Irish Setter Ashby Review: Are They Durable Enough for Tough Jobs?

Finding a pair of quality work boots that look good and perform well in actual work situations is no easy task. As a water systems engineer, I put my footwear through the ringer — lots of walking and exposure to chemicals — which means I can tell you from personal experience whether it actually stands up to what’s promised.

Today, I’ll be reviewing Irish Setter’s Ashby, a moc toe work boot heralded for its versatility, comfort, and durability. Let’s see if it delivers.

Why Trust Us?

To test these boots, I wore them every other day for about three weeks, alternating with another pair of boots to be tested. Each day included both my work shifts at a water plant (again, a lot of walking), and I also wore them casually outside of work.

At my job, work boots with toe protection are a necessity, so the Ashby’s aluminum safety toe, which meets ASTM safety standards, is a big plus. I am also around a lot of chemicals used for water treatment — such as ferric sulfate, caustic, and fluoride acids — so it’s nice to have boots with chemical and slip resistance, as these boots do.  

Ashby Likes & Dislikes

Ultimately, the positives outweighed the negatives for this boot. It’s not waterproof, which is a significant issue when you’re working in a water treatment facility. However, the comfort, durability, and price made for a fair trade-off. Here’s the nitty gritty.

What I liked about Irish Setter’s Ashby

• Lightweight with excellent shock absorption and comfort
• Soft, high-quality leather, no break-in period, great for flat feet
• EH rated, aluminum toe (30% lighter than steel)
• Double-stitched for added durability
• Fewer eyelets for easy on/off
• Full contact heat-resistant, resoleable wedge sole
• Inexpensive

What I didn’t like about Irish Setter’s Ashby

• Padded collar wore out very quickly
• Not waterproof
• Made in Vietnam
• Synthetic welt isn’t resoleable by most cobblers

Background: Irish Setter

The Irish Setter brand is owned by Red Wing Shoes, an American icon brand that has been around since 1905. Red Wing created Irish Setter to specialize in hunting, and expanded their use case in the 1970s to include field work. The company prizes innovative work-resistant features like the Vibram outsole (which offers high levels of traction and grip on all types of terrain) and waterproof kangaroo leather.  

By the 1990s there were 14 styles in the Irish Setter lineup, which has since expanded to include boots designed for work, hunting, and casual daily use. It’s a great brand at the intersection between comfort, style, and function.

Irish Setter Ashby Specs

Specification	Details
Safety Toe	Yes
Slip Resistant	Yes
Electric Hazard Rated	Yes
Waterproof	No
Construction	Goodyear Welt (synthetic material)
Outsole	Rubber-EVA Traction Tred
Leather	Full Grain
Height	6 inch
Country of Origin	Vietnam
Toe Options	83605 6-inch Soft Toe Brown
	83652 6-inch Safety Toe Black
	83908 9-inch Safety Toe Pull-on
Sizes Available	D 7-12, 13, 14 and EE 7-12, 13

Ashby Construction & Durability

Rating: 2.5/5

Construction and durability are the two most important criteria when I’m selecting a boot. I want thick leather, a resoleable construction, and durable rubber soles.

Leather

• Full-grain leather
• Oiled for extra water resistance
• Soft and oiled
• Scratches easily

The Ashby features Red Wing’s Trout Brook Leather, made from steers raised here in the U.S., at the company’s proprietary S.B. Foot Tanning Company, which produces this leather exclusively for the Red Wing and Irish Setter brands.

The leather has a great feel to it, soft and supple to the touch. I measured the thickness of the tongue at about 1.5 mm, 2.2 mm at the pull loop, and 2.3 mm at spot by the eyelets. 

I’ve noticed this leather scratches very easily, but that doesn’t really bother me in a pair of work boots. The leather is well-oiled, so light scratches rub out easily, and the ones that endure can be chalked up as additional character — proof that you’re actually doing the work these boots were designed for.

