time I bought the Higgins Mill for something like 450 only to find out later like like honestly three weeks later that basically everyone else buys them for 250 when they go on sale so that pissed me off and Allen Edmonds is now number 14.

The next American boot brand on my list at spot number 13 is solid all around and they're another Pacific Northwest staple it's Danner Boots the Bull Run performed really well when I compared to Red Wing Danner Thorogood and Thursday mock toes together they ended up being my top pick if you're looking for a breathable light duty mocto for summer and if that's something that sounds interesting to you then make sure you get your camel City Mill lightweight work socks if you need a breathable durable work sock to help keep your feet from sweating so much much my next pick might come as a shock because it's one of the most famous Brands that's been around forever and they make one of the most popular Heritage boots ever also it's the Thousand Mile my 12th favorite American boot brand is Wolverine I'm not such a huge fan of Heritage Brands doing most of their work boots abroad and then having a Heritage line in place but also I don't run a huge multinational shoe brand so what do I know one thing I do know is that the Wolverine Thousand Mile is an awesome boot now I've had the number eight chrome Excel colorway for years and it has its flaws But ultimately I love it the 11th best American boot brand is one I still don't know much about but I just got a pair of their new boots and I'm excited to break them in and learn more it's the preferred boot of Joe Rogan and the company is partially owned by Jocko willink the Navy SEAL wild man it's origin main so I got their Lincoln boots a few days ago and while I think it's pretty ugly it's definitely super well built one thing I really respect about this brand is they are so transparent with where they Source all their materials for this boot they do construct this all together in Maine where they also make Denim and Jiu Jitsu Gis so they Source their materials from different different places throughout the USA so you know like the laces come from North Carolina I think the thread comes from North Carolina they tell you specifically where each component comes from and the only thing that they have that is not from the USA is this vegetable tan midsole that comes from South America but they say it right there on the website I think that's a really cool practice and I think more brands should be incorporating this level of transparency to their operations so origin I'm excited to break in this boot check it out I have a lot of respect for the brand now we're entering the top 10 and there's another noticeable jump in quality and competitiveness here I don't know about you but I'm starting to get sweaty an oldie but a goodie occupies the number 10 spot and like Alan Edmonds this brand is really more well known for their dress shoes than they are boots but they do have one boot that is quite popular actually popular enough to be the boot of choice for Indiana Jones it is Alden the Alden Indie is extremely comfortable and one of the most interesting looking mock toe boots I've personally worn while it's not the best Boot and probably not worth the 500 plus price tag the style and comfort are both pretty rocking at number nine I'm putting in a brand that has a super loyal following and while I haven't had experience with them personally I know how many people in the boot world who I person who I trust very much they love these boots my only issue is that the brand seems to kind of struggle on the business front and getting consistent flow of stock which is why I've had trouble getting a pair myself American boot Brand number nine is Parkhurst great boots I just wish they were more of them the eighth best American boot brand actually might be the best made boots on this entire list when it comes to attention to detail materials and construction these are a hundred percent bench made by a single dude I don't have a pair of these and honestly I probably never will I'm talking about creosote boots right now the wait time for a pair of these boots is three years and the maker crafts about 40 boots per year and each pair costs two thousand dollars and when you do order your boots you actually get a chance to get on the phone with the guy and you discuss the specifics so it's pretty unique my seventh pick for the best American-made boot brand is a pretty similar story to creosote but instead of a three year wait time the wait time is only one year at the moment next stop Amazon Prime same day shipping these are also hand well welted and they're made by Brian the boot maker another popular YouTuber in the boot space the brand is called Rogue Club these are made by hand in Los Angeles and each pair is completely bespoke last I checked they cost around fifteen hundred dollars so definitely not cheap okay so I'm gonna take it easy on you and I'll actually give you a brand you can shop with in the sixth position this Chicago base brand uses horween leather and it's all American made my fifth pick is Oak Street boots I like their trench boot a lot that's what I have here I got mine in the natural rough out leather and it's a pretty beefy little tank of a boot plus you can actually buy them unlike my seventh and 8th picks now they're in the top five things are getting real there have been a few Portland Oregon brands on this list so far and we're not stopping now the fifth best American boot brand is Truman they use really interesting leathers and the boots are super well built their attention to detail is phenomenal now this is the 79 last cap toe boot in horween waxed rough out this is a great boot for a stellar if you want like Stellar value for money at kind of the top end of boots then Truman is an excellent brand to check out my picks for four three and two were really hard to put in order so I'm heavily relying on my subjective experience here right now we're deep in the legendary Pacific Northwest boots and for my pick for number fourth best American boot brand I'm going with NYX NYX offers an amazing array of customizable options and their Americana boot is probably the toughest most sturdy boot I've ever put on in my life right now NYX has between a six and a nine month wait time which I assure you is definitely worth it I was gonna put Nixon third and this Brandon fourth but this next rival from Spokane Washington is releasing a bunch of interesting new boots and I like the direction of the company my third favorite American boot brand is whites now I gotta say this I tried one pair of Nyx the Americana and one pair of whites that's the Packer that I have in my hand right here I like my NYX Americana more than I like my White's Packer that said they're both incredibly well built and absolute tanks but right now whites is making more ready to ship boots and they even have a few options that are under 400 which I'm definitely interested in I'm putting whites above NYX at least for now because I think that they're making the Grail level boot more accessible to a greater audience and that is is a positive trend in the number two spot the silver the runner-up and still absolutely legendary is a brand whose website looks like it was designed in 1918 when the company was founded like some of the other brands above these can take nine to ten months or so to actually arrive but they're definitely worth the wait in fact their engineer boot is my go-to most days I'm talking about Westco boots I love their Mr Lou engineer in brown chronic style leather I just wish Wesco was able to make more Boots These are meticulously made and the leather selection is beautiful they're incredibly well balanced boots all the way through I thought a lot about this list particularly the bottom part because when you're comparing Brands like mix Truman Alden Wolverine there's a lot to consider there's price shipping construction Comfort Etc the list just goes on and on and it's especially hard if you're thinking about if like whites or Westco or NYX if they're better you know which one of those are better and especially when you compare that to row Club Korea so it just gets impossible to rate these objectively so for my number one pick for the best American-made boot brand I'm choosing a brand whose boots I tend to throw throw on whenever I'm in a hurry or if I just want something comfortable and solid for a full day out they're just the brands that I choose most often actually to be honest for this business I think they've done a pretty poor job running things for the past three years but when it comes down to their boots which ultimately is the only thing that matters here at Boots buy they're the brand I actually reach for the most often of course I'm talking about Red Wing it's been difficult to recommend Red Wing to you guys because they don't really keep stock available online and their whole web presence has been an absolute mess for the past three years but the Iron Ranger and the classic mocto are some of my absolute favorite boots and The Sawmill is my go-to for winter so if you see that out and about I definitely recommend getting that and it's you know it's not too hard to get these boots so you can find them all over the place a lot of people have them keep them in stock for all their flaws Red Wing still makes awesome boots in their Heritage line for a very fair price and they are my favorite American-made boot brand now if you want to see some of my favorite boots from around the world you can check out this video right here I'll see you there and until next time put your best boot forward

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