Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Archival Review: Thorogood Boots

We've been working with Weinbrenner, the parent company of Thorogood, to digitize some of their company archives. There's some tremendous material in there. We'd love to have the power to just point at a few boot examples and have them re-issued (we're working on it). Click to enlarge these great scans.





Of course, the Japanese are already on it.


Apparently the Roofer boot (above, still available) is very popular over there, and here's a vintage boot in a recent issue of GO OUT STYLE.


Until we can have pristine reproductions of historical Thorogood boots, we'll have to make do with their present-day offerings (which include some work boots and shoes which can be sized for women). Unfortunately, most of Thorogood's line is... very technical, using more ballistic nylon and SWAT aesthetics than full grain leather and low-profile soles. Weinbrenner manufactured shoes and boots for CC Filson so we're confident in their capacity to execute more archival styles. I'm pleased to report that their 6" Moc Toe is completely worthy of its heritage. My pair have excelled in every way.

They're made in Weinbrenner's factory in Merrill, Wisconsin, from American-tanned leather. The worksmanship is tidy, although the star rivets holding the speed lacing studs on have sharp ends (but that's only noticeable when you pull the double tongue apart).


They came with decent stock insoles, although I swapped them out for my favorite Filson cork insoles. They broke in within a month and are now very comfortable. I like the Vibram wedge soles better than other wedge soles, they seem to have better traction on wet surfaces. I'm not wild about the blingy MADE IN USA tag on the outside of the boot, but that's easy to solve with 30 seconds and a knife.

Available in an endless variety of widths and sizes, down to 6 and up to 14. All this is to say - they're basically Red Wing killers, and for $130, they're pretty much half the price. Get some for this fall and winter.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Man, they need to bring back those moc-toed shoes and boots. really nice looking.

Anonymous said...
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Andy E said...

Duluth Trading Company has something similar in an 8" boot and Oxfords. I always figured the manufacturer was Sheboygan (they are supposed to be WI-made) -- any idea?

Anonymous said...

the duluths are thorogoods - i've got a pair of the lows. I've also got the 8" boot. Love them both but they need to work on their insoles. the ones that come with the boots are awful and the mid sole is fiberglass and can be uncomfortable until you find the right insole. Other than that they are tough stuff.

Lesli Larson said...

Another candidate for reissue (Thorogood or not)?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/archivalclothing/4884613150/

Anonymous said...

what happened the oipolloi post about the thoro's, like northe korea in here

Lesli Larson said...

Anon--

Garbled post. Read like spam. Please repost.

LL

Ryan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ryan said...

I have the waterproof 8" boot toe. Back in December we had about a foot of snow fall one night here in NYC. I was alone on the streets, walking around in those boots. With dry feet.

Anonymous said...

How do these size up? Like Red-Wings?

Anonymous said...

I already see the question asked, but no one answered. How are the sizes on these? Do you need to move down a half size like on Redwing boots or are they sized correctly like on the Chippewa Katahdin boots?

These look very nice and are priced well. The contractor's oxford sold through Duluth is also excellent looking.

Tom Bonamici said...

Re: Sizing questions:
You do need to size down a half size unless you're wearing two pairs of socks. I typically wear an 11.5D (and a 12D in some cases), and in these boots I wear an 11D.

Anonymous said...

what colour are these, also i can't seem to find them..