I work in the safety shoe business, have now for over 10 years, and have dealt with many different brand s and have worn many of those brands. Here's what I have seen.
Red Wings make a damn good boot, most are durable, high quality, and yes, quite a bit now are Chinese made, or USA assembled of foreign components. In other words, the parts are made overseas, but they are glued and stitched in the US. I've heard for years that Red Wings can take and time to break in. One customer once told me, give them a year, you've got a great boot.
Timberlands are a great boot, the TiTan Pros are great, almost like wearing sneakers. Most are lightweight, comfortable, take very little break in time.
Wolverine and Caterpillar are made by the same company. Wolverine World Wide makes 9 different brands. Many times you can find a similar model in the other brand. There is a brand called Hytest, which is available thru a Hytest distributor. That is Wolverine's higher end line. They have a line called Footrests which are super comfortable, and durable. Google and you can find the dealer for your area.
Thorogoods are very nice, and many, but not all, are Union made in WI. They do take some break in time. I am currently wearing a pair of Thorogood wedge soles, 814-6201. They took some break in, but now they are comfortable.
The most important thing to remember if are wearing steel to is to give yourself room. ½" of room in the front of what you want. You toes should never got the front of the steel cap when you are walking around. Do that and you will wear a hole on the liner, your socks, and cause problems with your feet and nails. If the cap is right from the sides, try a little bigger, and if that doesn't work, try a style with a wider toe cap. Oh, and going with a wide does not made the toe cap wider. Wide makes the boot wider at the ball of the foot.
I hope this helps.
