Boots Update: One Barge Sank. The Other Sailed. Redwing Flew!

Footwear makes or breaks hard work outside.

I wrote late in 2019 about my experiment with Barge contact cement.

I'm still a believer, though one of my sets of boots blew out after a month. Here's why.

My Statesman Wellingtons have a thick rubber sole attached to a flimsy boot bottom, some of it no more than a layer of fabric. Despite clamping the boots after gluing, it was only a matter of time before they blew out again. Off to the landfill for them!

My Cabelas slip-on low boots, however, are far sturdier, in both the lower portion of the boot just below the upper and the material of the sole.  They have held up to two months of walking and really hard work after some Barge and a few furniture clamps, overnight.

I won't miss those cheaply made Wellies. Instead, I'm going to try a heavy waterproofed leather boot with a Vibram sole. I've a lot of experience waterproofing leather, something that will need to be done every few months.

Mending is still better than ending, but sometimes you have  to cut your losses. No glue can fix "cheapass."

And no one in their right mind would call Redwing boots cheap, let alone cheapass. I've owned two pairs since I began my crazy apprenticeship with Big Ed, my father in law, in the early 2000s. I knew I'd want the best possible boots for working outdoors, ones that had steel toes and shanks, and ones that could be repaired.

That's where Redwing comes in a cut above other shoemakers (Mephisto comes to mind, but I've yet to see their work boots). Both companies share a belief that their shoe is so useful, long-term, that they'll recondition them for substantially less than the purchase price. Redwing offers a variety of repairs. The photo at the top shows my newer (grin) pair of Redwings. The bottom photo shows how they came back to me. I didn't expect brand new; these are not boots you wear to a formal dinner.

What I did except, and got, were new soles, repaired grommets, reconditioned leather, and new laces. Redwing packed all that in a new shoe box and included a can of their leather conditioner.

Price, with shipping? About $125.

On my older boots, not pictured, they capped a toe that had been worn down to steel. These Jed-Clampett stompers are my backups now. I should have them bronzed.

The test of any shoe, of course, is how they feel outdoors, in all weathers, for a long day's work. While the Wellingtons are not the ticket for that, the Cabelas and Redwing boots are top notch for eight, even twelve hours of work.

Still searching for a slip-on, knee-high snakeproof pair of boots. Or perhaps knee-high gaiters to go over the Redwings. Too many close calls last year, and my Kevlar chaps get hot doing brushwork in high summer.Working hillside, where a Copperhead might be above me, I'll still wear protection up to the waist.

Shop accordingly, and for the long haul. Happy stomping!