I had a pair of Herman Survivors about 35 years ago and, yeah, they were good boots (then). In the years since, when I've seen the brand, they've always been imported (often Poland IIRC), so I've passed (I try to buy US made whenever possible). The original company went out of business a few years back and the brand name was purchased by Wal-Mart (thus the Chinese boots you've found). So, no, there little connection between the original and ones at Wal-Mart.

Mason shoes (mostly US made) make a large variety of work boots (and, in many sizes, including widths- which one does not see with Chinese made shoes). For working in the yard, Mason has a number of different sole designs- including some that have little or no treads- great for wet or muddy conditions, when you are in and out of the house and don't want to leave those little dirt clumps all over the floor-
I like their "WORK AMERICA® Durable Farm Boots- 1465's" for that reason.

(They also have a large selection of wellington & western style work boots.)

They are priced mostly under $100 (if you're spending more, I'd look at Red Wings)- sure, twice the price of Wal-mart/Herman's but they'll last you a LOT longer than double, I'm sure.

http://www.bamason.com/

Mason also sells other brands, including US-made Carolina and New Balance.

Yeah, I know that 98% of all shoes in the US are imported- I'm a 2%-er, I guess.

Here is a link that might be useful: WalMart's control of Herman brand

I forgot about Mason and Redwing shoes. Think I will go for one of them because they will probably measure my feet properly and I will get a better fit than Wal-Mart. Didn't know that Wal-Mart owned the Herman name.

Thanks

I only get Redwings anymore. They are still great boots. Not super cheap, but not overly expensive for what you are getting.

Don't skimp on boots. You feet and back will thank you for it.

I tried to find Mason shoes on the internet yesterday and most of the links go to a "page not found" message. Maybe they are out of business.

Somethings is wrong, then, Mr Mullin.
I was just there.
All of their shoes are made in China..(the Chinese do it better)

Name an item that is not made in China.

Found one (I think).
The Toto toilet (Japanese), one made in China, the other ,USA...Look inside the reservoir..
I'd like to know, what are all our workers doing now ???
I am retired, BTW.

You ask: "What are all of our workers doing now?" Why, they're working at low paying jobs at Wally Mart, or the like!
the mechanical work force has been given the lay-off notices, and, to open a new factory here in the USA, would be an insurmountable task, because there is no readily available work force! The trade schools train people, but not for the big jobs! and you can thank NAFTA and CAFTA for that! (What were they thinking?) Couldn't the government see that it would be a one way deal--foreigners would build products, sell them cheap here, put our companies out of business, lay off the work force, they'd either starve, or take a job at W-M. And, oh yeah, we'd all be better off!! YEAH!

I looked at Red Wings today and there was a model that I liked for $140. When I walked in, I asked the salesman where the work boots were located. He walked me over, pointed and walked away saying "call me if you have any questions".

Now, I am going to look at Timberlands and decide between the two. See which one is made in America.

Thanks for the help.

I saw the postings about NAFTA. I seem to remember Bill Clinton saying he opposed it and ond of the first things he did was approve it.

We need a president in the future who has worked for a living at some point in his or her life.

Rusty said,
"you can thank NAFTA and CAFTA for that! (What were they thinking?)"

The politicians have stopped thinking about our country so they can concentrate fully on getting contributions for their re-election. Their votes are always for sale...to the highest bidder.

Banks and insurance companies were the highest bidders. Free
trade benefits them. Too bad about manufacturing. That's what they were thinking.

Damn. "Earthworm" is right- Mason (like so many other companies before it) has moved all manufacturing overseas. I'm usually pretty up-to-date on such things but didn't pay CLOSE attention to their catalog. Back 10-15 years ago, it actually had a page that described how their employees were members of a local union in the Shoe division of the UFCW-AFL-CIO and all their shoe descriptions said either "MADE IN USA" or "imported". I still get their catalog and lots of shoes now say "imported", but other say nothing about country of mfg- yet since they DON'T say "imported", it's certainly easy to assume....(wrongly)....

Which is the real annoying thing about these run-away companies- how they try to HIDE the fact, with frequent use of US flag logos and deceptive slogan's like "America's #1 _____" or "Designed in the USA".

Again, I apologize for the Mason rec. Hadn't bought their shoes for a few years and just called to confirm the origin of their shoes. I'll be ending my catalog subscription right now.

Weinbrenner's "Work One" line is another nice US-made (well, today at least...)union-made work boot. (Other lines are imported).

As far as rejecting Red Wings because of a bad experience from one salesperson in a retail shop (even if it may have been a company owned store)- as picky as I am, I'd just go to another Red Wing store (or a different salesperson). In fact, I'd PREFER a sales guy NOT hovering over me, giving me "suggestions" and "recommendations" while I look over the selection, as long as they have the correct info when I need it (and the correct size- I can't believe at the lack of size selection in many places).

In fact, the best way to get RID of a "shadowing" salesperson in most places IS to ask, "Which of these products is US Made?" They usually disappear fast! Or they lie.

Here is a link that might be useful: Weinbrenner Work One boots

In some ways, the boot/shoe sector in some ways is going the way of the car, for better or worse. Unfortunately, these companies would not be profitable if they kept everything domestic. The prices they would have to charge prices like Redwing. To do that they would have to have a superior product that the masses would buy. Too many people are just getting by to afford these shoes when they are looking for work boots.

I was going to suggest looking at Danner or Wolverine. They are American names but then I did some research on Wolverine. I can't quite tell what is done in the US and what is done overseas. However, they are huge in the work boot industry. Alot of the brands you know are owned by them. They own Merrel (chinese made and very profitable for Wolverine). Check out the Wolverine Company report. I did not look up Danner, I thought it would just be more depressing.

