Couple of notes from the video - I just want to make it clear that the PAIN during break-in was from the SMALLER pair (the size 11.5), not the 12’s in the video. Also, I am 100% WRONG, it’s not nubuck leather, it’s oiled full grain. Which I’m happy about, I prefer full grain over nubuck.
@@dzakisudaI’m glad I went with the rough and tough, and I was pretty torn on which leather to get. For me, the first three months with these things I was able to wear them without treating them with anything, and then when I did condition them they darkened slightly, but they will soon return to pretty close to what they looked like new. It’s like owning two pairs of boots in one. Really loving these boots!
@@doublebase6509 If you can ever pick up a pair of Ebony Harness Rangers (4606) I would. Not nearly as floppy as the 8111's but all the benefits of the Amber Harness. That said I have had many boots in C&R. Great leather! Do be careful if it ever gets super shiny! It's a sign to clean up the leather. C&R only gets shiny when the Nubuck Fibers are packed with dirt and grime. If you keep wearing them it will start to act like sandpaper. Other than that an extremely low maintenance great leather!
Getting the right size is the most important thing. Next is the right socks! I always wear my Iron Rangers with medium thick hiking socks, like Darn Tough socks. The 8085's were my first pair of Iron Rangers. I purchased them in 2017. The first 2-3 weeks were brutal. My feet and ancles hurt really bad. Today, they are my favorite pair. I can wear them for 10 hours, and they feel like butter under my feet. The break in period isn't fun, but it is worth it.
That’s what I’m glad to hear, that they will break in to the point of being something I can wear for 10 hours in comfort. Really liking these things so far!
Couple of recent updates. I did a two mile walk/hike, did ok. Tried a four mile walk/hike, DID NOT GO WELL. My toe joints were absolutely on FIRE after two miles. Lesson learned. These things are nowhere broken in. The leather hasn’t softened up one bit - and I like that because it tells me these are quality - but I’ll have to pick and choose how to break these in. I’m getting a lot of scratches/scuffs in the leather. People are commenting about that, but I don’t care. Once end up putting some Red Wing boot cream or Bick’s 4 on them, I’ll buff those scuffs and scratches right out. But that’s months away. I’ll wear them 10-15 hours a week to continue this break in process.
Mine arrived today from Red wing London. Ordered them online without trying them on first. Usually I'm a size 8 in all my other boots or trainers. I Ordered a size 7.5 D. They fit like a glove.
Heres the issue with the Iron Ranger. Its all about the arch support, or lack of it in this case. When you test fit them in the Redwing store they arent horrible. But after walking on them for some time, your foot tends to spread and ends up killing your feet. Ive wore my Rangers until the lugs are worn, but they still feel like walking on a 2X4. PNW boots are so much superior in comfort. Maybe try something on like Nick Americana or Whites MP Sherman. The cost is higher but the quality is leagues superior.
It’s funny you mention that because I could see that happening. I own a pair of the heritage Moc toes and my feet did kind of spread apart after break in. I’m hoping the heal on the iron ranger will add a little arch support, but maybe not. I’ll check out the Americana and Whites MP Sherman. Edit - Just checked both out. Like the look of the Nicks Americana better. Wow! That’s a serious looking boot. At $600 bucks, it’s a lot of cash, but maybe they’re worth it?
Dammit, now I’m watching a video on how they make the Americana. My mind is blown. This pretty much changes everything for me. I’ll check eBay, maybe I can get a pair second hand or something.
I tried a pair of Iron Rangers last week and while they're nice, I just wasn't in love with them. Not that they're a bad boot, I just didn't have that "ooh, these are nice, they're coming home with me!" feeling. Read somewhere that if you like these, you'll love Nick's Americana; funny bit was that they're great but for their cost and lead times, they're not perfect...unless you just go with their build option and for about $50 I can get the lug soles and leather color I want, so totally worth it.
