Built to withstand stunt work!

When Ben said to wear your boots the way they were meant to be worn, I took him literally. I wore these boots 5-6 days a week for the duration of the contest. They’ve demoed a roof, gone on hikes, dropped the kid off to day care, trudged through the snow, installed insulation in a cramped attic, hit the beach a few times, been my daily boot worn into the office, dug trenches, and most recently been dragged under the crawl space to replace a sewer line. So yeah, they’ve done everything I’ve done in the past 6-7 months.

SB Foot’s Hawthorne Abiline Roughout resists discoloration and staining better than I thought it would given its light color. When new, this leather felt stiffer than the Slate Muleskinner leather on my Iron Rangers. It took me around a week to break in. The nap on my pair was really fine and felt closer to a micro suede texture than other roughouts I own. They’ve gotten slightly nappier after brushings, but it’s still a pretty short nap. As far as leather care went, there was minimal care needed. I would just brush off dirt and dust anytime they needed it with a horse hair brush and allow them to fully dry before rewearing if they got wet. I’d also occasionally hit the soles with a magic eraser to keep them looking clean. I managed to go the full contest without using a suede brush, eraser or suede cleaner and I think the patina looks great. I can’t wait to see how they continue to age.

The 23 last is just meh, If I am being entirely honest. I was able to wear the boots all day for 12+ hours at a time, without discomfort, but they never felt super secure around the waist and heel of my foot. I have relatively low volume feet, so the extra spacious last actually worked against me. I confirmed the fit with an employee at Redwing before purchasing and made sure the ball of my foot lined up with the widest portion of the boot, so I’m pretty certain my sizing was correct. I should probably try an insole to see if that takes up enough volume without slamming my toes up against the sides of the boot. During the initial break-in period, I had a small amount of heel slip that eventually went away after a week or so of wear.

The build quality on these boots are good, and have held up well through everything I’ve put them through. The wedge sole hasn’t started separating from the welt yet despite using my toes to crawl around in a crawl space for days straight. If they are good enough for Ryan Gosling, they are good enough for me.

I’ve never been a huge fan of wedge soles, and after wearing a boot with them for 6-7 months straight I can confidently say I am still not. The traction tread sole is a bit lighter than a Vibram Christy wedge, but it wears down a lot faster and is harder to keep clean. Also to no surprise at all, they had no traction in the snow. Walking up snowy slopes was comical. When I go to get these resolved, I’ll probably go with a different sole to better fit my aesthetic.

Even though the wedge sole look is not my thing, and the 23 last was not the perfect fit for my foot shape, the Redwing 8833 has been a great boot that has held up really well to everything I’ve put it through. I’m sure I’ll continue wearing these for years to come (probably with a second insole). This journey through my first thunderdome has taught me a lot about my boot preferences and will inform my future purchases. Looking forward to next year!