Home / Footwear / Brand Breakdown

Everything You Need to Know About Red Wing Heritage Boots and Shoes

Learn the history, take in the key terms and shop the essential styles.

style Courtesy

By Gear Patrol

Published

·

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

Welcome to Brand Breakdown, a series of comprehensive yet easy-to-digest guides to your favorite companies, with insights and information you won’t find on the average About page.

Red Wing Shoe Company is named after the small Minnesota town where it manufactures a range of rugged boots and shoes. Founded in 1905 by Charles Beckman — and still privately held and family-operated today — the brand grew quickly, supplying doughboys with boots designed for the muddy trenches of WWI. After the war, Red Wing became a household name across the country thanks to its safe and hearty boots made for factory workers, farmers and outdoorsmen.

Sturdy, classic and well-loved by generations, the boots and shoes are still handmade in Red Wing’s Minnesota plant. While mainline Red Wing continues to supply construction workers and outdoorsmen, Red Wing Heritage, introduced in 2008, revives styles from the brand’s archive. Based on classic models, the styles prioritize work-ready function. “The foundation is built upon making quality footwear for people to wear on the job,” says Steve Spencer, Managing Director of Red Wing Heritage.

The brand’s boots are the gold standard for men’s footwear and are stocked at men’s clothing shops the world over. Made to the same exacting standards as their work boots, Red Wing Heritage styles have a wide appeal and are just as appropriate on the ranch or factory floor as they are in the office or at home. This guide will help you navigate classic styles from the Red Wing Heritage catalog, but before you dive in, take a minute to familiarize yourself with important boot terminology.

Introduced in 1953, this is the iconic Red Wing style. Designed with a white wedge sole and moc toe, the tall eight-inch boot was designed for hunters and sportsmen, but also found a devoted following on the work site.

The Classic Moc is virtually identical to the 8-Inch Moc, but is two inches shorter. As such, it is a bit more practical for the city dweller. The style comes in eight different types of leathers.

Designed as an indoor workboot, the Work Chukka features a white rubber wedge sole and rugged leather upper. It is an ideal option for an office or factory workers.

Hardwearing and reinforced with a cap-toe, the Iron Ranger can be dressed up or worn as a work boot. Designed for iron miners, it is made from oil resistant leather and features speed hooks for ease of lacing.

The Blacksmith takes after boots that were worn by the metal-working tradespeople to protect their feet from scalding sparks and molten iron. It stands six inches tall with a mini-lug sole, cork filling and three-quarter Goodyear Welt.

This Oxford has the rugged traction tread typically exclusive to bulkier boots.

Designed for use by policemen and mail carriers, the Postman Oxford was introduced in 1954. A uniform shoe only available in Black Chaparral leather with a cushioned wedge crepe sole, these are incredibly sturdy and comfortable.

The Postman Rodeo transforms the aforementioned Oxford with an elastic gusset, making it more flexible and lightweight.

The Postman Chukka takes the Postman Oxford to..wait for it…new heights.

Red Wing spends a lot of time outfitting feet for work, but it also designs styles for off-the-clock wear. The Weekender collection is lightweight, featuring stitchdown construcion and rubber wedge soles.

Drawing upon boots from the 1970s, the Sawmill is made with winter climes in mind with a water-resistant storm welt, a felt wool insole and slosh-ready Vibram lug soles.

he Wacouta Camp Moc resembles summer footwear staples like the preppy boat shoe, with a low profile and moccasin-style toe.

The Wacouta 6″ combines Red Wing’s tough SB Foot Tannery leather with water-resistant waxed canvas and stitchdown construction for a hunting-inspired boot that’s lighter and more flexible than most.

You can think of the Roughneck as a more aggressive Classic Moc with its substantial heavy lug sole. But, it’s also a bit easier to don and doff thanks to its handy speedhooks.

All of the functionality of Red Wing’s harder working boots but with the comfortability of a classic Chelsea — hence the name. 

The Weekender Chelsea, as the name would suggest, is a casual shoe that’s not meant to straddle the line between dress and work like the Williston Chelsea.

The Billy Boot was first introduced in the 1930s as a children’s boot and originally came with a pocket knife to accompany its nifty knife sheath. Red Wing brought the EDC-friendly boot back for adults in 2019 and it’s all nearly sold out.

When two iconic American shoe manufacturers come together, it’s this. Equal parts Red Wing and New Balance, the collaborative sneaker features Red Wing’s iconic Hawthorne muleskinner leather and brick-red motif rendered in New Balance’s popular 997 silhouette.

Though not part of the Red Wing Heritage label, the Irish Setter boot has a dedicated following of its own for its durability and the beautiful color of its leather, named after the rich coats of the Irish Setter dog. Red Wing Heritage did bring it back for a brief period in 2018, but only to limited quantities. The Irish Setter label today is still focused on boots for working and hunting, but at a slightly lower price point than its Red Wing Heritage label.

,