When Mrs ERJ and I were cutting firewood, I realized that I only had one pair of cheap work boots and Mrs ERJ didn't have any work footwear with ankle support.
Footwear is where the rubber hits the road and work boots are the one, best place to squirrel away loose cash. Really, like who is going to steal your work boots?
Belladonna is a big fan of Timberland. Kubota is a Red Wings fan.
I know it is something of a Chevy-Dodge-Ford* thing, but what do you like and WHY.
I think Mrs ERJ and I are in the market for a couple of pairs each and I want to thin down the herd we look at. I want to stay in the $60-to-$160 range.
My gut feel is that things will look better, Covid-19 wise for a couple of months but then the pendulum will swing back to the sucky-side. People will be impatient. Some segments of the economy/population will reignite the pandemic. Others parts of the economy will not start up and spot shortages of items will become common.
It is a bit like a long train getting started or a wave in a slinky. It takes a while to reach something that looks like a steady state.
*Alphabetic order.
I have had pretty good luck with work boots from the Mason shoe catalogue. I wear 'LL Bean Maine hunting shoes in the garden as they don't track dirt like waffle sole shoes. If you are working in a swamp Exta tuffs are the way to go. Woore them right to twelve hours a day when I worked in.a salmon hatchery.
ReplyDeleteIn that price range I'd be looking at Wolverine and Timberland. But, I have found that I prefer to spend a bit more and have been extremely happy with Made in the USA Danger boots with a resoleable Goodyear welt construction. I put SOLE insoles in all my boots. Just got my Danner Acadias resoled for the third time. Good boots take care of the only two feet we get - and feet work hard. Good gear is worth every penny.
ReplyDeleteDanner, not Danger. Sorry for the typo.
ReplyDeleteChippewa. They're a division of Justin boots. Figure $200 bucks a pair for quality boots. If you can swing it get two pair each and rotate. In wet weather that second pair will help prevent trench foot. And stock up on waterproofing. I like silicone paste or mink oil. Spray silicone is ok but it's expensive and takes a lot. I knew a fellow that swore by axle grease for waterproofing leather. Mink oil and treat a couple of times a year.
ReplyDeleteI have two pairs of Timberland Mt Maddsen. They are noticeably lighter than my previous boots and wear well out of the box. About 100 online.
ReplyDeleteDanners was going to be my suggestion, but they are a bit pricy...
ReplyDeleteMy current outdoor boot is Timberland Men's MT Abram Mid Boot, Dark Brown. Less than $100 from Amazon, no issues whatsoever. Before that, I had a pair of steel toed work boots from Thom McAn(it was a while ago) and I was able to waterproof them with a coating of vacuum pump oil, mostly silicone and non toxic. When they got too small top wear, I had Herman's Survivors for about 15 years. The Tims are less than 2 years old, still going strong.
ReplyDeleteRed Wing is kind of the gold standard, their leather tanning is exceptional. On the oil rigs, these seem to hold up the best to the array of pretty damaging chemicals that are used in drilling fluids. I've had pairs of those last for 20 years and multiple re-solings, and the good thing is that they are really careful measuring your foot so you always get a great fit. If this is out of the price range I have also had fairly good luck with Wolverine, Justin, Timberland. Since fit is so important, probably best to try at least 3 or 4 different brands. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI vote Red Wing. But I also wear 8 & 1/2H size. Not many companies make that size. Typically, you get what you pay for.
ReplyDelete