REVIEW: Red Wing Heritage Beckman 9029 Moc Toe Boots

[LCDR]

UPDATE: Turns out I was more bothered by the off-center stitching than I thought. It fits great, but I did not wear it outside. I decided to sell it on Ebay, made about $20 in profit. It was a more casual look than I wanted.

I will wear my brown CMXL Alden Indy boots for now. I still don't have a black boot. Thinking about getting the black Viberg service boot in the future. It looks sleeker.

[alanm]

Got my 9030 Beckmans and 875s in today. 9030s have a slightly off-center moc toe, and the welt looks a little over-sanded around the edge of the heel. One of the shoes does not sit flat on the ground (heel not flush and it rocks laterally). Wondering if the uneven foot-bed would wear flat once the break in. Fits more narrow than the 875s. Anyone know if they will stretch out more with wear?

875s look great, but the tongue on both of them has a small punctured hole towards the top. Not visible when wearing though. The leather also has a slightly tacky feel to it. Not sure what to make of that.

I probably won't keep both, but I'm not sure which pair to return. I'll post pictures later.

[Jamie]

Yup those are how the IR arrived from STP.

Those are the Brooks Brothers x Red Wing Iron Ranger, and they have a different type of leather than other IRs and other RW boots I've seen - they're a solid medium brown but as they flex and crease, they turn a lighter shade. Those have clearly been worn and returned, but except for the nick in the toe - a full priced pair would likely look like that after a few wears. If you can find a BB B&M store that carries them, you'll see what I mean. I tried them on, and loved the brown color out of the box, but after wearing them for a bit the color had totally changed! They're still cool though.

[Murph65]

Received mine an hour ago. Minor blemish on the toe seems to be my defect. As others have noted, they are very stiff, but fairly comfortable. There's a 1/2 inch gap at the back of the heel to the floor, so the heel bears toward its front. Is this normal? Are others experiencing the same issue?

[jackbauer24]

Is that how those IRs arrived from STP?! They skipped right over seconds and went to thirds on that one.

Yup those are how the IR arrived from STP.

[yoyorobbo]

i sized down a 1/2 size from my usual allen edmonds size. the fit is on the snugger side with thin cotton socks. unless this boot stretched out with use, i think going tts would have been fine.

FWIW, I have the Beckman chukka in the same size as (most of) my dress shoes/boots. The fit has been perfect as far as that goes. I wear medium thickness socks (think BR, JCrew, Merona, Gold Toe, etc) *and* thicker wool camp-type socks with them. They fit a touch better with the medium/normal socks, but nothing too tight with the camp socks either.

I still consider that sizing-down a 1/2 size, though, as my feet measure 11.5 on a brannock device, but I wear 11 in these, as well as my AEs, TBNYs, etc.

I will also add that the local RW shop owner/manager, who wears the heritage line pretty exclusively and daily, told me that they are typically 1/2 size large than measure foot. He happened to be an 11.5 too, and wears 11 in the Beckman, 6" moc-toe (or whatever it's called), and IR, etc.

[alanm]

I suppose it all boils down to how much it bothers you.

I dug out the photo of the 1000 Mile x Filson boots I ordered and returned in August. Mine was particularly bad though, b/c the moc toe had an odd bulge in it as well.

[LCDR]

I agree that the leather is stiff. It was smooth and free of blemishes, so probably good quality.

I just don't think your boots look bad in that picture. (maybe it looks worse in-person?) I don't have a lot of experience with boots, but Should we expect the moccasin stitching to be EXACTLY symmetrical down to the last millimeter? Would anyone else really notice? Are we being too picky?

Yours looks similar to mine. I think I will probably keep mine and wear them.

[fey]

my impressions of the rest of the boot-

i sized down a 1/2 size from my usual allen edmonds size. the fit is on the snugger side with thin cotton socks. unless this boot stretched out with use, i think going tts would have been fine. it is very stiff, though the leather seems to be of high quality. i don't think it is neccessarily "inferior" to alden cxl, its just a hardier, thicker leather. i like it the styling, but that crooked moc toe bugs me. probably should have seen it coming!

[fey]

i got my 9030 moc toe beckmans, and they have the same issue as yours. i'd share a pic, but imgur is crapping itself right now. i think i might return them as they seem worse than yours.

finally imgur worked. the whole upper is tilted:

[Trueflame]

here some IR with lugs soles 2nd from stp:

http://imgur.com/a/8YIlI#2

more moc and round toe:
http://i.imgur.com/g2fwedw.jpg

still waiting for my RW.

Is that how those IRs arrived from STP?! They skipped right over seconds and went to thirds on that one.

[jackbauer24]

here some IR with lugs soles 2nd from stp:

http://imgur.com/a/8YIlI#2

more moc and round toe:
http://i.imgur.com/g2fwedw.jpg

still waiting for my RW.

[TravelingJ]

Fit wise, are they pretty true to size? Or bigger/smaller than what you normally wear?

I haven't tried the 2nds out, but I wear a 10.5 in RedWings, and a 11.5 in Wolverine 1000 mile, if that helps at all. The Redwing Heritage that I tried on, fit the same the other Redwings I had.

[Alex P.]

Fit wise, are they pretty true to size? Or bigger/smaller than what you normally wear?

[Jamie]

Because they're black, that off-centered mic toe stitch isn't as noticeable. I'd say that's more likely your defect than that tiny scuff on the sole.