I'm size 10. I bought 8'5. And yes! It was a hell. I really thought i got the wrong size. But I trusted time for the breaking period. I did the same thing I wore it first going somewhere. Got blisters on my pinky, heel, bridge, and ball. Four parts of foot is giving me constant pain that day. I looked for a pharmacy to buy bandaids, went to a restroom took it off and saw the murder scene on my foot , then wrap em with bandaids to avoid the skin from tearing. I really wanted to return it and size up. But unfortunately I'm outside US, shipment will be so inconvenient for me. I have no choice, i broke it down slowly. Wearing it every day inside the house with two socks and untied, everyday for two weeks and doing some calisthenic. And now I'm proud, it molds my foot like a glove. No more pain!
Yeah, I’ve been doing two hours a day in them since I bought them. Went on a 4-5 mile hike too. Honestly, they’re not really budging. Nothing has really loosened up yet, but I like that...it shows me the boots are quality.
Proud new owner here! I did the break-in for 3 weeks wearing them in house as much as i could. Oh, and i did the conditioning on day one. I always use hand moisturizing cream like Nivea or Atrix, on my big army leather belts too, they are thicc but soft like butter. It darkens the leather but i dont mind. Happy camper.
I just bought my first pair of Iron Rangers in Amber harness yesterday. I'm fortunate enough to have a Red Wing store 15 minutes away from where I live so I went in to get measured. Much to my surprise, I went down a size and a half like you. I'm usually a size 12 in footwear. I tried on a 11.5 first and it felt big so we tried an 11 next. It felt better, but still a tad too long. Since I was there, I figured that I would try on a 10.5 and it felt just right in the store. The only areas that felt a little uncomfortable were the insides where the seams were. I haven't worn them outside yet. Is it common to go down a size and a half? They're snug and I know that they'll stretch out some. I just want to make sure that I didn't go too small.
@@redeemed2517 yes some are sizing down one and a half. IMO the snugged it is the better it'll be, cos if you tried it at the shop and you took the one you feel youre comfortable with, in the end it'll look like Ronald McDonald's boots if that's what you want. It'll be fine, just break it down slowly, wear it inside the house doing some chores, use two regular socks not too thick, but don't tied it up properly, just a bit loose. do it for like a couple of weeks everyday 2-3 hrs. Sounds stupid though. Watch out those tongues thats the thing hurt the most in my exp, those enclosures on the sides will squeeze and make a hump inside and hurt the bridge of your foot. That's why don't tie it up like it should be while breaking . But If you use it right away go somewhere far you'll be fck! haha better bring reserve shoes. But trust it, it'll mold. Amber harness is the hardest on the line, my second is copper 8085. I didn't suffer a lot and lastly, the muleskinner was the easiest. All the same size.
Beautiful and extremely comfortable boots.For me that is the best USA made boots for the price. I purchased my first pair 8015 rough and tough in 2016 and still wear them after more than 10000 hours and 5000 miles.Still didn’t resole them just replaced the heels.Lately bought two more pairs, one in amber harnes. What I noticed is that nitrile cork sole is more durable than 430 mini lug.Breaking period 1-2 days.Very easy.May be because i go only half size down and have enough extra space in length.
5,000 miles in a boot is a ton! Nice work. Getting your money’s worth out of them. I’m hoping for something similar - I plan on using them for everything BUT my actual work - which means I’ll probably do a little hiking/walking in them, I’ll wear them out to dinner and stuff. I wore them in my suit for a conference the other night, didn’t look half bad actually.
8085 or copper rough and tough leather are made to be abused. As soon as you condition them, they become 8111 colour. I did not know it at first so what i did was i saddle soap them and dont condition after. My boot lighten up by a lots and retain that bright copper colour which i really like
I’m a 12 and went down a size and a half after the half size down was way too roomy. The break in is rough, but flexing the leather before you wear them helps a lot.
You were able to go a full size and a half down? These do definitely run large in length, but I wasn’t able to go that far down in size. That’s interesting - I always find how boots fit people differently. The leather is pretty stiff on mine, they’ve loosened up some but that took a good couple months and 20-25 miles of walking in them. Like them! I’ll do a follow up.
