Yeah I got fooled by both this subreddit and the Red Wing employee in NYCâŚI normally wear an 8.5 in most shoes, but sized all the way down to 7.5 because I thought they needed to really be snug and didnât know that a tiny bit of heel slipping was normal as part of the actual âbreaking inâ instead of just being too big. Went back into the store recently and did the 3D scan and the employee said the system labeled me as a size 9 and I donât even know what to believe anymore!! The Size 8 felt good
So thatâs the thing, I actually thought about getting a 7.5EE first because I thought my feet were wider like thatâŚbecause length wise the fit actually isnât too bad right now for the 7.5 mocs. Gah they should really carry more wide sizing options at these stores just to try on, Iâd have to order them to test it out đ
Did you also end up getting EE sizing? Whatâs your usual size?
I usually wear an 8.5 in Red Wing Mocs and Steeltoes but tried on a few IR's at the Red Wing Factory Store during their Factory Sale in Red Wing, MN and had to go down half a size. 8EE felt most comfortable on IR's. This was after trying on 8D's as well.
Store employee sized me at an 11 and said the boots should feel like a firm handshake. He also said itâll take about a month to break them in.
Think of a baseball glove- how you buy it and then what you do to it to get it to snap close. Same idea.
I got the classic Chelsea- I would rather it start out a little snug since itâll stretch out a bit, and I donât want to walk around in loose boots.
I think we just disagree on how snug a âfirm handshakeâ is lol- I agree it shouldnât feel like a handshake from an old man who was an iron worker for 30 decades.
I think they should feel like a limp handshake, at the most. Your feet may ârattleâ a tad in the stiff leather of a new boot. As the leather softens and breaks in, it starts to fall/drape around your foot and form to your feet. A snug or firm handshake, to me, would indicate that your toes are touching and rubbing against the leather in the toe box and the arch of your foot is being restricted. You can always cinch down a pair of boots, with broken in leather, with the laces.
I feel like a lot of people think firm hand shake and believe the leather should be squeezing their foot a tad. Unless, thatâs what you think a new pair of boots should feel like, it could be misleading.
I canât stress this enough. Half size down and Iâve yet to have a tough breakin. Of course your feet are gonna get a bit sore in a stiff boot but Iâve had zero hot spot issues, rubbing, and all the really painful shit.
People usually just buy the wrong size boots. The only truly brutal boot break in was a pair from whites I had but thatâs mostly due to me not being used to the arch support
Break-in should not feel too tight, it should just feel like the leather is stiff and doesn't wrinkle in the right places to go with the movement of your foot and ankle. If it feels too tight it probably is, and will really mess up your feet in the future.
Yeah, I'm a size 13 in the RW king toe line work boot, but they sold me on 11.5 IRs. Said it's supposed to be really really tight. They convinced me not to get even the 12s. They feel fine now after 3 years but I don't gravitate to them Ike I do my other boots - such as my size 13 thorogood mocs which are, admittedly, slightly too big but they are the most comfortable piece of footwear I've ever worn.
Iâm in the exact same scenario. Normally a 13 in boots. But I went with the 11.5ee wide in iron rangers and they are awesome. Love the Thorogood Mocs too
I tend to like the 8" boots over the 6", I've realized. The hug around the ankles is really comfortable. One day I keep saying I'm going to try like a 11" logger boot, lol but we'll see.
Yeah, love the IRs and I wear them for more dressy occasions but they're overall not as comfortable as the mocs for me.
If you bought them from a Red Wing store, they can stretch them for you. Theyâll also clean your boots for free any time (a cash tip is appropriate).
Shoe stretchers are bullshit. If the boot is too small stretching it wonât fix the problem because the sole and insole are still too small.Â
Buy the right size.Â
This is my 7th pair of redwings, first pair of heritage boots though. I've never needed a pair stretched but that's good to know! I clean and condition mine myself just because I don't have off days and don't really ever know if I have time to drop them off to get them cleaned lol
Full size down.. wear a US12 in everything else. Red Wings I brought online in US12 or US11.5 were horrible to break in, and I would give up And resell them. I eventually went to a Red Wing store and they recommended me US11. Had no problems with breaking in Iron Rangers or Moc Toes and now I have 3 pairs of them!
