Red Wing “Iron Ranger” Boots

Purchase

Iron Ranger boots are manufactured by Red Wing in the USA are an iconic piece of Americana. This worldwide reputation is partially because the boots are well-made and have a look that has remained popular over the years, and partially because Red Wing does such a good job of marketing. I was in Annapolis and got a pair of Red Wing Iron Ranger 1811 Boots at the beginning of 2020. I walked into a Red Wing store and got measured & fitted, something I recommend over going the mail-order route.

Breaking them in

The break-in phase during the first two weeks was by far the most I’d ever had to work at making footwear comfortable. Although I subsequently got some Nick’s Handmade Boots that made this process seem short, simple and painless. More on that topic later. Only the first 2-3 days of wear were really uncomfortable, after that the boots became progressively more shaped to my feet. 

Wearing them

I walk quite a bit and have a FitBit which lets me see how many steps (and miles) I walk. I generally will walk 15000 or more steps per day, often walking more than 20,000 and never walking less than 10,000. Being a bit of a data-driven person, I tallied my step counts with the times that I wore the Iron Rangers and have had a total of 1,500 miles on these shoes in June 2020. About 50% of the time I was on asphalt or concrete, 25% was on gravel or dirt roads and the rest was on soft forest earth.

Considering the use they got, they did very well indeed. I only used saddle soap on them once (to get the salt from the ocean passage from the US to the BVI out), I brush them off after every walk and wiped them down with a moist cloth when they got dustier or dirtier than the brush could deal with. Every couple of  weeks they get a coat of Red Wing Leather Cream and, perhaps most importantly, when my feet aren’t in them a set of cedar shoe trees are.

Update July 2022. I took my Iron Rangers to the Caribbean on my last trip, but most of the time I was barefoot so they didn’t see much sunlight on the trip. I have been wearing my Nick’s Ranger and Packer boots more often than these, but they still get some regular wear and they are still looking good.

Update July 2023. I took my Iron Rangers to the Caribbean on this trip as well, letting some of the local microbes and moulds feast on them. But I wore them on the way back and after some leather cream they are looking good again.

Conclusion

I really like these Red Wing Iron Ranger boots, they are comfortable and very well made and with a bit of buffing and cleaning they can be used as semi-casual shoes. The somewhat bulbous toe cap and two lines of double-stitching make them immediately recognizable.  Soon I’ll have to get them resoled. Should I wear the topsides to the point where they need to be replaced I’ll most certainly get another pair.