I’ve been wearing them a couple hours a day to just break them in, they’ve been ok. I’m curious to see how they’d do on my feet for 10 hours. I did a 3 mile hike in them last weekend, wasn’t too bad. Definitely not the most comfortable boots I’ve had on my feet, but I’m hearing that it’ll take a good 6 months for these things to truly break in and become comfortable 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Seems everyone has different experiences with sizing and breaking in. I have some amber harness rangers. My brannock is 10.5 d-e (depending). I wear an 11e in sneakers. I had to go 9.5ee in my iron rangers, a full size and a half lower than my sneakers. I tried 10ee, but they were too long. As far a break in, they were comfortable on my carpet, decent on hard floors. It took a couple of days to really get used to hard floors with them; never had any real pain, just hardish feeling soles for a bit. I do wear boots for a living, and stand for up to 13 hours a day, so maybe my feet are a little more accustomed to boots/pain/standing. Who knows.
These just didn’t agree with me initially. It’s funny because I do wear boots for work in harsh conditions all day long…cement floors, lot of standing, lot of walking/working. I can’t wear these things for what I do (automotive), there isn’t enough separating me from the floor. I wear Thorogoods, Whites, Red Wing work boots, Duradero, for that stuff. The Iron Rangers are strictly casual boots for me, I’ll never be able to work in these things. But I do love them!
I bought a pair of these about 6 weeks ago. Absolutely in love with mine. I had a hard break in period for maybe the first week. After that, every single day gets more and more comfortable. I look forward to wearing them! I have actually bought 2 more pairs of iron rangers. I got the hawthorn 8083 rough out and the charcoal ruff and tough 8086. Working on breaking them all in. The 8083 are easily the softest and easiest to break in.
I’m not able to wear these things everyday, all day. I have work boots I have to do that in. Work boots I can usually break-in in a week, unless they’re Pacific Northwest loggers, those take me a good month. I can only go a few hours a day at first in those types of boots.
@@doublebase6509 Red Wing states the iron rangers take 80 hours to break in. I’d recommend making your own boot stretch liquid (1 part isopropyl alcohol and 3 parts water). Soak em down and go cut the grass. Then condition em. Will help you immensely.
I am 13 on the Brannock Device and Nike running shoes. I initially bought 11.5; however, end up returning them and got the 12. Initially the 12 seemed big;however, after adding a very thin insole and a kiltie, they are just fine. Also, the heel slip went away after about two hours of walking. The insole and kiltie( false tongue), I got it from Nicks Boots. I deleted my initial comment so it wouldn’t be too confusing. I hope this helps anyone in between sizes to fit in their boots more comfortably. Something nobody has mentioned is, if you measure your feet on the Brannock Device, it gives you three measurements. It gives you the length, width. And heel to ball. All shoes are designed to bend at the widest part=the ball of the foot. According to the instructions, you should go with the longest measurement between the heel to ball and heel to toe. Also, if your feet are different sizes, you go with the longest measurement.
Yeah I just won’t have any room in the toe box area to add an insole in virtually any size with these things. But I get what you’re saying and I’m sure it works for some people. The boots do feel a lot better now than before - I just haven’t worn them much of lately because of summer - but as soon as fall rolls around I’ll have these on a lot.
The boots should feel like a firm handshake. Do not wear new boots out and about when they are brand new. It is best to wear these around the house for a few hours at a time. Allow your foot to begin to sink into the footbed, which creates ore room around ball of the foot and toe box. Do not use oils or conditioner to soften new leather boots. Your body heat is what breaks in the leather more than anything else. They use heat to shape the lather into a boot.
Yeah I agree! I never put any conditioners on new boots for a month or more, depending on how much I actually work them. The iron rangers were three months because they aren’t worked. There are some people that would disagree, saying they need to be oiled right away, but that’s not me. Plus they change the appearance of the leather dramatically. As for break-in, some boots don’t require anything and I’m able to go right way…the iron rangers did. I’ll be breaking in a pair of PNW boots starting next week, I won’t wear them out of the house for a while…and I’ll need to break the leather arch support in. Looking forward to it.
