Boots

First a little background.

I travel all over Michigan servicing dairy farms. We deal with every aspect of the farms equipment weather its in the air, on the ground, underground, in the poo, in the chemicals, chillers, bulk tanks, parlors ect..... Every farm varies. Point being we are HARD on boots! Personally I like wellington style boots. They fit my need to tuck my pants in at times cover my legs up and keep warm in the cold months.

Right now I am on the hunt for boots once again and Id like to find a good pair of USA made boots that are not simply glued but rather stitched and glued. I used to wear Redwings but they are simply put garbage for the price as are wolverine boots. They simply do not hold up on the glue seems.

My go to for years has been Georgia boots farmland wellington series for comfort. There is virtually no break in time with them and they are very comfy however the last two pairs have not held up well at all. I believe they have changed the way they make them.


Ive heard some things about a few other brands Chippewa and Danner but Id to know what you all use and whats the best in your experience? ??


I am not above trying any brand even those that have failed if they have a good boot that I dont know about. As many of you know especially those of us who wrench for a living boots make or break the body...

 

I used to always go for Redwing or Irish Setter boots but they have gone a bit downhill lately. But it would seem that in your work you might be best to step into something like a muck boot once you get to the farm. Like it or not, manure is a bit hard on footwear.

 

I should add that I too am looking for some new boots. Seems my body is getting worse so that many times I simply can't tie my shoes. Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't and I don't like looking around for a policeman to tie my shoes... Or my wife. So I want to find a decent slip-on if there is such a thing.

 

I get red wings for work. I get about a year out of them. Which with pounding they get on the concrete for 10-14 hours/Day - 5 to 6 days a week.... I think is personally pretty good. I've only had one pair fail me, and probably due to the chemical spray I was using. But the most they get to see is hydraulic oil or water.... Good Luck

 

I cant climb up on crowd gates or other equipment very well especially if its moving in muck boots. Is irish setter still part of redwing?

 

Thats one of my issues we work with and around a lot of very powerful and harsh chemicals in the dairy industry. I dont know what has changed on the design of the boots I like but they dont hold up well now.

 

Wow they have a lot of brands! I just looked up Chippewa and they also have Tony lama, Justin, Justin work boots, and Nocona boots in their family!

That says a lot! My old coworker swore by Justin Boots and I had a dang good pair of their work boots myself. ( been close to 10 years ago though! )

 

As far as I know it still is but I don't think they make their own boots any more which is why their quality has slipped.

 

When we where looking at the boots one pair said assembled in USA and the rest said made in China on the tag. I was not very happy about the quality drop. I could live with China if I had too but they looked cheap and felt cheap.

 

I just peeked at WWW's Ariat boots, stitched sole but made in China. He will have a pair of the one piece leather Vasque Sundowner for the rest of his life, put hundreds of miles on the first pair, got re-soled, and another decade out of them. He is not sure how long the Ariat's would last in what your stepping in and highly suggested you try the Vasque Sundowner (made in Italy, sole not stitched). Food for thought....

And back in the day Danner, Asolo, Remmington and one more I cannot recall all had stitched soles.

 

I saw Danner and it said assembled in USA on the box but I didn't try them on. They where maybe I'll look again

 

That's a neat idea. I wonder how it works on chemicals and manure?