[First Look] Red Wing IRON RANGER Amber Harness / 8111 / First thoughts, break-in, plan for future 

Thanks for watching! Lemme know if you have any questions!

If you constantly wear them they become very comfortable. I wore mine for many years. Only time I didn't was when they were getting new soles! They are very old and the best!

Nice pickup man. I got the IRs in same leather but with the vibram soles and absolutely love them!!! On a side note that is an amazing looking jacket. What brand model and colorway is that gorgeous piece?

I heard they put less leather in the sole so I've been scared of buying a new pair and it being modern garbage

Definitely 1/2 down in IR from sneaker size

If that spot where the tongue gusset needs, the boot is giving you trouble, if you take some Nokona baseball glove conditioner and rub it on the inside where that spot is it usually softens it up enough and makes it pliable enough to be comfortable if you spin down the laces and walk around for about an hour. My 4606 were like that.

Welcome to IRs! When you're done with break-in, they'll feel like a revelation For me, it was a couple days where I nearly forgot I was wearing boots... they felt like sneakers with hard soles. The hardness of the soles never really goes away, either. For my part, I'll have some honey vibrams slapped on when I wear the originals mostly flat. Nice boots!

I’ve had mine in copper rough and tough for about almost 2 months now. I definitely love them. I absolutely agree that the sizing is a little off as some would say. That being said they are pretty comfortable and the break in period hasn’t been bad at all for me. Definitely in love with them. 🍻

The 8111 was my first pair of quality GW boots. I have about dozen pairs of boots now and I feel like the Red Wings don't get enough attention, but every time I put them on I remember how much I really like them. The number 8 last fits my foot really well. Taking them a half size down they are snug in the heel and midfoot but still roomy in the toe. My pair had a few cosmetic issues too like crooked stitching on the backstay of one of the boots. The more annoying flaw on mine was that the speed hooks were not crimped down very well and were slowly chewing through the tongues, though I was able to fix them with a cheap speed hook tool from amazon, a hammer, a punch and a bit of cursing.

Nice! I’m thinking about picking up their Chelsea’s in the same leather! Thanks for pointing out the QC issues.

For me, I just went with what felt firm but comfortable . The guy in the shop was trying to get me to go a size down, but if I did, I'm sure they'd have ended up on Ebay - and I'll bet that's the reason you see so many on Ebay.

I'm kinda the opposite to ya. Started with the 8111s, 5 years old now and now have an 1907 (3month old).. I wouldn't probably been able to get the 1907, if I had the 8085. I have the 875, 4years old, and also an 10877(3 months). Got them different leathers :)

Ten may still be a struggle. Although I think I'm near seven for now and then still not getting RW IRs or Moc anytime soon now that I don't know that they carry much in my size and already have PNW, etc.

As much as I like RedWing over other leather boot i had, to be honest, i do not like how copper rough and tough age and patina. You cant conditioning them without changing their colour and if you dont treat them, they will change colour anyway. Iron ranger -0,5 size working well for me, however moctoe is 1 full size down (except for 1907 which is 1 full size up). Anyway, look into Truman, will not disappoint you

I tried on a pair at my local RW store; the fit was fine but the soles were just...meh. I'm an 11.5 E-ish but these fit just fine. These would probably look much better with a resole...but I'd rather just go with something like Truman (they have some really nice leathers). Not happy with those flaws/QC issues on yours, I hope you got some sort of scratch/dent discount.

Wearing mine today, 4 years old with a beautiful patina. They’ve seen hard work and casual use and they have no flaws. They’re comfortable and show no signs of needing a resole. Id say they’re a bit overpriced at $350 but they’re still great boots.

So it's been several weeks and I was wondering how your break in on these was going. I'm happy that you chose the 8111's. It seems that alot of people find breaking them in extremely brutal I didn't find that myself, I am used to welted boots though. Maybe do a quick follow up video on your Rangers. If your digging them or not. I love mine and have the same ones.