No it’s not nubuck, that was a mistake I made. Someone corrected me on it a few months back…I think I may have pinned the correction in my comments, not sure. Thanks for watching.
I've been wearing both the Amber Harness Full Grain and Copper Rough Nubuck Rangers just about every day for the last 10 years. Both boots have had equal use and conditioning but my Copper Roughs with the Nubuck leather look cleaner, stiffer, and have held their shape better over the years. I would have thought the opposite. Another observation is the Ambers are noticeably heavier than the Coppers. The leather thickness looks the same, but the Ambers have a smooth leather sole, and the Coppers have the current treaded sole. Anyone else with both pairs of boots have thoughts on how each have held up for you?
I probably should mention that someone pointed out to me that the copper rough and toughs are not nubuck leather, but rather full grain. I’d guess lightly corrected full grain, but all I know is that it is very durable. I’ve also read and heard from others that the older sole that you mention lasts a very long time, although I may be thinking of the smooth sole from vibram, not a leather outsole.
I always thought it was leather because it was smooth but it's not now that I looked. It has held up to wear, but I like the look of the new treaded sole better. Thanks for the info.@@doublebase6509
I almost bought a pair of IR's a few years ago when they were offered in an oxblood color. When that color was discontinued I considered the copper R&T leather. In the end I went with the Blacksmith boot. The break in was fairly easy. More people should give consideration to the Blacksmith. It's a great boot. Less expensive and easier break in than the IR.
I know people consider the Blacksmith a more versatile boot than the Iron Ranger…can use it more casually, and maybe even pull it off in a suit. They are a good looking boot, and when you think about it, their style has been copied for decades. That’s pretty good in my book.
I’m the same size. I wear 12wide. I tried the 11 1/2 D and no way. I ordered 11 1/2EE and they fit perfect. You are limited on which boot you can get in an EE. But way better than sizing up.
I agree 1,000%. Wish I could have gotten these in the 11.5 wide, but they didn’t have them when I was buying. The size 12 I bought is working out for me though, but I do think the 11.5 wide would have fit perfectly.
Dude, get the leather cream on them if you plan to have them a while. If you're wearing them through these months it'll help. I just bought a pair in the last week and they don't darken them for more than a day. You'll thank me later
@@WeAreBeggarsAll83yeah I agree. I’m three days in on these things now, and quite honestly, yeah a little discomfort, but not too bad. At one point yesterday they started actually feeling good. Today it was a little bit more of a step back, but nowhere near the PAIN I was going through with the pair that was just too small for me. Loving these things so far!
That's awesome! I found my 1907's needed my normal shoe size but these were a 10EE. 🤷🏼♂️ Happy to hear you enjoy yours. My only gripe is the waxed laces aren't reorderable
I use neatsfoot oil on my boots, and they are very supple. I do it the same as the Amber harness. They darken a bit but as soon as you bend the boots you get two colours. And the leather is very nice.
Thanks. At home I make a formula of 4 parts neats foot oil and 1 part bees wax (4 ounce to 1 ounce). I melt it together in a sauce pan, stir it, and pour it in a jar where it harden to a paste. But I only use that formula on my actual work boots. You’re 100% right, the neats foot oil softens the leather up immediately over night. But I wouldn’t use this combination on the Iron Rangers because the bees wax will heavily darken the boots. I haven’t tried just pure neats foot on them yet, might give that a try. Thanks.
I’d say any type of pain is normal for these things on day two, although I didn’t experience any sort of heel pain myself. They’re tough to break in. But keep an eye on it, if you have the right size boot for your foot they should beak in eventually and feel good eventually. However if you don’t have the right size they may never really feel great offer break in. In my opinion.
