I will agree that American made redwings are a well built shoe, but not everyones feet are comfortable in them. Tried 2X felt good in store 30 days later they sailed to the donation bin. Also tried Irish Setter an overseas redwing, much more comfortable for me but no longevity in the durability dept.
Chippewa makes a flat soled boot in 6", with composite and waterproof, BUT they are heavy. I have a pair that have been rebuilt to like new.
In the insulated, waterproof and safety toe market, there are very few choices that are also USA made. At Red Wing, it is their highest priced boot. I am nearly $400 out the door after Tuff Toe and tax.
I've looked at some of the other brands that have been mentioned in the boot threads, and the pickings are slim to none that meet the above features. Danner has one that I might try, but it is stitched to the sole differently than Red Wing. I don't think it could be re-soled if I apply the Tuff Toe to that boot.
I "switched" to Obenauf's boot oil for the latest pairs of Red Wings I bought, the other ones are pretty much done- I re-soled them to get one more year out of them and that is it. The Obenauf's sure seems to work better than the Red Wing boot oil. I also use the "one step" Lexol cleaner instead of saddle soap.
I clean them off every day with plain old cold water and a microfiber cloth. That alone is making a huge difference.
The guy at the Red Wing store told me that my other boots cracked because they were the wrong size- too wide (they are soft, not dried out). It'll be a while to find out if that is true or not. Lesson learned there is to get the feet measured EACH TIME boots are bought, not to go off of the last one.
