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Engineer Boots, Harness Boots...

Bfd70

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,052
Location
Traverse city
Thanks for the recommendation. I might order a 21oz from Unbranded. What about wool though. Do they go well with engineer boots?

I don’t own any woold pants to compliment engineer boots. Search posts by A-1 he frequently does and absolutely kills it.
 

Blackadder

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,822
Location
China
What kind of pants go well with engineer boots that aren't jeans? Thinking about getting meself a pair of engineer boots for this winter, but don't wanna wear jeans in freezing temps. Any recommendations for an alternative to jeans?
There are other options like
Jungle cloth/grosgrain
Sugar Cane, Mr Freedom, Freewheelers
Canvas
Carhartt, Ciano Farmer and Iron Heart etc.
These heavy cotton pants also look good
http://store.w-river.com/shopdetail/000000003200/ct132/page5/recommend/
http://store.w-river.com/shopdetail/000000003202/ct132/page5/recommend/
Kojima Genes also makes lots of heavy jeans
http://eshop.kojima-genes.com/shopbrand/002/002/X/#.XAxG4FUza72
 
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bluesmandan

A-List Customer
Messages
303
Location
United States
Finally sprang for some Chippewas. The 11” Pierce with contrast welt. Figured I should give them a try first before the White’s, since they are half the price...


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Colin G

One Too Many
Messages
1,194
Location
Canada
Colin, then you’d love the Viberg Workboot 2005 last Engineer, I think it’s called the ‘93


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I looked into Viberg since they are made right here in Canada but the high price is too cost prohibitive. It is cheaper for me to buy Wesco plus the Viberg uses an unstructured toe which I do not like.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,796
Location
London, UK
What kind of pants go well with engineer boots that aren't jeans? Thinking about getting meself a pair of engineer boots for this winter, but don't wanna wear jeans in freezing temps. Any recommendations for an alternative to jeans?

Flannel-lined jeans? I'd also wear mine with Dickies 874s, though those are about regulr jeans weight or lighter....

Anyone has experience with Durango and Sendra boots? They seem to be targeting the lower price point, are they worth it?

Sendra are a Spanish company. They make nice footwear; I think they compared favourably to the likes of RedWing once priced is taken into account. There's also UK-made Grinders; limited range (you can have any colour you like as long as it's black), but nice. I havea pair that were my first engineers. Not quite as nice as Redwings, but at around GBP100, a good place to start to see if you like the style.

Surprised a scam like that can stay alive in the Netherlands.

I doubt it's actually based there. It's very easy to register and operate a URL that makes an online business seem as if it's based somewhere it's not, similar to how a lot of Far Eastern sellers on eBay will set up their auction pages to make it seem like they are in the UK.
 

Bfd70

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,052
Location
Traverse city
E1BDDAD2-571F-4296-BBC5-2244946D68D7.jpeg

New Red Wing in Klondike black. I thought these looked pretty cool in photos because of the unfinished edges. The Klondike is supposed to be basically a teacore where the black will fade to brown undertones in time.
Fit is good at 1/2 size up from my other RW heritage boots. They have a tight instep and slightly narrow shaft both of which work well for me. Finish is ok. The leather, buckles, stitching, and general QC don’t match my $700 Wesco....they also were not $700. They were 1/3 the price as “factory seconds.” There is nothing that noticably makes them seconds and find them pretty much on par with most Red Wing offerings. All in all they seem to be a very decent boot at the price point.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,796
Location
London, UK
Those look nice. Is that a shiny leather as could take polish? I'm not a fan of the teacore look, but if it could take a regular go-over with black boot-polish, that should be avoidable.
 

Bfd70

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,052
Location
Traverse city
Yes, it should take a polish. There are several outlets here in the US selling RW factory seconds. I have purchased 3 pair for betweem $125 and $225. I have yet to see a single noticeable flaw.
I wore those for several hours yesterday and feel they will break in relatively quickly.
 

bluesmandan

A-List Customer
Messages
303
Location
United States
Finally sprang for some Chippewas. The 11” Pierce with contrast welt. Figured I should give them a try first before the White’s, since they are half the price...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally ordered the Chippewa “Pierce” for $220 from Shoeline, but just found the “Whirlwind” on sale for $160 at Schottnyc, so I cancelled the shoeline order (slow handling time at shoeline!)