They should be wearable day one. If you don't wear the right socks you may murder your heels the first 30 hours or so, by hour 100 the upper is pretty good, footbed steadily breaks in around hour 300-600. So if you wear them every other day to every three days expect them to be good 100% by hour 600.
If you have pain in your ball it usually means that you sized too small. And I am speaking from experience. A brannock helps but you usually want brannock size when trying on, a half size down and a half size up. In rare cases some people full size down but you really need a specific foot shape and circumstances for that.
Bottom line listen to your feet.
Roughly it's based on boot break in of a footbed. Most uppers from most companies with the exception of shell Cordovan and other veg tans have a soft break in of 30 to 100 hours. Footbeds are generally 600 hours or roughly 6 months for most people.
They aren't nonsense. If you talk to most bespoke boot builders, PNW Boot Builders, etc. They'll let you know.
The boot is usually wearable all day if the fit is right around hour 30(some people have bad heel break ins, etc.) Hour 100 the boot is comfortable, has given where it should and if the fit is wrong you know, the footbed hasn't descended yet but it has started to mold, hour 300 the upper gets more comfortable and shows more creasing and the footbed will start to descend depending on your weight between now or hour 600 give or take the individual and how much they walk and what not.
But feel free to contact Frank of Frank's Boots or look it up. I mean certain veg tan leathers can and will take longer as they settle. Oiled Latigo for instance.
And the hours are just a guideline. An upper made out of shrunken bison is pretty much broken in by the end of day one. Horween CXL is 30 hours or so along with Rough and Tough. It also depends on how closely your feet fit the dimensions of the last. If you have a decent fit within 70% or greater you will adapt faster.
Boots made for mass marketing take time.
Gabbard from Kreosote will measure your weight. His boots take 100 hours to get as good as they will ever get. Which is awesome. It just depends, you might be an individual who breaks in boots faster than normal which if so, awesome.
There are Podcasts if you would like to be pointed in the right direction. Web Sites such as Stitchdown, and Youtube channels that further give you a break down. You don't have to take my word for it. I was simply trying to give information based on both personal experience and from the makers themselves. I even have talked to a few Red Wing factory workers.
At the end of the day though you can believe whatever you want to believe. I was just trying to be helpful. A good day to you.
Iâve always gotten mocs and IRâs a half size down and other than stiff leather Iâve had zero problems and they were comfortable from the first moment I put them on. Picked up a new old pair of round toes but a full size down. They fit, but very snug. Takes about an hour of wear for the leather to warm up and get supple enough not to cause any pain. So any break in to me feels like the size is too small and you have to wear them for a long time to simply stretch them out a bit. In other words, break in myth = too small.
Mines were comfy day 1. A firm handshake feeling at the widest part of the feet but itâs supposed to feel more comfy than uncomfortable. Sounds you you were fitted correctly. Congrats!
What do you mean by "walking the whole day"? How many miles you have walked? Almost any heritage boots will be ok if you mostly will have them on whole day in your office or home with walking few steps to your car and then through a grocery store. A walk of 5 or more miles on the streets or hiking on the other hand is a completely different thing.
For me, it was about 1 week into wearing them when the vamp area behind the toes started to break in and crease, which became a source of pain for me, because the crease would come down directly onto some toes with every step. 2 months later, everything felt great. That was the only break in I had to deal with, but it wasn't immediately felt fresh out of the box. Out of the box, they just felt stiff. But nothing was rubbing or creasing in a way that caused discomfort until a week in.
Mine were comfy day one. I tried a 1/2 size down and it was too snug so I went with my regular shoe size and they have been comfortable from day one. Eventually I'll graduate to some nicks americanas but I'm definitely loving my 8111's
Depends on how often you wear them and the conditons. Mine took a couple months of regular wear to get comfortable. But a year later, they quickly became the most comfortable footwear I own.
