Work Boots!

[Beemer]

I had a pair of Thorogood work boots, maybe 6 or 7 years old, lazing about in the closet that I took out to use for some extended ladder work.
It turns out that the s"non-marking" soles were gummy and shedding black sticky residue so I set them aside.
I took them to the cobbler today expecting to get them resoled and he offered to throw them in his trash can. Apparently what I expected were rubber soles were actually plastic and not replaceable. He said that after that many years the plastic the plastic breaks down and sheds oil and that half the shoes and boots brought in to him can not be repairs.
Here I thought Thorogood was a top brand, but I was fooled by the price and the work shoe store. So much for the "made in USA" label!

Are there good leather work boots with rubber soles manufactured anymore?

 

[bobg03]

I had a pair of Chippewas resoled about 7 years ago at a place in Webster/Dudley Ma area when I was still working in the NE, I stiil have them but haven't worked since Feb of 2019.

 

[Ilikeike]

Danner
they have china,
made in USA with global parts
and Made in USA that meet the Barry Amendment compliance for MADE in USA
and many are recraftable,
I have a couple of pairs that I send back to be rebuilt every couple of years.

 

[GeoBruin]

I had a pair of Thorogood work boots, maybe 6 or 7 years old, lazing about in the closet that I took out to use for some extended ladder work.
It turns out that the s"non-marking" soles were gummy and shedding black sticky residue so I set them aside.
I took them to the cobbler today expecting to get them resoled and he offered to throw them in his trash can. Apparently what I expected were rubber soles were actually plastic and not replaceable. He said that after that many years the plastic the plastic breaks down and sheds oil and that half the shoes and boots brought in to him can not be repairs.
Here I thought Thorogood was a top brand, but I was fooled by the price and the work shoe store. So much for the "made in USA" label!

Are there good leather work boots with rubber soles manufactured anymore?

What you're describing may be Polyurethane Hydrolysis. It's a common issue and there are lots of discussions about it but here is one article I found quickly. Even if it was actually the rubber outsole that was degrading, it worth noting that PU Hydrolysis is almost an inevitability for boots where the sole is bonded to the boot with a PU midsole. You can delay it with proper care and storage, but not prevent it entirely.

One solution is to look for recraftable boots where the sole is stitched to the midsole/upper with (for example) a welted construction. There are various methods of achieving this most boots marketed as "recraftable" will be able to have the soels replaced many times over the life of the boot.

The drawbacks are that PU midsole does actually add some desirable comfort to a boot, and lacking such a feature, you will need to opt for a softer sole (Christy or similar wedge sole) or add a cushioned insert to achieve similar levels of cushion.

 

[Rinspeed]

I almost bought a pair of Thorogoods last year just to give them a shot. I've stuck with made in Portland Danner's for almost 20 years for the simple fact that they hold up very well. My favorites are the RAT model and seeing they are surplus you can pick up a pair on Ebay for less than $100. Not bad for a $400 pair of boots.

 

[AJHD]

Try Red Back boots, made in Australia. I have 2 pairs.

 

[LopezBart]

The Danner RAT boots are quite comfortable after break-in; they've also become quite expensive, but they're made in Portland of quality materials. I have an older pair which needs recrafting, and a newer one w/ steel toes (heavy!) that I wear out in the desert when working w/ heavy stuff. For use up here in the PNW where it's often wet, I wear Keen's Dover waterproof work boots w/ a composite toe.

 

[Skiff Builder]

I almost bought a pair of Thorogoods last year just to give them a shot. I've stuck with made in Portland Danner's for almost 20 years for the simple fact that they hold up very well. My favorites are the RAT model and seeing they are surplus you can pick up a pair on Ebay for less than $100. Not bad for a $400 pair of boots.

Thks for the tip. Just ordered a pair of the rats. $79!
Have two pairs of thorogoods which have treated me very well over the years.

 

[bonneyman]

So the rubber sole material was a plastic? That *****! I've seen soles goes stickey before, just figured I stepped into some solvent unknowingly like acetone. Guess it's something I need to watch out for.

 

[Beemer]

So the rubber sole material was a plastic? That *****! I've seen soles goes stickey before, just figured I stepped into some solvent unknowingly like acetone. Guess it's something I need to watch out for.

That is what the highly respected old timer cobbler told me when I thought I might get them resoled; Plastic. It fooled me.
I was hoping to give them a chance to live on but I actually prefer Merrell type hiking/work boots so it was near a sigh of relief to not speed the hundred bucks on resoling the Thorogoods.

I told him that my favorite work boots ever were insulated (double leather) Herman Survivors and they probably lasted 20 years before I wore out the soles. Just to note, those soles never decomposed. He noted that must have been a long time ago because that doesn't happen anymore.
I regret disposing of them not knowing there were services to renew boots.

 

[Beemer]

Danner
they have china,
made in USA with global parts
and Made in USA that meet the Barry Amendment compliance for MADE in USA
and many are recraftable,
I have a couple of pairs that I send back to be rebuilt every couple of years.

I contacted Thorogood for direction and possible repairs and the answer was "we don't know if those can be repaired". Wish I knew that when I bought them.

