Red Wing Heritage Men's Beckman Round 6" Boot

I've always loved boots. When I was in high school, I remember wearing a beat up pair of old Wolverines until the soles literally disintegrated. But for a while, I got away from the lifestyle. But recently, my lifestyle and own personal sense of style seemed to demand a return to wearing functional footwear that also looked great.After some research on multiple websites, I determined that the consensus was that Red Wing was the best combination of price value and quality (although really, you can't go wrong with Wolverine or Chippewa either). Between these and the Iron Rangers, I chose to go with the Beckmans for a couple of reasons.1) The soles on the Beckman aren't the super slick cork that the Iron Rangers use. Although it's only a half lugged sole, it gives you MUCH more grip than the Iron Ranger ever will. (Although if you must have the Iron Ranger, but want a better grip, check out the Oxblood version. Red Wing puts a lugged sole on only that color currently, for some reason)2) Working in a smart-casual/business casual environment, the Beckmans were a better choice for me. Although you will NEVER get away with wearing these with a suit, they don't look out of place at all with a nice pair of chinos or khakis. Also, the leather is easy to polish up to a nice sheen, if desired.Upon unboxing these bad boys, there's one word that comes to mind: substantial. The leather is quality, and quite thick. The smell is like tanner's heaven. Picking them up, these are heavy for a pair of boots. These are built to last for a very, very long time.As far as fit goes, I agree with all the other reviews. Size down.IF YOU HAVE A WIDE FOOT: Do a half size down. That's what I did, and they're perfect. I'm usually a 12, and wear a 11.5 in these.IF YOU HAVE A NORMAL FOOT/WANT TO WEAR INSOLES: You should probably go a full size down. I personally don't mind the stiff insole the Beckmans, but I can imagine you'll need the extra room just to get them on if you're putting anything extra inside the boot.BREAKING THEM IN: This seems to vary widely from person to person. It took me a couple of days to get the full comfort level, and I never experienced the pain some people here describe. I started just by wearing them around the house for a couple of hours, and only the first time did my feet come away remotely sore. No blisters or other problems to report. Nowadays I can wear them all day without a second thought. They're not running shoes, obviously, but I have run for short distances in them with no issue.It's still slightly tricky getting them on and off, though. Plan ahead if you want to wear them to the airport.ARE THEY WORTH THE MONEY AND BREAK-IN? I'd say yes, absolutely. These are a darn fine pair of boots. If you want a pair of shoes you can buy, and then not worry about, then you've come to the right place. I recently hiked up a small mountain in Colorado wearing them, snow and all, and these Beckmans kept my feet warm, and my footing solid. Although I personally wouldn't wear these doing manual labor, that's more about the price point than the quality - they could certainly handle a hard day's work, I just don't want to mess up the beautiful leather so early in their lifespan if I can help it. So far, all they've needed is the occasional wiping off from dust.Simply put, these are the best boots I've ever owned.

It came down to the Wolverine 1000 mile, which is a very handsome boot, or the Beckmans. Formerly known as the Gentleman Traveler, the Red Wings are dressy enough to be very versatile. They handle smart casual very well with a tweed blazer and jeans/khakis. The quality exceeded my expectations. I agonized and spent quite a bit of time researching sizing and fit with this boot. The general consenus is that they run half a size large. I wear a 12d in EVERYTHING. Allen Edmonds, Cole Haan, Bass, Nike, all 12. My boot size would probably be a 11.5, but I wear thicker wool socks with boots for comfort and warmth, so all my boots are 12 as well. Doc Martens mostly for boots. There is a sizable group of folks that say to size down ONE full size. I went with my gut and sized down 1 size and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. I wear thick LL Bean socks and they fit great. Most guys ordering a half size down would be good with that decision. But my understanding is they need to be slightly tight in the beginning as the thick leather will stretch and conform to your feet. I have ample room in the toe box and they are snug on the sides. Disclosure: these things are not going to be comfortable or something you wear 8hrs straight out of the box. Be smart and break them in a few hours at a time. They get better with wear and are worth the fortitude and determination to get broken in. Condition your leather, resole when needed and you will have a lifetime of enjoying a quality pair of boots made here in the good ol USA.

This is my second pair of welted boots, my first pair being some black Frye Arkansas Mid Lace. These are larger in both size and bulk. These things are substantial.I've had them for 6 months now and while I'm wearing them very sparingly they're still breaking in. They're still quite stiff compared to the Frye Arkansas where break-in took about a week. I wear a max of 3 times a week and they're just starting to form to my feet. The natural leather insole isn't too comfortable and the toe box is huge. I got a thick set of insoles to out on top of the leather ones and my feet fit inside much better now. I'm a size 12 in almost every tennis shoe and I got these in a 11 1/2, I would like to see what an 11 feels like but I came across a deal around Christmas and I couldn't pass it up.Some things I wasn't expecting.It's hard to drive in these, they're gigantic and I can't drive my stick shift vehicle with them.They are not for work, these are for fashion. The leather is quite easily scratched and gouged. I was disappointed at first when I kicked a stick walking through my front yard and left a hefty scratch on the toe box.Overall I'm pleased with my purchase as these boots look amazing with all my jeans and casual pants, every color but black.