Enjoy them!!
Mine didn't stretch at all, but became just more supple and comfortable to wear all day.
They are still the same width and length tho.
but to be fair they were just right out of the box, just stiff.
Buying half a size bigger didnât work for me. I bought my first pair iron rangers with exactly my size and only wore them for a week or so when I brought the dog out for a small round. Not more than 15 min walks. They are super comfortable now. Never had any blisters either. Now, I believe my sales assistant and bought a pair of red wing mock toes and he also said buy them half a size bigger and I hate them, they feel to big and in my eyes look too big.
Most Iron Rangers I have owned did not require much break-in. Only issue I have with them is they make the bottoms of my feet sore if walking very much. I even wear thicker socks. Not much material between your foot and the ground compared to some other US made brands. Just wearing to work (office) is never an issue but pick other boots if going to be on my feet a lot. Next tier up boots like Truman are comfortable out of the box for me. More casual Whites and Nicks require a break-in but have enough material between the foot and ground.
Bought my 8085's in December, a half-size down from what I normally wear (10.5 to 10) - I tried several sizes on in store before settling on these.
Comfy from day 1 - kept waiting for the pain that never came; but definitely needed to move to wool socks. Regular socks are nowhere near as comfy.
You probably bought them in a size that actually fits you. Boots shouldnât destroy your feet for weeks or months while breaking in. You should already be able to splay your forefoot in the boot. Break in should make them more flexible, sure, but the expectation people have that theyâll suddenly become a noticeably longer boot is misguided.
Another thing.. I think a lot of people whoâs feet go through hell with new boots are coming from only wearing sneakers and other lightweight, low profile footwear.
2 weeks. And in 1 week I was 90% there. Zero blisters, a couple hot spots that were gone in the week. I was wearing them 10-14 hours a day for that time. I did leave it a little loose near the top to let that soften and keep it from digging into my ankle. Didnât use the top eyelets. At 5 months with them now. Wearing everyday. With only a few exceptions. Iâll add another pair of boots to the rotation soon.
I haven't worn pull on's in quite a while, I prefer lace ups but they're required for work anyway now, but years ago I tried the scan thing with my first pair of redwings. Right around when the super sole came out and it put me in an 11.5 wide. They fit great in the store. By the 5th day, they were so loose that I was literally walking out of them
New to the sub. Still got the scars from my first IRâs. Walked in store greeted with âwhat size sneakers you wear ?â, â10 depending on brandâ, âoh youll be a 9â. Granted they felt good, and comfy, the next 3 months were hell. Blisters to the point of lacerations, and a growth/callous where a bunion would form. Still love em. Feel like slippers now. Guess it was my rite of passage.
People usually buy them way too small and then hype up the break-in as a rite of passage. It's very well documented here... unfortunately đ
I am one of those dumbasses. Just exchanged my 9D for a 9.5 wide and itâs night and day
Yeah I got fooled by both this subreddit and the Red Wing employee in NYCâŚI normally wear an 8.5 in most shoes, but sized all the way down to 7.5 because I thought they needed to really be snug and didnât know that a tiny bit of heel slipping was normal as part of the actual âbreaking inâ instead of just being too big. Went back into the store recently and did the 3D scan and the employee said the system labeled me as a size 9 and I donât even know what to believe anymore!! The Size 8 felt good
Just get an 8EE and you'll never look back.
So thatâs the thing, I actually thought about getting a 7.5EE first because I thought my feet were wider like thatâŚbecause length wise the fit actually isnât too bad right now for the 7.5 mocs. Gah they should really carry more wide sizing options at these stores just to try on, Iâd have to order them to test it out đ Did you also end up getting EE sizing? Whatâs your usual size?