 

[Beemer]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.
Now that I have spent about a month on the ladder in sneeker type hikers with sore feet, I guess I'm looking forward to the next time and will try to be better prepared with different shoes.

 

[mopar66]

Thks for the tip. Just ordered a pair of the rats. $79!
Have two pairs of thorogoods which have treated me very well over the years.

Where are you guys buying the Rat boots from? I thought that model was discontinued years ago. Thanks

 

[four.cycle]

top four brands:

White
Limmer
Danner
Wesco

Anything else is second-tier. They are all crazy expensive now. ($519.00 MSRP on the Wesco Jobmaster now.)
I bought mine about... 2000 or 2001 so I could work a gig up at ONP. (Required an 8-inch fire boot.) Had my cobbler put a plate in front of the heel on mine so I don't cut the sole in half kicking a shovel. YMMV.

We no longer tan leather in this country, so OF COURSE they're going to be "made in USA of Imported materials".

 

[Callelle]

I see a lot of posts propping up Danner, I'm gonna say to give them a solid pass. I bought a pair of boots last November from them. I need 16 double wide and they're one of the few companies that offered something in that size. My first pair lasted 4 months of not even hard use, I've been back and forth to school/training for work for the past 9 months so I'm only actually working every other 2 weeks. The stitching on the sides of both boots blew out, as well as the leather on the toes. Danner warrantied them, though I had to buy a new pair and got refunded when my old pair was returned, that was at the end of February. The new pair has since already blown out the stitching in the same spot. I know my size is right because I even took them to a Redwing store and had them size me, they told me the boots were fine for the size/shape of my feet.
I'm going to be emailing them to get this set warrantied hopefully once this last section of school is done in 2 weeks, but overall, I'm really not happy with them.

 

[Rusted Nut]

I get at least two resoles out of my Danner’s, usually three and sometimes four.

 

[Rinspeed]

Where are you guys buying the Rat boots from? I thought that model was discontinued years ago. Thanks

There are a boatload of them on Ebay leftover from military contracts.

 

[Rinspeed]

I see a lot of posts propping up Danner, I'm gonna say to give them a solid pass. I bought a pair of boots last November from them.

Which model are they.

 

[Shiftless]

We no longer tan leather in this country, so OF COURSE they're going to be "made in USA of Imported materials".

I have a couple of pairs of shoes made in USA factories from USA tanned leather from Horween.
I have a pair of dress shoes from Allen Edmonds in Shell Cordovan. And a pair of work boots from Alden in CXL leather.
Expensive but very durable and with a Goodyear welted sole, they can be recrafted.

from Wiki…

Horween Leather Company is an American company specializing in the manufacturing and refining of leather and related products. It is one of the oldest continuously running tanneries in the United States of America. Since its founding in the early 20th century it has been located in Chicago.[2][3][4][5][6]

Isadore Horween founded the company in 1905, and worked in it until 1949. His two sons, Arnold Horween (chairman and president; 1949–84) and Ralph Horween, became executives of the company and worked in it after their careers as All American football players for the Harvard Crimson, and playing in the National Football League.

Arnold's son Arnold Horween Jr. worked with it from 1953 to 2003, and his son Arnold "Skip" Horween III has worked with it since 1972. The fifth generation of Horweens, Nicholas (Nick) Arnold Horween, has worked at the company since 2009.

 

[mopar66]

There are a boatload of them on Ebay leftover from military contracts.

Thanks for the idea. I will take a look.

 

[Tummler]

top four brands:

White
Limmer
Danner
Wesco

Anything else is second-tier. They are all crazy expensive now. ($519.00 MSRP on the Wesco Jobmaster now.)
I bought mine about... 2000 or 2001 so I could work a gig up at ONP. (Required an 8-inch fire boot.) Had my cobbler put a plate in front of the heel on mine so I don't cut the sole in half kicking a shovel. YMMV.

We no longer tan leather in this country, so OF COURSE they're going to be "made in USA of Imported materials".

I think you can add Nick’s to that list, or at least you could ten years ago. Maybe things have changed, as tends to happen.

 

[jhendric]

Man, that's terrible to hear from Thoroughgood! I came close to buying them when I went down this path 2 years ago...I landed on Red WIng and havn't looked back.

 

[Snapped-off]

I'd have a hard time trading out my Thorogoods. I cycle through 2 pairs daily.

 

[mopar66]

I do have a pair of the Red Backs that CAT mentioned and really like them. I did have a pair of the Wellco Rat boots that I liked. I wore them out and never replaced them.

 

[Skiff Builder]

A couple years ago I bought a pair of Danner Viscous insulated boots for a winter garage build. They were disappointing in the fact they are like a non breathing plastic bag. After an hour or two I'd be swimming in moisture inside the boots and getting cold feet. Was ready to put grommets in them to breathe. China made.

My Thorogood American Heritage 8" can be resoled/repaired/rebuilt.