Sole

• EVA Midsole
• EVA / Traction Tred Outsole
• Slip, oil, and acid-resistant
• Heat resistant to 475 F
• The toe of the sole was stitched to the welt
• No shank

The Ashby’s sole is attached to the upper with Goodyear Welt construction, which means the sole can be replaced if it wears out. (Whether it’s worth it is up to you, given that the boots cost under $200 and the cost of resoling is typically around $100-130.) 

This sole is slip, acid, oil, and heat resistant to approximately 475 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the features section on the Irish Setter website. It also has extra stitching through the welt in the toe area — which is great, since this area is subjected to quite a bit of force during wear. The stitching helps prevent delamination, or the separation of layers that you’ll see in some less well-constructed soles.  

The upper layer of the outsole is EVA, which is ethylene-vinyl acetate — an elastomeric polymer that’s quite soft. The layer making contact with the ground is the Traction Tred outsole which I found provided a nice grip on the job, no matter what kinds of slick surfaces I happened to be walking on.

The advantage of the wedge sole is full contact with the ground for better weight distribution, compared to a sole with a heel. The tread is shallow and allows mud or snow to be removed easily, which is helpful during times of inclement weather.  

Is the Irish Setter Ashby Comfortable?

Rating: 5/5

• Roomy and comfortable toe box
• Great arch support for my flat feet
• Great shock absorption 
• Padded tongue & collar

In my opinion, the Irish Setter Ashby is extremely comfortable straight out of the box, and only got comfier the longer I wore it. The toe box is roomy and the shock absorption is great when you’re spending a long day on your feet.

Arch Support

The heel area measures about 0.90” in thickness and the ball of the foot is 0.40”.  This makes for a gradual heel-to-toe drop, which works well for my flat feet.

The Ashby comes with a removable polyurethane footbed. There’s nothing overly special about these, but they’re comfortable. They have a fabric layer attached to the top of them with the Irish Setter logo at the heel area of the foot. 

These boots don’t have a shank, but for me, that wasn’t an issue. I’ve walked on rocks in these boots, and it seems like the soles are thick enough to absorb the impact.

Ashby Sizing/Fit  

• US sizing, true to size
• Sizes D 7-12,13,14
• Sizes EE 7-12, 13

I’ve been wearing a 12D in Red Wing Shoes for years, and sure enough, the 12D fit me absolutely perfectly in this model. It didn’t seem to matter if I was wearing regular white cotton socks or thicker wool socks. 

Ashby Weight

Rating: 5/5

• 3 lbs 12 oz as weighed (size 12 US)

I used a baby scale to weigh these boots, and they came in at only 3 pounds and 12 ounces. It’s definitely safe to say these boots are mid-weight when compared with some other Red Wing or Thorogood boots I’ve worn, which weigh in at about 5 pounds.   

Ashby Safety Features 

• Certified to ASTM F2413-18 M/I/C EH
• Outsoles meet OSHA requirements for oil and slip resistance
• Aluminum safety toe
• Slip Resistance ASTM F3445-21 SR

So yes, these boots are comfortable. But do they meet ASTM safety standards? The answer to that question is yes, as well. The Ashby is certified to meet ASTM F2413-18 M/I/C EH. 

What does this mean? Let’s break it down.

M – Men’s

I – Impact:  Footwear retains a .500 inch (½ inch) for men’s and .468 inch (15/32 inch) for women’s or greater clearance after a nominal impact of 75 foot-pounds (101.7J), i.e., a 50-pound weight dropped, reaching 117.9 ± 2.4 inches per second velocity at impact.

C – Compression: Footwear retains a .500 inch (½ inch) for men’s and .468 inch (15/32 inch) for women’s or greater clearance after a compression force of 2500 lbs. (11,121 N).

Safety Toe

This boot has a lightweight aluminum safety toe that’s 30% lighter than a steel toe.  If you don’t need or like a safety toe for your job, there is a soft toe version available as well. 