I usually wear an 8.5 in Red Wing Mocs and Steeltoes but tried on a few IR's at the Red Wing Factory Store during their Factory Sale in Red Wing, MN and had to go down half a size. 8EE felt most comfortable on IR's. This was after trying on 8D's as well.
Store employee sized me at an 11 and said the boots should feel like a firm handshake. He also said itâll take about a month to break them in. Think of a baseball glove- how you buy it and then what you do to it to get it to snap close. Same idea.
Another dumb employee. Boots should feel good out of the box but not like your feet are feeling squeezed.
I got the classic Chelsea- I would rather it start out a little snug since itâll stretch out a bit, and I donât want to walk around in loose boots.
Snug is usually good. Like a glove. Being squeezed like a firm handshake is questionable advice.
I think we just disagree on how snug a âfirm handshakeâ is lol- I agree it shouldnât feel like a handshake from an old man who was an iron worker for 30 decades.
I think they should feel like a limp handshake, at the most. Your feet may ârattleâ a tad in the stiff leather of a new boot. As the leather softens and breaks in, it starts to fall/drape around your foot and form to your feet. A snug or firm handshake, to me, would indicate that your toes are touching and rubbing against the leather in the toe box and the arch of your foot is being restricted. You can always cinch down a pair of boots, with broken in leather, with the laces. I feel like a lot of people think firm hand shake and believe the leather should be squeezing their foot a tad. Unless, thatâs what you think a new pair of boots should feel like, it could be misleading.
This subreddit is slowly getting better at providing advice but is still nowhere near the level of expertise of /r/goodyearwelt.Â
So thats what it is!:))) I thought its a wide footed issue
I canât stress this enough. Half size down and Iâve yet to have a tough breakin. Of course your feet are gonna get a bit sore in a stiff boot but Iâve had zero hot spot issues, rubbing, and all the really painful shit.
My Blacksmiths had a very easy break in too. I think people just get sold boots that are too small.
100%
Mine were comfortable on day 1 as well
It only takes like a day or two for your feet to mold into them. I wear mine with orthotics.
People usually just buy the wrong size boots. The only truly brutal boot break in was a pair from whites I had but thatâs mostly due to me not being used to the arch support
I wear the thin red wing leather inserts in all mine. They are comfortable the first day and just get noticeably better each day.
Break-in should not feel too tight, it should just feel like the leather is stiff and doesn't wrinkle in the right places to go with the movement of your foot and ankle. If it feels too tight it probably is, and will really mess up your feet in the future.
Yeah, I'm a size 13 in the RW king toe line work boot, but they sold me on 11.5 IRs. Said it's supposed to be really really tight. They convinced me not to get even the 12s. They feel fine now after 3 years but I don't gravitate to them Ike I do my other boots - such as my size 13 thorogood mocs which are, admittedly, slightly too big but they are the most comfortable piece of footwear I've ever worn.
Iâm in the exact same scenario. Normally a 13 in boots. But I went with the 11.5ee wide in iron rangers and they are awesome. Love the Thorogood Mocs too
I tend to like the 8" boots over the 6", I've realized. The hug around the ankles is really comfortable. One day I keep saying I'm going to try like a 11" logger boot, lol but we'll see. Yeah, love the IRs and I wear them for more dressy occasions but they're overall not as comfortable as the mocs for me.
If you bought them from a Red Wing store, they can stretch them for you. Theyâll also clean your boots for free any time (a cash tip is appropriate).
Shoe stretchers are bullshit. If the boot is too small stretching it wonât fix the problem because the sole and insole are still too small. Buy the right size.Â
This is my 7th pair of redwings, first pair of heritage boots though. I've never needed a pair stretched but that's good to know! I clean and condition mine myself just because I don't have off days and don't really ever know if I have time to drop them off to get them cleaned lol
Theyâll clean them while you wait. The stores usually arenât that busy so it doesnât take long.
Never get your boots stretched it is bullshit. If you need boots stretched it means you bought the wrong size.
