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

[@rockymtnstyle]

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

[@johnmutton799]

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!

[@rockymtnstyle]

Awesome! Hope mine get there! Thanks for sharing

[@jeffgrantMEDIA]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

If nothing else, it's good as a content creator to have that knowledge on the most popular heritage boot! But also, I really like mine! :)

[@trageopar]

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. 🍻

[@rockymtnstyle]

Nice! Sounds like our experience are aligned for the most part.

[@marlenakauer5262]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

That would be a solid pickup! I'm really happy with this leather, to be honest. Seems simple and plain in pics and vid, but has much more character in person.

[@StolenAlias]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Awesome!! I hope to be able to type the same thing in 47 months! 😎

[@randynovick7972]

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!

[@rockymtnstyle]

Heeey, thank you! I sure hope to get to that point! They aren't even bad for me right outta the box, so any additional comfort will be gravy! Good call on the honey in the future.

[@severoromo640]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thanks! Just regular 'ol lacing! :)

[@vanessaeileen6938]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Ahhh, nice! Thanks for that suggestion . I'll look into it.

[@behindenemylines9033]

Iron Rangers and the waxed trucker jacket. Years of wearing and no issues.

[@fredantonius8606]

I have a pair of Iron Rangers that I bought in about 2016 or 2017. I wear them casually and they are in great shape. I have had them re-soled once. Several months ago I bought from my local Redwing store a pair of insoles-- the thinnest ones offered. They made a huge difference and increased the comfort immensely. They do take up some room in the boot, so I now wear socks that are a bit thinner, but I am very glad I bought the insoles. I would suggest that viewers that are considering Iron Rangers look into insoles at the time they are being fitted for the boots. They'll add about $50 to the overall purchase, but I certainly think they add $50 worth of comfort.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thanks for the thought and suggestion. I may actually try this out just so I can have that experience.

[@markmullen1852]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Ahh so cool! Love to hear stuff like that. I could see myself in some Slate at some point...

[@kingyellowman5762]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

No pain no gain, as they say. In glad yours got better so quick!

[@josephcase7004]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Nice! Glad to hear we're boot brothers (again?)! Same for me here... smart casual to the office is the uniform 2-3 days a week, and I usually wear denim and boots on the days I work from home, so these strike a nice medium I'd agree.

[@The_Other_Matt]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thx for sharing, Matt! I need to look closer at my speed hooks and make sure I don't start seeing any heavy wear.

[@gnarl12]

​@@rockymtnstyle I put moleskin on the back of my 8111 speed hooks

[@gnarl12]

Yep, .5 under brannock is pretty standard. Some people take tts but in my experience they're too big at True to size.

[@WaxySmooth]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

I need to do better trying out difference laces. I like to customize but I never think about it for some reason. Maybe I'll give it a go with these. Thanks for the comment!

[@witkidone]

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?

[@rockymtnstyle]

Ahh thanks man! Appreciate the comment! This is the Iron Heart 12oz Whipcord Modified Type III in XL. Quite the mouthful!

[@jeremyl.7563]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Hey, Jeremy! I appreciate you following up! Unfortunately, I've only worn these a handful of times since this video and I don't have an update scheduled for these for a while. I have many other pairs of footwear for "first looks" coming up for the channel; sneakers, loafers, other boots. These 8111s are part of my long-term core rotation, though, so there WILL be more updates! :) Just not for a little while. Please stick around and I promise I won't disappoint when the time comes. :) Cheers, mate!

[@AJ-by6pd]

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?

[@rockymtnstyle]

To be honest, so I had more knowledge and content for the channel. My 1907s are CRT, so I wanted something different. AND - these were the ones on sale at Iron Shop when I was buying, so I pulled the trigger. I knew I didn't want black or Hawthorne at the time, either, so it sort of all worked out. Very happy with it though.

[@AJ-by6pd]

@@rockymtnstyle I hear ya. I have the iron rangers in the oro traction tred, ebony harness, bitter chocolate, Hawthorne Muleskinner, slate muleskinner, oxblood, amber harness, charcoal rough and tough, white ash Munson Ranger, and the 8117 navy portage muleskinner. My 8117’s are my fav of the bunch. I hope Red Wing brings those back.

[@paulfogarty7724]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Yep. It seems like they are trained to assume we're lying about how they feel and make us go down a bit. Hah!!

[@va6gkthaskey311]

The boots look amazing!!

[@rockymtnstyle]

Ahh thanks! Looking forward to them patina'ing up!

[@pelv3027]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

I did! Hah! Maybe one day 🤣

[@raulmontalvo9447]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thank you for the kind words, Raul. I can understand your point. From the top down I agree they are a bit small looking. Cheers mate!

[@oddjobtriumph1635]

just bought a Pair of Amber Harness /8111 today.........not looking forward to the break-in period .....but i am looking forward to owning them and wearing them

[@rockymtnstyle]

Best of luck with the break in!

[@ToxicBlue]

Any info on the jacket? it looks amazing.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thanks! Yup, here's the jacket...tinyurl.com/4t9b6u7w Also bought it from Iron Shop Provisions as it turns out. I'm wearing an XL.

[@ToxicBlue]

I would love a review of that jacket sometime in the future if you don't mind.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Well as it turns out, a few people asked me about it, so a quick video is going live Monday around 3pm MT / 6pm ET. 😎

[@watchwatch-ob7vr]

Congrats on the new boots!