I went to get a pair on Wednesday, but the boot looked so tiny on my feet. My Brannock is 8.5D, Red Wing store didn’t have an eight so I tried a 7.5. They fit good. Little to exact, but they looked so small. Looked very petite. Didn’t like the look. Don’t know if 8 will look better. But oh well. Nice boot/video. Keep up the good work.

Awesome boot. I agree that CR&T is my favorite RW leather, but I picked up my 8111s a year ago thinking Amber Harness would be a more versatile leather since my daily use case is more smart to business casual. I had a tough breaking, but I absolutely love them now and they have become one of my favorite weekend boots. Can’t wait to see what yours look like a year from now.

I was nearly in tears the first time I wore my amber iron rangers for a full day. They hurt so bad. They were like a second skin the next time I wore them.

My first pair of heritage boots :) i agree with you when it came to your comment about lacing towards the mid part of the boot. Swapped out the laces for some brown flat waxed laces, that makes them look a lil more dressy in my eyes haha

I really like the Iron Rangers but, in the same price category, the Grant Stone Diesel seems like a better offer

Congrats on the boots, and for lacing them the best way possible. These are one of the few true captoes also.

These are on my short list of items to pick up myself. I keep coming back to them.

Not this one for me. The jumper boots you posted earlier looked great.

Did you see the pink red wing mocs for Valentine's Day?

I own several pairs of iron rangers and they have always been a solid boot brand. Why did you go with the 8111 Amber Harness pair?

Oh man that Vibram sole that you don't like. I will probably never get the IR's. I almost did in the past when they had an Oxblood color, and because they're such an icon in the boot world. Kinda glad I didn't now. So many other styles to get into. Plus I have heard about QC issues lately and just the lack of comfort, even after they're broken in. Let us know what you think about the comfort factor after you've had them awhile.

What kind of jeans were you wearing?

Wowzers, turns out I’m a boot guy and I didn’t even know it. Though I had no plans to buy anything soon, I saw the coolest shoes for sale at a cobbler, I picked them up and they were Iron Rangers, the 8086 charcoal rough and tough. I thought about them for a week before realizing I’d be worse off without them so now they’re mine 😎. Having worn them for all of about 10 minutes or so, that gusset pinch is hell for me too, but I noticed that some creative lacing should do the trick. I picked up the same size shoe as measured in the Red Wing shop and they feel great. Thank you for your video and your insight, cheers 🍻.

Originally I've got the blacksmiths im Copper R&T first because I like plain-toe boots more, but the rolling im the edge really in the blacksmiths digs into my calves and turns uncomfortable after a while. That's why I decided to try the Iron Rangers in black harness... well now I have ones in Slate Muleskinner and in CR&T and I'm pretty happy, I haven't had issues with the supposed clown shoe shape, I think that is more of a issue of bad sizing, my first 2 pairs where my sneakers size and felt slightly spacious so I got half size for my last IR and fitting was on point. I love how CR&T looks after a couple of wearings, but slate muleskinner and black harness are good laters too. I hope you'll enjoy your IR 👍. Thank you for the video.

Good review. It took me about 5 weeks to break in my Iron Rangers. I took them to work and wore them half a day each work day with really thick wool socks. No blisters and now they fit very comfortably. i wonder if your two QC issues are related to the sale. Sometimes products offered on sale have minor defects. Both of yours look to be cosmetic, but that would still irritate me if i paid full price. Enjoy your Iron Rangers.

Probably the last think you want to hear but Flint and Tinder just dropped a storm rider and inspired jacket. I bought it and it’s on the way. Looks super cool! I’m excited!

Love mine. So much that i bought the 8083's 3 months after wearing my 8111's. Had both pairs for 3 years now and still love wearing them. After 3 years, the patina on the 8111's is fantastic.

Sloppy language

Absolutely classic!

The boots look amazing!!

Any info on the jacket? it looks amazing.

What jacket is that?

Jacket looks great.

Congrats on the new boots!

Shoulda got the Jim Greens.. Red Wing has really fallen off