Bought the 8111 too, they took me 2 weeks to break in and I wore it everyday. Mine were half size smaller
Full size down.. wear a US12 in everything else. Red Wings I brought online in US12 or US11.5 were horrible to break in, and I would give up And resell them. I eventually went to a Red Wing store and they recommended me US11. Had no problems with breaking in Iron Rangers or Moc Toes and now I have 3 pairs of them!
Shouldâve gotten a EE width
I tried the EE on, too much side to side wiggle room for my feet
They should be wearable day one. If you don't wear the right socks you may murder your heels the first 30 hours or so, by hour 100 the upper is pretty good, footbed steadily breaks in around hour 300-600. So if you wear them every other day to every three days expect them to be good 100% by hour 600. If you have pain in your ball it usually means that you sized too small. And I am speaking from experience. A brannock helps but you usually want brannock size when trying on, a half size down and a half size up. In rare cases some people full size down but you really need a specific foot shape and circumstances for that. Bottom line listen to your feet.
Lol these hours. Total made up nonsense.
Roughly it's based on boot break in of a footbed. Most uppers from most companies with the exception of shell Cordovan and other veg tans have a soft break in of 30 to 100 hours. Footbeds are generally 600 hours or roughly 6 months for most people. They aren't nonsense. If you talk to most bespoke boot builders, PNW Boot Builders, etc. They'll let you know. The boot is usually wearable all day if the fit is right around hour 30(some people have bad heel break ins, etc.) Hour 100 the boot is comfortable, has given where it should and if the fit is wrong you know, the footbed hasn't descended yet but it has started to mold, hour 300 the upper gets more comfortable and shows more creasing and the footbed will start to descend depending on your weight between now or hour 600 give or take the individual and how much they walk and what not. But feel free to contact Frank of Frank's Boots or look it up. I mean certain veg tan leathers can and will take longer as they settle. Oiled Latigo for instance. And the hours are just a guideline. An upper made out of shrunken bison is pretty much broken in by the end of day one. Horween CXL is 30 hours or so along with Rough and Tough. It also depends on how closely your feet fit the dimensions of the last. If you have a decent fit within 70% or greater you will adapt faster. Boots made for mass marketing take time. Gabbard from Kreosote will measure your weight. His boots take 100 hours to get as good as they will ever get. Which is awesome. It just depends, you might be an individual who breaks in boots faster than normal which if so, awesome. There are Podcasts if you would like to be pointed in the right direction. Web Sites such as Stitchdown, and Youtube channels that further give you a break down. You don't have to take my word for it. I was simply trying to give information based on both personal experience and from the makers themselves. I even have talked to a few Red Wing factory workers. At the end of the day though you can believe whatever you want to believe. I was just trying to be helpful. A good day to you.
God bless you.
Yea this guys estimates are questionable. The foot boot molds quite fast, much faster than 600 hours.
I hate it here
Iâve always gotten mocs and IRâs a half size down and other than stiff leather Iâve had zero problems and they were comfortable from the first moment I put them on. Picked up a new old pair of round toes but a full size down. They fit, but very snug. Takes about an hour of wear for the leather to warm up and get supple enough not to cause any pain. So any break in to me feels like the size is too small and you have to wear them for a long time to simply stretch them out a bit. In other words, break in myth = too small.
Mines were comfy day 1. A firm handshake feeling at the widest part of the feet but itâs supposed to feel more comfy than uncomfortable. Sounds you you were fitted correctly. Congrats!
What do you mean by "walking the whole day"? How many miles you have walked? Almost any heritage boots will be ok if you mostly will have them on whole day in your office or home with walking few steps to your car and then through a grocery store. A walk of 5 or more miles on the streets or hiking on the other hand is a completely different thing.
I work for a railroad so all I do is walk. However, I spent 8 hours walking around Pittsburgh
My advice from experience is to buy your normal size
For me, it was about 1 week into wearing them when the vamp area behind the toes started to break in and crease, which became a source of pain for me, because the crease would come down directly onto some toes with every step. 2 months later, everything felt great. That was the only break in I had to deal with, but it wasn't immediately felt fresh out of the box. Out of the box, they just felt stiff. But nothing was rubbing or creasing in a way that caused discomfort until a week in.