Great music though, how was the concert? I bought my IR R&T just over 4 weeks ago. Wanted them for a long time and finally did the 2 hr drive to the shop and back . in the Netherlands we only have one RW store and these being my first ones I didn’t want to risk any fitting issues) with my new pair of IR’s. I was thrilled. I’ve read thoroughly (or so I thought) on the fitting and breaking in issues so I decided to talent easy. Did a couple of walks with the dog (20-25 mins at a time), some in house walking and nothing long or hefty. they where slowly monding around my feet and each time they felt better and better. Then the idiot in me decided to take over. Me and the Mrs went abroad for Christmas and NYE. (No I don’t regret that) I decided to wear my IR’s during the travelling part, that being: - 1,5 hr drive to the airport - wandering around and killing of a 3 hr delay on the airport, ended up waiting over 5 hrs on the airport and my feet where killing me already - 2 hr flight - 1 hr to get to our destination and finally able to get them off. Gladly brought along another pair of sneakers which where intended for travelling. Yup, I’m a genius. I’ve changed my socks now to woollen socks and got some bandaids. The only hurting part is the bridge, everything else really fits like a glove, so I guess it’s a matter of time and a lot of bandaids to get me through.
Excellent post! Well done. Love the description of what you went through to get the boots, and how you went about breaking them in. I did something similar - I went a few trips in them, got a little brave, and then pushed it too much (and regretted it). Now things are going a little better but I still don’t quite “trust these things” quite just yet. They’re just not to the point where I feel totally confident that they’re broken in. Some days they feel great, others not as much. Had some left big toe joint pain (that seems to now be gone). Had a few hot spots on my pinkie toes for a bit, which seems ok now. The leather seems slightly darker than when I first bought them, maybe because I spent a weekend in them walking around in the rain/wet conditions. Haven’t treated them with anything yet - I have some Red Wing boot cream and Bicks 4 waiting in the wings - but I’m planning on holding off for as long as I can before doing anything with them. The concert was amazing. Never saw Tool before. It was quite an experience!
At the shop they told me to hold off any care products for the first 3-4 months as they are already heavily conditioned from the factory. Obviously depending on the wear and usage but it should be good for a couple months at first. Some people only condition them once a year but I guess that’s only based on wearing them 1-2 a week. Totally agree with the “fear” of them being broken in, I’m now in the phase that they are intimidating to wear 😂 Hell let’s call the “intimidating phase”, when one doesn’t really know if they are okay to wear or still breaking in or even doubting if the fit is okay… Nice, lucky you, they are coming to the Netherlands this summer but the prices are over 120 dollars for the most basic ticket.. damn high
Well.. bandaids didn’t help.. contacted the store last week because they kept scuffing on my foot bridge and I’m now 2+ months in so breaking in shouldn’t be an issue anymore. The store owner te-measured my feet and turns out they are difficult. 2 different widths and difference in length(one was broken so no surprise actually). For a fact to narrow he said. I got a brand new pair of the amber harness in EE width because unfortunately this store doesn’t have have the R&T in wider sizes. And what a difference.. But hey, big shout out to Red Wing Amsterdam for the after sales support!
I’m thinking about buying a pair if the Lord Will! Is the front inside of the boot still lined with cotton lining? Or is it that cheap looking black stuff?
They are good boots. Wouldn’t wear them for any labor work, that’s what my Ariats are for. Definitely my favorite boots I’ve ever owned. 6+ years and still holding strong
@@rjduhonnoted. Going to be a tough break-in because I won’t be working in these, therefore I won’t get enough time in these as I want. Did you notice the break-in was like...one step forward...one step back? Almost like it feels like any progress I make is eliminated after the boot sits overnight. It cools down and seems to shrink back to its previous/new form.
That’s a great question. They didn’t have them in any sort of size in the copper rough and tough. I didn’t want to order them online and find out they weren’t going to fit anyway. Went up to a 12, and honest the things seem to fit me pretty well, but I do think an 11.5 wide might have been better. Not sure.
@@doublebase6509 they didn’t have my size in store either so I had them order different sizes in EE and tried them on in store to make sure there were no hot spots
Red Wing makes over 30 different types of work boots, most don’t look like these classics. Almost all have a pretty high quality control and are tough to beat in terms of performance/durability. The Iron Ranger is definitely NOT for everyone, yet it is still one of the more popular and instantly recognizable boots on the market. But I do hear the clown shoes, stuff occasionally 😂😂
