A brief retrospective on my humble boot collection.

I pretty much never post on Reddit, but since no one in my life wants to listen to me word-vomit about boots in day-to-day conversation, I have to do it here, or else I will have to find another obsessive fixation to spend hundreds of hours researching and burning money toward. y'all can relate, right? lol

All jokes aside, I work in the medical field by day and am a gigging musician by night, so the need for durable, long-lasting, and comfortable footwear became a pretty big need for me. welp, got sucked into heritage footwear content on youtube... and then subsequently this subreddit... and now its a sickness.

(For the sake of avoiding redundancy - all of these boots are the same size, which is 9.5D. I am 10D on a brannock device, so please take any sizing discussion with this in mind.)

So, after endless researching / scrolling / fixating, what did I choose for my first boot?

\*\*1. Grant Stone Brass Boot - Black Chromexcel (purchased October 2023)\*\*

Yes, after reading post after post, you guys sold me on this brand. Grant Stone is like the defacto "reddit guy boot." and, thankfully I can say, the suggestions on this subreddit and youtube steered me right. These are still my favorite of the four, and I honestly dont expect that to change very soon. These are just so comfortable to wear all day. Yes, they are definitely heavy, but they offer a 'surefootedness' that the other boots just do not provide. The fit is almost perfect; they're a little long, but the heels lock in great and midfoot & instep offers zero slop. I hate when shoes make my toes get crunched up and these just don't do that at all. The luggy outsoles are gonna last forever probably, but I will likely go for a lower profile sole when the time comes. The black CXL has worn beautifully. The uppers are super supple and are really easy to care for. I was never after any crazy pateeeenuhhhh but these kinda have it I guess(?)

Aside from being the most comfortable of the four, they honestly just have the most memories with me. I've played a TON of gigs with these on, both shitty ones and great ones. I've had devastating moments at work with these on. I even went to a wedding with these on when I had literally no other dress shoes to wear (just don't do it, guys.) They suit pretty much every kind of occasion I find myself in and I know I can count on these. Cheesy, but its important that if you're gonna spend this kind of money on a boot, they have to fit your actual lifestyle. At the time, these were meant to be my ONE pair of GYW boots that I had to compliment my other pairs of regular sneakers. I wouldn't have been able to make that work if I had chosen to get some really esoteric ostrich ballsack boots, you know? But of course, with the nature of this hobby, I didn't stop at one pair, or two. So then what.

\*\*2. Red Wing Iron Ranger - 4606 (purchased sometime in early 2024)\*\*

Ok ok ok ok. So I really WAS NOT trying to get a pair of boots when I got these. I was hanging out with my lovely girlfriend one day and I just got the random Idea to go to the local red wing store to try stuff on. Of course, I had read for like half a year at that point that red wings are THE boot brand to get when you start out. I never really cared for the look of the iron ranger, in fact I actually thought they were kinda ugly. I went in wanting to try the blacksmiths.

SO, we walked in, and the gentleman behind the counter mentioned that they were having a BIG sale on their heritage stuff to clear old stock. I asked what they had, and they told me that they had some black classic mocs, and these iron rangers. He brought em out in my size, and I thought, "damn these actually look pretty good on me, but I've never seen this leather anywhere, what is this???" I very quickly learned that this pair of Iron rangers was part of a short lived 2019 release. I don't know if these are factory seconds or what and I honestly dont care. When the guy told me the price on them I legitimately went wide mouthed. $160. New old stock! I thought it would be really stupid of me not to pick these up, except I had one problem: I literally had like $50 to my name at this time. I was knee deep in RTT school and I was barely working a part time job because of it. My gf absolutely made my week and paid for them herself (I spoil her greatly these days, alright guys.)

Enough about how hard I scored with my girl and my boots. Are they good or not?? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: They are almost as comfy as my GS brass boots -fit wise- with a big BUT. That but being that these boots have little to no shock absorption. That kinda sucks. You dont realize how important a thiccc leather midsole is until you don't have one. On the bright side, the uppers broke in immediately, and I got barely any heel slip. The no.8 last is just right for me (subtle foreshadowing) and everything about it fits like a glove. No clown shoe look, no weird fit issues, the bump toe is AWESOME and the leather looks and feels incredible. I felt like I was honestly set for boots for a while until... I got the bug again.