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thanks a bunch! Loving them so far!

[@TonySop]

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!

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thx for the heads up! They look cool! Gonna put that on this PotD later today.

[@cjanquart]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thx for sharing, man! I already got 25% off on the BF sale so I just let sleeping dogs lie. Plus, I'm planning on beating them up for the channel so I figured it's all good. 👍

[@crucify40]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Will do! Thanks for the info. And to be honest, the thing I disliked the most about the Vibram mini-lug were the heels that most smaller companies use Red Wing doesn't use those so these are probably 50% quieter than those other monstrosities. So in this case, I don't mind them at all. Also - they may be a different compound... they don't feel as hard as the black sole ones on my other boots.

[@crucify40]

@rockymtnstyle I have the same sole/heel on my Blacksmith boots. One good thing is that sole/heel combo seems really durable and long lasting.

[@rockymtnstyle]

That's great to hear. Appreciate the follow-up!

[@jorge23483]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thank you for the kind comment, Jorge! And thanks for sharing your experience. Yeah - I bet you're right about the clown shoe thing... I don't feel mine look like that at all, but then again, I'm pretty sure I've got the right size. Cheers, mate!

[@samus4040]

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 🍻.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Hah! It sneaks up on us and bites us! I never figured I'd be a boot buy either. I'm going to have to look up some of those lacing techniques... still getting some of that gusset pinch myself. Cheers!

[@ahill209]

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.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thanks a bunch! Sounds like you use the same method as me for breaking in... usually with the biggest socks that will fit and usually 1/2 a day at the beginning. Well done! :) Yeah - for this one at Iron Shop Provisions, it was a straight 20% off all boots and shoes on their site, so its possible they had multiple of my size and sent me the worse ones, but I think that's unlikely. More likely that they just sat in a box and no one noticed from factory to me. And I took really close up photos, at normal viewing distance both of those issues aren't all that noticeable. Thanks again!

[@stevenconway6867]

What kind of jeans were you wearing?

[@rockymtnstyle]

Those are the Naked and Famous Blue Grass Selvedge from SS23 I think. Or maybe FW22. I haven't worn them enough to get any really good fades!

[@Highland_Paddy]

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.

[@Highland_Paddy]

Did I mention already the vid where guy says more than 30 you will never wear all in a year? But I still have more than 30 already, so we'll see how it goes with the narrowing process in the next year and all that.

[@Highland_Paddy]

I was watching the compelling Indonesia vid yesterday, but my plate is pretty full until next year maybe. We'll see how I feel come next autumn or the Holidays?

[@Highland_Paddy]

Yeah, it's funny how all the higher price boots NONE of them apparently can bother to articulate the shaft at that pinch point the way the cheaper Import brand budget work boots do!!!!! Killing me, Smalls!!!

[@Highland_Paddy]

RW aren't even gusset tongue like the others have excuse, right?

[@Highland_Paddy]

BUT RW also doesn't offer much above 6" height, either, which was one my main reasons for buy the Thorogood boots that I haven't worn yet.

[@ghatzidakis]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

No doubt. I've got 2 pair of Diesels. $45 more, though, with the recent price increase. The GS has much better fit and finish, but the IR is different enough im happy to have them both in my collection.

[@bootsjeansandtheoddwatch]

Absolutely classic!

[@rockymtnstyle]

Yessiree!! Hope all is well in your world, bud!

[@utubekebs]

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 :)

[@rockymtnstyle]

Hey! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a really cool collection! Hopefully I can get to 5 years with these 8111s and show 'em off!

[@mightyhavan]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thanks, Mighty! Yeah - I've got 2 pairs of Truman. I like them a great deal! You're right about the CRT, and that's why I'm happy I went with Amber Harness for these. I have the 1907 also and actually just conditioned for the first time after about 10 months... coloration did change, but all the "patina" is still there, so they have a similar feel, just a little darker shade. Thanks for the comment!

[@Area51Gr74]

Jacket looks great.

[@rockymtnstyle]

Thanks, brother! I gotta admit, really starting to love the Iron Heart stuff... if you find a fit that works, the fit WORKS. :)

[@D1ceplaya]

What jacket is that?

[@rockymtnstyle]

That is my Iron Heart 12oz Whipcord Modified Type 3 trucker. Cool jacket! No pockets. So it's sort of like a thick shirt... hah! :)

[@D1ceplaya]

@@rockymtnstyle no pockets ??? That's a crime haha

[@grapesodapopinski571]

Definitely 1/2 down in IR from sneaker size

[@rockymtnstyle]

Yes indeed!

[@megasoid]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

Yes indeed! Definitely not for everyone, myself included for the first 2ish years of my boot journey!

[@colt-_-jonson1743]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

Hmmm yeah that would be worrisome. I don't have experience with older ones so I'd have no idea!

[@huntards]

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

[@rockymtnstyle]

Not a fan of Jim Green's overall look, to be honest. Also, given the price seems unlikely they can really be "better" than a RW, right? Or do you think so? Thx for the comment, man!

[@huntards]

@@rockymtnstyle I would have 100% agreed just 2 years ago but Redwing is pretty much only a name now. The soul of the company is gone, along with their quality.

[@rockymtnstyle]

What happened 2 years ago, ya think?

[@adriansmith3116]

Sloppy language

[@rockymtnstyle]

What does that even mean?