Men's 8" Thorogood Work Boots (U.S.A.) 814-4364: MidwestBoots.com

www.midwestboots.com

https://thorogoodusa.com/restoration/

 

[Signing off]

A recraftable model from Danner is the Acadia. Seen my size at a flea market used for cheap. Like 40-50$. The recraft fee would have added $140. Considered $200 all in for a "used" boot and passed. But even wore out they felt good.
For hiking I am sold on Crispi boots. Can't even describe all the details that make them better.

 

[Ilikeike]

Which model are they.

That's what I'm wondering, I work outside daily, get my recrafted at least twice when I wear out the soles.
I only buy the USA made ones.

I have 5 pair at home, I think a couple are 10 years old or more in the picture.
I keep a 6th pair,some real old the quarry's maybe 15+ years old in my locker at work, just incase. .

 

[kngelv]

JK Boots. Hand made in the states with American tanned leather. They have regular sales and their 300 series are not much more than Red Wing etc. Miles better than Thorogood and Danner.

James

 

[four.cycle]

Horween Leather Company

^ Interesting. I've been misinformed. I thought it was all shipped out of country because of the chemicals used in the process.

 

[ChevyEFI]

I will read this thread later, but I hate my Timberland steel toes. Be back later.

 

[john.k]

Any shoes /boots with a poly urethane cushion sole will fail over time............Some years ago one of the govt departments sold unworn surplus boots still in the boxes.........the soles all disintegrated within a few weeks same as if they were worn......polyurethane in other applications fails too .......failed poly -u electrical insulation scrapped some well known classes of airplanes.

 

[rooster59]

You might find YouTube videos from Rose Anvil interesting.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

I absolutely love my Thorogood boots. They are stupid comfortable right out of the box and I have had the local cobbler bring run down pairs back to life. They are the only boot that has survived 12+ hour shifts on concrete.

 

[richfinn]

I had a pair of Thorogood work boots, maybe 6 or 7 years old, lazing about in the closet that I took out to use for some extended ladder work.
It turns out that the s"non-marking" soles were gummy and shedding black sticky residue so I set them aside.
I took them to the cobbler today expecting to get them resoled and he offered to throw them in his trash can. Apparently what I expected were rubber soles were actually plastic and not replaceable. He said that after that many years the plastic the plastic breaks down and sheds oil and that half the shoes and boots brought in to him can not be repairs.
Here I thought Thorogood was a top brand, but I was fooled by the price and the work shoe store. So much for the "made in USA" label!

Are there good leather work boots with rubber soles manufactured anymore?

I've got a pair of Danners, fantastic made in USA Leather/Rubber boots.

I wouldn't dream of wearing them for work though. Far too nice for that, they are basically heritage work boots for looking cool on the weekend (same goes for Red Wings).

For works boots I stick to UVEX, better technology, comfortable and affordable (made in Europe)

 

[Callelle]

Which model are they.

Lookouts, where I circled is where the stitching keeps letting go.

 

[PopcornSutton]

There used to be a company that sold Danner and LaCross seconds for a decent price. I bought a pair of Danner desert combat boots. I sure wouldn't have paid list price for them, but happy for what I paid. And who in the military decided to mount string surface mounted eyelets vertically? What a pain!

The county I worked for would provide a pair of Redwings every other year. Last pair I got were one of their Heritage styles, fully re-solable. Before then I wore Wolverine boots for many years.

 

[35k0]

Red Wing Heritage Series are handmade in Redwing MN.
Also, check out Origin.

 

[Hakeem]

I've got a pair of Danners, fantastic made in USA Leather/Rubber boots.

I wouldn't dream of wearing them for work though. Far too nice for that, they are basically heritage work boots for looking cool on the weekend (same goes for Red Wings).

That’s how I feel about most of these premium work boots. Im sure they’re nice but I couldn’t imagine spending that much money just to get paint/tar/concrete/etc on them.

Those Danners look intriguing. I’m not crazy about the milspec color but for the price, hard to complain. I won a pair of Everboots for free and they held up well. I got 18months on my last pair, and they would have kept going if I didn’t get cement on them. Alas the leather upper cracked and separated for the sole. Still - That’s a whole lot of boot for $65

 

[Kscardsfan]

I have the same pair of Red Wings from May of 2010 going strong. Red Wing takes pride in many of their boots being rebuildable. They survived the oilfield, general construction, wildland firefighting, farm chores and god knows what all else to this point. For hard work, they are the best. My boots I wear now as a conservation officer are Danner Acadia with Gore Tex lining. They're great for what I need in this role, waterproof, can take a shine, and have really good ankle support. All that being said, I don't feel like they are as tough as my Red Wings are.
Ultimately what matters most in boots, are how they fit and feel on your foot. If you don't like them and they are uncomfortable all the reviews praise from me and everyone else doesn't mean squat. I hope my rambling helps you somehow.

 

[mbunimog]

I think you can add Nick’s to that list, or at least you could ten years ago. Maybe things have changed, as tends to happen.

I have Nicks boots. On my first resole after 8 years. Use them all my waking hours of the day and they are like new. All I do is clean them with soap and water once in a while and use boot grease and heat gun to soak it in. If I remember right they were around 500 dollars and they sent me a pair of try on boots to test for size and now they have the pattern if I order more