\*\*3. Grant Stone Diesel - Navy Chromexcel (purchased June 2024)\*\*

I was jonesin' for another pair of grant stones. I mean, what could go wrong? My first pair was so good and set the bar so high that I was absolutely certain that whatever I got next would be just as great.... yeah that isn't what ended up happening. I got these diesel boots after going back and forth on the navy CXL and the saddle tan veg. Weird choices to cross shop, I know. I chose the navy because (1) it looks badass & (2) it isnt some shade of brown, which I already had in my Iron rangers. When I got them in and took them out of the box I was so stoked. The color looks insane in person. The diesel shape itself is elegant and restrained in the right ways. I think its beautiful! It wasn't until I started to actually wear the boots that I realized I might have gotten boot remorse for the first time.

It doesn't take long scrolling through this subreddit to come across some post of someone wearing their new CXL boots just getting their first creases and subsequently mentioning some shit like "grain break" or "CXL lottery!!!1!1"  Now, of course I still have the boots and I like them a lot, but to say the creases on it look rough is... well its an understatement.  I don't dislike it to the point of frustration or whatever, but I do have to admit the creasing on the brass boots is way cleaner, not just on the toebox but all over the rest of the boots!

How is the fit you may ask? Its mostly good. Midfoot fit is pretty tight and toebox shape seems to like to squish my toes together. Length is perfection. Heel is perfection. The break in on these was really fucking hard I cant even lie. These weren't comfortable to wear for like two months after I got them. This was the first time a boot break in gave me blisters and I was almost gonna sell them, but I'm glad I didn't. Realistically I only really wear these when its time to dress up a little so the fit isnt as important I guess. After I bought these I got pretty discouraged from having interest in GYW and I was pretty satisfied with what I had. We're gonna have to fast forward an entire year for the next pair.

\*\*4. Red Wing Shop Moc Oxford - 8092 (purchased October 2025)\*\*

After a whole year and change since the previous boot acquisition, I was feeling a longing to get into a new pair. I mean, I had passed my board exam, got a great full time job in the field, what better way to treat myself than with a brand new pair of red wings? I was deciding between the 875 and these low cut mocs and decided on the 8092 because I was genuinely kind of scared to break them in after my experience with the diesels. Little did I know that these were gonna be worse.

I kinda have a love/hate thing with these boots. (boot shoes?) They're incredibly stylish and they look so sick with baggy jeans draped over them. These had the look I was after since the beginning. I wear these when I play the dingy DIY hardcore gigs and hardcore kids give me compliments on them all the time. Case in point, the oro legacy leather is just some of the most beautiful leather in the world when its been worn HARD. I mean come on, look up on this subreddit for some beat up 875s and tell me that does not make you want to get some to wear in and get that legendary paaaaaattteeeeeeeeenaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.

Here comes the bad part. Man these fuckers are so uncomfortable. I've had them for over a year at this point and they still hurt my feet after a few hours. The fit is so strange on these, the heel is sloppy and loose but the midfoot and "ball of the foot" area is so narrow! The tall sidewalls in the toebox are nice but they're somewhat useless when your pinky toes are already getting crammed. Front to back length is absolutely there, but the lack of width just totally takes the wind out of my sails on these. Im keeping them because I'll be damned if I give up on these. I know they will get comfy one day, but I know I have to earn it

\*\*One year later, what now?\*\*

The BAS (boot acquisition syndrome) has kicked in once again. After another year away from the game I ordered my first pre owned pair of boots earlier today. It's another pair of red wings! Oooooooo. shocker. Jokes aside, I am really stoked to get these in. Its a pair of Beckman 9011's. Hopefully they don't suck. I wanted red beckmans to compliment my blue diesels. Thing is, I was honestly gonna go get one of the newer beckmans but I read here that the new last is narrow as shit. I knew the older ones were on the GOD TIER no.8 last, so hopefully they fit as great as the iron rangers that I have. featherstone... hmm we'll see.