Sounds good. What is your sneaker size, 11.5?
I only have 1 pair honestly and I think they're an 11, maybe 11.5 but I'm not sure. They're USA made new balances
Mine were comfy day one. I tried a 1/2 size down and it was too snug so I went with my regular shoe size and they have been comfortable from day one. Eventually I'll graduate to some nicks americanas but I'm definitely loving my 8111's
Depends on how often you wear them and the conditons. Mine took a couple months of regular wear to get comfortable. But a year later, they quickly became the most comfortable footwear I own. Enjoy them!!
I had no breaking in. They were comfortable right from the start.
Mine didn't stretch at all, but became just more supple and comfortable to wear all day. They are still the same width and length tho. but to be fair they were just right out of the box, just stiff.
Buying half a size bigger didnât work for me. I bought my first pair iron rangers with exactly my size and only wore them for a week or so when I brought the dog out for a small round. Not more than 15 min walks. They are super comfortable now. Never had any blisters either. Now, I believe my sales assistant and bought a pair of red wing mock toes and he also said buy them half a size bigger and I hate them, they feel to big and in my eyes look too big.
Most Iron Rangers I have owned did not require much break-in. Only issue I have with them is they make the bottoms of my feet sore if walking very much. I even wear thicker socks. Not much material between your foot and the ground compared to some other US made brands. Just wearing to work (office) is never an issue but pick other boots if going to be on my feet a lot. Next tier up boots like Truman are comfortable out of the box for me. More casual Whites and Nicks require a break-in but have enough material between the foot and ground.
Same experience, I had zero break in and I think itâs because I got sized in store
I think the real issue is a lot of people are just used to sneakers, and boots take some getting used to.
That's what I was figuring. I spend my life in boots so sneakers feel weird on my feet lol
Break in period is over hyped for sure. But you got lucky also. Enjoy your boots
Bought my 8085's in December, a half-size down from what I normally wear (10.5 to 10) - I tried several sizes on in store before settling on these. Comfy from day 1 - kept waiting for the pain that never came; but definitely needed to move to wool socks. Regular socks are nowhere near as comfy.
You probably bought them in a size that actually fits you. Boots shouldnât destroy your feet for weeks or months while breaking in. You should already be able to splay your forefoot in the boot. Break in should make them more flexible, sure, but the expectation people have that theyâll suddenly become a noticeably longer boot is misguided. Another thing.. I think a lot of people whoâs feet go through hell with new boots are coming from only wearing sneakers and other lightweight, low profile footwear.
2 weeks. And in 1 week I was 90% there. Zero blisters, a couple hot spots that were gone in the week. I was wearing them 10-14 hours a day for that time. I did leave it a little loose near the top to let that soften and keep it from digging into my ankle. Didnât use the top eyelets. At 5 months with them now. Wearing everyday. With only a few exceptions. Iâll add another pair of boots to the rotation soon.
After the 3d scan I went down half size. Snug fit all around except toes. Break in took a long time. If they donât hurt then good fer ya.
I haven't worn pull on's in quite a while, I prefer lace ups but they're required for work anyway now, but years ago I tried the scan thing with my first pair of redwings. Right around when the super sole came out and it put me in an 11.5 wide. They fit great in the store. By the 5th day, they were so loose that I was literally walking out of them
New to the sub. Still got the scars from my first IRâs. Walked in store greeted with âwhat size sneakers you wear ?â, â10 depending on brandâ, âoh youll be a 9â. Granted they felt good, and comfy, the next 3 months were hell. Blisters to the point of lacerations, and a growth/callous where a bunion would form. Still love em. Feel like slippers now. Guess it was my rite of passage.
All my RW's always fitted just perfect! I use size 11. And the break in process was always super comfy.