I'd love to own a pair of Redwing workboots. I do have some Vasque (Redwing owned) hiking boots. But I bought those Vasques back before I had kids (had a great warranty claim on them at their Salt Lake City factory). Now, I need to put ALOT of food on the table and try to save for college at the same time. I needed some boots a few months ago. I went to the Redwing store and knew I really wanted a pair of them. Unfortunately I had to go with the not as well made but somewhat durable Walmart Herman Survivors. It pained me to do it. I look forward to the day when some of the kids start leaving and I can maybe again look at Redwings.

Here is a few more Made in USA shoes and boots. The link implies boots but shoes are also available. One of the companies went bankrupt as they could not compete with the "pennies per hour" wages paid overseas.

I am getting ready to order "Carolina" myself.

www.americanmadeworkboots.com

I didn't reject the Redwings because of that salesperson but did leave the store. They have another nearby store with a salesman that does his job. The one I encountered was sitting and doing nothing when I walked in the store and he returned to that posture as he quickly left me.

This week, I was reading an ad that included Danner boots and it looks like they also have at least some imported products.

An SAS salesman told me something that I did not know but am going to look into. He said that Redwing uses two different names for their products. Redwing and Redwings. He said that one of them is imported. He likes their boots and shoes so he is not trying to disparage them.

IIRC, "Red Wings" are their line of casual shoes. I do recall that there were a number of non-US made Red Wing products (they make/sell a number of different brands, as well) when I bought my last pair of work shoes but I don't think "Red Wing(s)" was the deciding factor in determining mfg. location. I remember that their website isn't much help along that line, either. (I've found that, no matter what the subject/product, a salesperson is the often one of the worse sources of info -g-.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Wing brands

Nick's Boots.

www.hotboots.com.

www.whitesboots.com.

I bought some "Iron Age" brand shoes last year that are all American made with American materials...don't know if they are still made here or not though. Been a great shoe!
Really sucks about Mason shoes..I ordered a pair a couple of years ago, and they looked cheap....sure enough, made in China.

Found the Iron Age shoe link. It is:

http://www.ironageshoes.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?ebcdell303_irnprod=6BDD32FFEDBFF7BEBA50B11B54AE75AC&ebcdell303_irnprod_pses=ebcdell303_irnprod%3D6BDD32FFEDBFF7BEBA50B11B54AE75AC%7E

I go to Las Vegas every now and then so will have to look them up. No stores in or near my town.

Could not tell if they are still made in America but I remember that Knapp shoes were good when I was younger.

Redwing shoes are comfortable right out of the box. Very good shoe.

I just wish I could find a pair of bucks in size 12EE! they exist - you just can't find them at stores!

I bought a pair of Made in USA Carolina loggers in a 14D on the internet. They arrived today. This is the first "D" that was too narrow by 1/4". An "E" is not available.

Now the headaches of returning them. Oh well.

I saw Nick's boots..real nice... but a bit too much. The fireman's boots he sells need to be functional under heat and HAZMAT rated...not just great looking IMO.

I bought Carolinas for 30 years and knew their quality. They did not offer an E and the D was too tight in steeltip. I went to Redwing, for the first time and discovered that they had a perfect E and it has been far superior in quality and comfort than ANY Carolina I ever bought. Made in USA, all leather.

There are 2 stores in my town of Honesdale, PA that carry Redwings. The Redwing site doesn't say that their shoes are made in USA. I'll double check.

Carolina has a lot of 14-15s in steel toes. You are right. The Ds with a steel toe and shank are narrow. The next size is a EE in the logger I want. The D is 1/4" to 1/2" narrower than the "M" classification of boots that I currently have.

I have sent back the Carolina Logger Ds as they are very narrow in steel and will try the same boot in a EE.

About boot liners/padding. I found that no matter what you pay for a boot, the liner/padding will need replacing because of sweat. That is why I prefer no-liner and use double socks if necessary. You are always in a fresh "liner".

The Redwing EE was too big, the E just right. They all have replacable liners and I think they are felt.

OK I went into town to check on the 10" logger RedWings. The ones I looked at were Made in America. No size 14s though. He will order the ones I want.

The steel toe with insulated liner was NOT replaceable at $165. I'll have to say it was a real nice boot though.

I was also interested in waterproof knee boots. They had a pair for $104 that were Made in China. The quality was terrible. No arch. No shape to it. The boot was worth about $30 maximum. It must have cost $2.00 to make it.

Sorry...NO DEAL!

You can have a quality rubber snow boot Made in America for half that price which is why I think some of the manufacturers have overdone it by high-tailing it out of this country so soon.

Side note:

I have seen some small 30" wide Chinese bathroom vanities with sink going for $1200 with no plumbing! Quality control was terrible as I saw it, with factory made damage to the doors. You tell me you can't make the same vanity for $200 in the US and have a reasonable profit with quality and keep someone employed.

You could probably make the vanity in the US for $200 but the CEO would probably have a salary of several hundred million dollars plus a golden parachute so the price would be raised to $1200 to cover those expenses.

red wing work boots, they are comfortable and looks durable.

Here is a link that might be useful: red wing work boots

http://www.muckbootcompany.com/

Just got a pair of these (the Jobbers) for my wife and I. I'd wear them to the office if I could get away with it. Been in a whole new world, makes it fun to work in the mud.

Dave

Hi dmullen, I purchased a pair of Caterpillar Foundation Steel Toe Safety Work Boots- less than 6 months ago and the sole has disintegrated. I purchased them on an internet auction site (the popular one)for over $100. If they are fakes they are very good fakes. The 'hightec' heel cushion sole (grey bit) has literally rotted out which has put me on a war path- so, I recommend that this model of boot is not bought if it is to get wet- but if so, buy from a store that you can easily take it back to if you have any problems.