Irish Setter vs Thorogood: Jobsite Tested & Reviewed, Who Makes the Better Boot?

Irish Setter and Thorogood are two of the most recommended work boot brands on job sites across the USA. Both have very loyal customers who will wear nothing else.

But like all boots, even these stalwarts have their strengths and weaknesses. The full range of benefits and drawbacks depends on worksite requirements, the model you pick, and the needs of your own feet.

As a regular wearer of both brands who has reviewed dozens of work boots on Stridewise and other websites, I know how to provide an objective breakdown of which boot is right for you.

Our Review Process

I’ll compare these two work boot titans feature-by-feature and deep dive into technical aspects that determine why one boot might be better. I’ll also answer common questions about their strengths and weaknesses so you can decide if you buy into the fanboyism surrounding them.

How I Tested Both Brands

Let’s just get this out of the way first: this isn’t the kind of review where someone reads a bunch of product reviews and regurgitates what’s on the brands’ website. I’m a blue-collar guy just like you! I’ve been doing metal fabrication and welding for nearly 20 years now.

The Boots

I’ve owned three pairs of Irish Setters and four pairs of Thorogoods, and I’ve put in the time for both brands, so I feel like I can speak honestly about their quality and comfort.

My Irish Setter Boots

I’ve worn two pairs of Irish Setter boots for work: Wingshooter STs, a 6″ waterproof boot with non-metallic safety toes, and on the other foot, I’ve got the Ashby. They’re similar in appearance, but the Ashby isn’t waterproof and doesn’t have the safety toe, so it’s lighter. There are some other differences that we’ll get into in more detail.

My Thorogood Boots

During my career, I’ve gone through a few pairs of boots, so I’ve seen how these brands change over time. I’ve had two pairs of the America Heritage Moc Toe 814-4200. These are very cool boots built using an old-timey “heritage” construction; they’ve got a “non-safety” toe and are slip-proof. I’ll talk a lot more about their construction, durability, sizing, and comfort. We’ve also got a full review of them here.

Lastly, I’ve owned two now-discontinued Thorogood models, the Emperor and the Wellington in Crazy Horse leather. I’ll talk a bit about the Wellington because getting a good fit on a laceless slip-on boot is difficult for guys with high insteps, and Thorogood still sells a few models of slip-on boots.

Who is Irish Setter?

Irish Setter is Red Wing’s hunting boot brand. You might be surprised, given how synonymous the brand is with work boots, but the hunting DNA is right there in the name.

In fact, some of the popular Red Wing heritage boots, like the 877 moc toe and its predecessors, were originally Irish Setter boots. The models were so popular among hunters and outdoorsmen that Red Wing made Irish Setter its own separate brand dedicated to hunting boots.

Irish Setter eventually found their way onto job sites because many hunters and outdoorsmen were also in trade work and loved the comfort and functional designs. Red Wing took notice and expanded the brand with a work boot line, perhaps best known for the popular Wingshooter ST.

Who is Thorogood?

Thorogood is Weinbrenner Shoe Company’s work boot brand, which has been making boots since 1892. Thorogood/Weinbrenner has a rich history of American manufacturing and even supplied boots for the US Army during the First World War.

If you go to any job site, factory, or shop, you will almost always find someone in a pair of Thorogoods. In fact, they were the first “expensive” work boots I bought, even though the Heritage Moc Toe has a reputation as one of the best value, American-made, Goodyear welted boots at around $250.

Just note that they’re so inexpensive because the welt is synthetic, there’s no leather underfoot in the insole or midsole, and most of the production happens in the Dominican Republic. But they’re sewn and bottomed in the US, so they’re able to carry the “made in USA” descriptor.

Irish Setter vs Thorogood: How They’re Made

• Both brands have Goodyear welted models. 
• Some Irish Setter boots have leather welts, so they’re easy to resole. (Thorogood only has synthetic, which is unlikely to last more than one resole.)
• Both offer wedge and lug outsoles.
• Thorogood uses polyurethane wedge soles.
• Irish Setter uses dual-density EVA and rubber wedge soles.
• Both are unclear about where their leather is sourced. Thorogood is said to be from Wisconsin’s Seidel, while Irish Setter uses “domestic and globally sourced” leather.