Electrical Hazard 

The tag on the tongue of these boots has ASTM F2413-18. This means: “constructed or manufactured with electric shock-resisting soles and heels capable of withstanding an application of 18,000 volts (root mean square (RMS) value) at 60 Hz for 1 minute, with no current flow or current leakage in excess of 1.0 milliamperes under dry conditions.” In other words, the Ashby is manufactured with non-conductive, electrical-shock-resistant soles and heels.

Slip Resistance

These boots have an outsole that meets ASTM F3445-21 SR, meaning the soles are very slip-resistant.  They’re also resistant to oil and acid, meaning these boots would be great for mechanics. I have a pair of Thorogood Moc Toe boots, and they are not nearly as grippy as these.

Ashby Value

Rating: 5/5  

• $150 at Gempler’s for boot covered in this review
• $165 at Rural King
• $160-165 at Amazon
• $185 MSRP at Red Wing Shoes (Price found on Irish Setter website)

The Ashby runs between $150-165, which makes it a great value boot. It’s loaded with features and has everything I look for when shopping for a new pair that transition easily from work to home. The lack of a waterproof lining is my only gripe, but for the price, it’s not a big enough detractor for me.

Who Should Buy the Ashby?

• Anyone who wants very comfortable boots for work that are stylish enough to wear outside of work. 
• These would be great for mechanics, carpenters, warehousemen, office and factory workers.

Who Shouldn’t Buy the Ashby?

• Construction workers or anyone employed at workplaces that do not allow wedge sole boots. Check with your work to make sure these will be okay to wear before buying. 

Irish Setter Ashby vs. RockRooster Moc Toe

I’ve recently worn a RockRooster moc toe boot that’s very similar to the Ashby.  While the RockRooster boots have a real leather Goodyear welt, I’d still prefer the Ashby for $30 more.  There are enough qualities in the Ashby — the comfort, construction, and fit — to make them a better buy.

Stylistically, I prefer the over-the-top moc stitching design in the Ashby compared to the less clean look of the moc on the RockRooster. On that boot, the two-piece moc is stitched from both sides and creates a ridge.   

Concerns About the Ashby

To me, there are a couple of areas of concern with these boots.  First, the moc toe stitching could come undone if you’re crouching or bending a lot. Also, depending on what you’re wearing them for, like welding, sparks could fly and burn the stitching.

The other area of concern I have with these is the padded collar.  The material used to cover the padded collar is thin. On my particular pair, a layer of finish on the material has worn on the inside of the boot. The material is also splitting and cracking on the outside of the boot. 

I’ve contacted a dealer I chat with, asking if this issue is something that could be covered under warranty. The answer is no. What happened to my boots is considered regular wear and tear. This is disappointing because, as I’ve stated, I’ve worn these boots for about 3 weeks and only every other day. I chatted with Adam Rich about this, and he said this is odd because his pair is fine. Maybe my pair just has a rare fluke? Hard to say.

Final Thoughts

My feelings about these boots are nothing but great, with the exception of my issue with the padded collar. The only thing that would make these better is if they were waterproof and had a real leather welt. I can see why so many people love wearing this boot. 

Prior to wearing these boots for this review, I’d never owned any Irish Setter boots — and I feel like I’ve been missing out. Yes, these boots are made in Vietnam, which may be an issue if you prefer American-made only. That’s not an issue for me. The quality and comfort offered by these boots are more than enough to overlook the fact they aren’t made here. 

My recommendation, as always, is to buy these from a store where you can try them on, or from an online store that does free returns.  A Red Wing Shoes store would be a solid place to buy these from, as long as you don’t mind paying a premium. 

While I had a problem with the padded collar, I don’t know if it would be enough to keep me from wanting to buy another pair in the future, especially since others didn’t experience the same issue. These boots are definitely worth buying if they fit your needs. And at under $200, they’re an incredible value.