I wonder what the difference is between the pierce and whirlwind models?? They look exactly the same.


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Bfd70

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,052
Location
Traverse city
They are a steal at that price. Comfortable out of the box as well.
Guessing the pierce vs whirlwind is just a name change. Chippewa site lists the Pierce as Whirlwind leather.
 

regius

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,299
Location
New York
Yes, it should take a polish. There are several outlets here in the US selling RW factory seconds. I have purchased 3 pair for betweem $125 and $225. I have yet to see a single noticeable flaw.
I wore those for several hours yesterday and feel they will break in relatively quickly.

Could you tell us where these outlets are where I can buy factory secondRW?


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regius

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,299
Location
New York
Nordstrom Rack website seems to
Offer many Red Wing selections, never seen them before. Famous Brands Outlet in Upstate NY too (sorry I answered my own question)


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Bfd70

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,052
Location
Traverse city
Also, sierratradingpost.com which currently has a large selection of engineer boots.
Nordstrom Rack website seems to
Offer many Red Wing selections, never seen them before. Famous Brands Outlet in Upstate NY too (sorry I answered my own question)


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bluesmandan

A-List Customer
Messages
303
Location
United States
So the Chippewa engineer came in from Schott’s. Fit is pretty good, and I’ve oiled up the leather (a lot, they just sucked up the conditioner!)

A question: do any of you have experience with this Texon footbed? Texon is properly a midsole, not an insole, which is to say the chipper doesn’t have a proper insole. Will this Texon material conform to the foot like cork, or should I use a thin insole with them?


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J.R. Kerr

New in Town
Messages
11
Location
texas
Chippewa created first Engineer.

Frye created first Harness as far as we know, but then also let some of its purpose disappear to history, and the main thing to consider is that americans did not wear pairs of shoes, and everything was straight lasted. The ring woulda had a matching pin to cinch in lieu of havin instep cut into it.

China has Guangxhu Shoe City and inarguably makes the world's best shoes; HOWEVER the government only subsidizes the mail up to 4 lbs, so anything you get mailed from china is always gonna have a substandard outsole to save on shipping weight, and you'll never know if the leather came from a tannery that made a bunch of kids in India blind.

Bein a proud Texan I feel a lot better, in general, about buyin Union made shoes. Local 1776 UFCW (easy number to remember) is the ladies at the Cove Shoe Company that make Josef Corcoran's 1500 Original Jump Boot, the reproductions for wwiiimpressions, Carolina lineman boots, etc. Chippewa's production is local 2 UFCW iirc and they make yer Engineer (and if it aint Horween from Chicago its Odessa from long haired calves raised in the Swiss Alps etc - main idea its ethical leather). Weinbrenner is two different UFCW groups (forget the numbers off top of my head) and use Horween or Siedel (both are super ethical and not poisoning little kids like Wolverine did in Flint). ufcw.jpg

Texon is a paper thats been made in Arizona iirc for like 80 years. Its obviously good stuff. Its usually underneath a layer of Poron which is silicon for shock absorbtion. I always pry it out of navy deck shoes and lay down a powerstep, pedag, or whatever for clearance. I mean... yeah its good stuff, but... I dont use silicon brake fluid in my chevelle either. It gets gummy and beads up with vibrations. The texon paper is indeed amazing stuff, but its gotta be glued down, and the paper can pick up a scent. The "dryz" liners in Corcoran got hostile takeovered and shut down, so Cove been making their own for Corcorans lately, and that same idea is in Powersteps wicking up the moisture for overnight evaporating. Y'know... for boots you need to wear every day. The improvements in easy removable footbeds... I like that better than texon/poron set ups now, and Dr Martens unisex sizes are on a "comfort last" that assume you will use your own which means their Industrial line worth an actual look. Those can be instantly more comfortable than somethin with texon.

also... people still say "break in" about shoes even when it aint a breakable leather outsole, but because of the stiff texon paper theyre not entirely wrong. Most of the time people seem to mean rubbing the acryllic finish off the leather so it'll get full range of shrink and stretch, and that does take a lot longer if you let it happen naturally.
 
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