Irish Setter’s Construction

Irish Setter uses a variety of construction: direct attached/glued boots (a.k.a. “cemented”), “welted direct attached,” and traditional Goodyear welted boots.

Irish Setter’s Direct Attached Construction

The direct-attached boots are pretty straightforward in design, the outsole is glued to the leather upper. This isn’t the most durable design, but it is flexible and lightweight, and it’s also very common when a boot needs to be waterproof, a priority for many work boots.

Irish Setter’s Welted Direct Construction

The welted direct attach boots are interesting: the upper is attached to the sole like a traditionally welted boot, but the outsole and midsole are injection molded onto the welt.

While this design gives you the benefits of a traditional Goodyear welted boot in terms of durability — the sole is much less likely to delaminate — it doesn’t give you the option to resole them. Technically, a dedicated cobbler could do it, but you’ll have a hard time finding one, and if you do, it wouldn’t be cost-effective.

This is a perfectly acceptable compromise to many guys. Just make sure you know what you’re getting.

Irish Setter’s Goodyear Welt Construction

The third method Irish Setter uses to make boots is a Goodyear welt, which is found on their best-known models, the Wingshooter ST and Ashby styles.

Unlike the direct attach welt, the midsole is stitched to the welt, and then the outsole is glued to the midsole, and on most Irish Setter boots the outsole is stitched to the welt around the toe area.

We asked Irish Setter, and they confirmed the Wingshooter ST has a leather welt, while most of their other Goodyear welted boots, like the Ashby, have synthetic welts. They couldn’t give us a list of which boots have which kind of welts, so we encourage you to call them or use the chat feature on their website (that’s what I did) to confirm before making a purchase.

Why? Boots with leather welts are relatively easy to resole time and time again, while those with synthetic welts can probably only get resoled once or twice before they’ll need a new welt attached, an operation that might not be cost-effective compared to the cost of getting a new boot.

Thorogood’s Construction

Thorogood uses two different methods of construction: direct attach boots, which are typically made overseas, and the Goodyear welted line of boots, most of which are (ostensibly) made in the US.

Like the majority of Irish Setter boots, Thorogood uses synthetic welts. Synthetic welts are generally less durable than a leather welt as they can crack over time which results in a more expensive resole.

And while synthetic welts are pretty standard on work boots priced around $200 like those we’re looking at in this article, many Thorogood boots are pushing $300 these days, so it would be nice to see higher quality components like a leather welt at that price.

On a related note, neither Thorogood nor Irish Setter use leather insoles, midsoles, or outsoles in their boots. This makes sense, given their price and their emphasis on performance and shock absorption.

Irish Setter’s Outsoles

The brand uses a variety of outsoles designed for different conditions. Working with electrical hazards requires different soles than an art warehouse tech.

Many of Irish Setter’s boots have a rubber outsole, such as their popular western work boot “The Marshall” Vibram outsoles that many of their lug sole boots use; and finally, dual-density wedge soles that can be found on their popular Moc Toe styles, the Ashby and the Wingshooter ST.

The dual-density wedge soles are made of a thick layer of EVA foam and a thinner layer of rubber traction tread. The idea is that you’ll get sneaker-like shock absorption from the EVA foam and durability from the rubber traction tread layer.

Thorogood’s Outsoles

Thorogood uses their polyurethane (PU) wedge sole and lug soles on their American Heritage line and Vibram outsoles on their newer “American Legacy” line. Polyurethane wedge soles tend, in my experience, to be more durable than the Vibram Christy wedge soles but less squishy and soft when walking.

Indeed, Thorogood has a great reputation for their outsoles, which last about 25 percent longer than the industry standard Vibram wedge soles, despite costing less to manufacture. Some complain that this extra toughness makes it a little harder on the knees among older folks, so decide what your priority is.

Irish Setter’s Leather

Irish Setter uses globally sourced leather for pretty much all their work boots except the Ashby. Most of their boots have full-grain leather, and in the case of the Wingshooter ST, and have an embossed pattern.

Notably, the Ashby leather, on the other hand, is made by Red Wing’s own S.B. Foot tannery in Minnesota. The Ashby leather is 5-6 oz and is hands down the nicest leather you find on a work boot under $200. It’s a shame that Red Wing doesn’t include more of their S.B. Foot leather in their Irish Setter boots. 

