Helping you find the best men's lifestyle gear and apparel.
Lifestyle brand products aren't cheap. That's why I like to take them for a spin for you, and let you know how I like them.
These are REAL reviews, not just unboxings or a repeating of the manufacturer's description. I use the products and give you my impressions. I also put their customer support to the test and let you know who stands by their product and who's going to leave you in the lurch once they have your money.
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I have a large collection of AE dress shoes and boots, and I've bought most on eBay. That can help with price, and shoe trees and some polish will often give you years out of them for 100 bucks or less used. Re: these soles though, they absolutely don't last unfortunately. I have 2 colors of the same chukka boot with these. One has already had to be resoled. A piece of glass cut straight through the lug sole. The vibram used by the cobbler made them perfect though!
I have black leather Dukes that I got ~5 years ago. They still look and feel great. I have three other pairs of boots from Thursday’s but these are my go to pair for just about everything.
The Wellen gets my vote, too. It certainly suited you. We’re both similar height and build, so it’s useful for me to know what size you choose. Medium it is. 😁👍
Speed hooks are a huge miss by Red Wing, I had my pair ordered from Red Wing with speed hooks for the top 3 eyelets, a must in my book, no pun intended. Break in is a rite of passage, lace them a little loose for a few weeks and then you"ll be good to go
Considering that it's a welted construction, the cork is NOT a midsole/insole as you described it. It's literally a filler to prevent an empty void causing weird pressure on the bottom of your feet from the ridge of the gemming poking up. Having said that, all welted boots need some sort of filler material, whether it be leather, cork, or poron. Personally, the construction quality seems a bit low. The insole is some sort of fiberboard, rather than leather, and the "midsole" on the Higgins Mill is extremely thin, almost not worth even calling a midsole. Although, you did come to a decent conclusion about the pricing. It's probably fine at ~$200 and potentially great at lower than $200, but it's insane at the standard "full" price.
Veja are the most uncomfortable sneakers I have ever had in my life. I don't know why they are called comfortable. I read a lot about their comfort and that's why I decided to buy them. But unfortunately my expectations were not met. After wearing the sneakers for three days, I had to go to emergency care where I was diagnosed with tendonitis. I have been undergoing treatment for 2 months now. I spent a lot of money, but the company refused to reimburse at least the cost of the sneakers. I think anyone who cares about their feet and comfort should refuse these sneakers.
Nice review, Lee. I don’t own the Alex Mill chinos but liked the look of them the best. Don’t be afraid to wear the classic straight chino with more of a fitted top, it will still look great.
@@StrayReviews if you want to shorten this period, you have to apply some skin softener inside the toe box. Some kind of cream and the leather will form and become like a second skin
There is an issue with the tongue curling out on the right side of the shoes after a 20 mins walk. I was told by redwings that it’s because of the shoe size being too big but on my left side, it is fine. Did anyone have this problem?
Using the name of Steve McQueen to sell Astorflex is not an ethical way of doing it. It would help if you mentioned that the chukka he wears was the Sanders HiTop, aka the Playboy chukka.
TBH for those prices they all seem to have some serious compromises. I swear by the regular 365 F&T pants but even those chinos seem to have an eh fit. Maybe if they were slimmer? I still have a bunch of older Abercrombie ones that are near perfect.
It takes a long time and some serious daily hardcore work to wear down your traction treads. Ive only replaced two sets of traction treads at the RedWing shop on my Moc's and that as after 3 years of serious daily use and abuse.
I’ve owned two pairs and they’ve both run narrow on me. I have pretty narrow feet too (I’m nearly a C width). If you have place that sells them locally, I’d try them on first.
Druthers is a great word, I’m always happy to use it. So one thing I’m not quite clear on with Beckett Simon is their widths, is the standard width E/EE or is it just a roomy E? Also cool shirt, man!
If my wife had her druthers I wouldn’t wear that shirt. 😂 At least she likes my sneakers! If you have wide feet, I’d pass on the Reids. I would opt for the Thursday Premiere instead. They have EE and EEE options.
I have a pair of these and morgen trainers. The morgen trainers took about six weeks , but they had the Reids in stock so it only took a few days. The reids are a bit snug and go on sale every couple of weeks and can be bought at around 120 usd. Wait for them to go on sale and save some money for some good sneakers
I have a pair of these. They were a bit to narrow for my wide feel but I broke em in eventually. The insole was weird and I replaced it. Underneath I noticed a piece of extremely hard fiberboard and not leather. So, not the best there and probably why they felt stiff and hard to break in.
I know these shoes will last a LONG time so it'd be worth the wait, and I can get resoled too. The endorsement from your wife is even better to hear too!
I've got the Grant Stone Ottawa, Red Wing, Whites, and Thorogood moc toes. I honestly love them all. The 8" safety toe Thorogood is my go-to work boot. Crazy comfortable, durable, longlasting, and good looking. Yard work, hiking, camping, meeting the guys for beers at the local watering hole: Red Wings. Just *the* classic Americana boot. This is the boot the others are imitating. Period. Everything else, anything a little nicer, I usually go with the GS Ottawa boot. My Whites getting worn the least. Rarely, honestly. Any time I'm likely to wear them, I'm just more likely to grab the RWs. Nothing wrong with the Whites. They are great boots. I just usually grab the RWs.
Very nice! I was close to picking up a pair of Whites recently. I'm glad I saw your comment before I pulled the trigger. My Red Wings are my go-to moc toes these days too.
Agree about the speed hooks. I have heard Red Wing will change them out for you. They may charge a fee, though. If you are handy, you may be able to do it yourself.
I have Loake shoes, Clarks, Solovair, and Astorflex are my favourite shoes, I have Blue suede and they are so comfortable. You are spot on about the minor cons.
I have a pair of Thursday Scouts - they're comfortable, but rather heavy (I suspect due to the thick sole) and just narrow enough around the toes to be uncomfortable. I don't have a wide foot, but I can't stand shoes that squish my toes. Would you say any of these 4 has a wide toebox?
Many thanks for the review. I think you have a very friendly charisma, which makes a review like this even more fun! I bought the Moc Toes a few weeks ago (875) and only wear them with thick socks. That definitely helps. I also have the Red Wing Blacksmith (3343) and they were actually a lot heavier to wear in. But all in all, I love Red Wings! The price-performance ratio is great, they are classic, they age beautifully and they are made in the USA. I'm looking forward to more content from you. Greetings from Germany
Thanks for that Aaron! I’m hoping to pick up a pair of Blacksmiths later this year. I tried on a pair a few months ago and really liked them. I’ve always been impressed with Red Wing. They have a great tradition of craftsmanship and materials.
My biggest miss in terms of regretting not getting a pair of boots is actually Parkhurst. The green kudu from a few years ago. But I see they're back! I did get the green waxy commanders in their place, and they're awesome.