Thorogood’s Leather

Thorogood advertises 5-6 oz leather on their work boots, which would be about 2 to 2.4 millimeters thick. This is a pretty standard thickness, but the Heritage moc toe’s leather is very soft and had no break-in for me. This leads me to believe that it’s either thinner than advertised or it’s simply very soft leather. It does have the hand feel of a leather that’s gone through a lot of tumbling.

Where Thorogood sources their leather is a bit unclear. The owner of Seidel stated in an interview with Weston from Rose Anvil that they make Thorogood’s tobacco leather, but when I emailed and asked Thorogood where they source their leather from, they couldn’t give me an answer beyond “sourced from US tanneries.”

As a guy who reviews boots this raises some red flags for me. When boot makers source their leather from reputable tanneries such as Seidel, they usually broadcast it or will tell you when asked, as was the case with Silverado Boots. The lack of transparency from Thorogood makes me wonder if they don’t always source their leather from reputable sources.

It’s also possible that they use a variety of different tanneries who are given the same “recipe” for the leather, so they can’t confirm who makes the leather for a given boot. This is why the folks at Schott NYC can’t tell you who makes their jacket leather.

Irish Setter vs Thorogood: Where They Are Made

The Irish Setter makes boots I’ve owned (Wingshooter ST & Ashby) are made in Vietnam. I believe this is the case with most of their boots, though their product pages only go as far as saying “Globally Sourced” instead of the exact country they’re from.

Thorogood does have a cheaper line of boots that are made overseas, but the majority of Thorogood boots you’ll see, and the ones that people think of when you mention the Thorogood name, are described as made-in-the-USA boots. If that’s important to you, it might surprise you to find out that the USA-made Thorogoods aren’t totally made here.

Nick, the Editor-in-Chief at Stridewise, obtained a video (above) showing that the USA-made boots are sewn and lasted in the Dominican Republic, then come back to Wisconsin to have the outsoles put on. While what they are doing meets the legal definition of made-in-the-USA, and I don’t think being sewn and lasted in the Dominican Republic affects the quality in any way, you should take all this into account if the country of manufacturing is a deciding factor in your decision between these two brands.

Irish Setter vs Thorogood: Sizing

• Both fit true to size
• Thorogood runs narrow 

In my experience, both brands fit true to size (your size on a Brannock device). My size on a Brannock device is 11.5, and I wear 11.5 in both brands.

Your “true size” is what you’ll get on a Brannock device in a shoe store. It’s usually a half size smaller than your sneaker size and usually a half size bigger than your boot size, but in this case, I ordered my true size in both.

Note that Thorogoods has a reputation for running narrow, and many guys, including myself, have more luck with a wide size. I upgraded my usual 11.5D to 11.5EE with my Thorogoods (they don’t have E widths), and this was the right move.

If you want to be doubly sure, Thorogood has a nice sizing guide on their website. The directions are on the PDF. Here are some tips to help. First, you measure the length at the end of your longest toe; if you’re between sizes, choose the larger one. Next, read the width on the right side of your foot. There’s no need to allow for additional room as boots are built with extra space. Remember, this is only a rough guide—the best way to ensure a perfect fit is to try on a pair.

Irish Setter vs Thorogood: Comfort

• Irish Setter has a more relaxed and spacious toe box
• Both have great shock absorption, partly because there’s no leather insole or midsole.
• Neither brand has great arch support.

Both brands offer similar levels of comfort as they both go for more of a squishy sneaker-like feel than the stiff, supportive feel of a a thick leather insole like you’ll find on more traditionally made boots from Red Wing Heritage or Pacific Northwest (PNW) brands.

Both brands emphasize shock absorption because the average guys expect that his boots will feel more like sneakers than stiff and stable heritage boots. Perhaps to keep things soft, perhaps to keep costs down, neither boot has a leather insole or midsole, which is another reason you’ll find more foam and rubber than is typical among more expensive boots.

Neither brand is great in terms of arch support. However, Irish Setter’s Ashby has the best arch support out of any of the boots I’ve worn from both brands.

Thorogoods aren’t very forgiving for people with high insteps due to their narrower design, especially when it comes to their pull-on boots. I ended up having to sell my Thorogood Wellingtons because the instep area on the right boot fit so snugly it would make my foot go numb.

Just keep in mind that Thorogoods may not fit well if you have thicker or wider feet. Both brands offer up to an EE (wide) width, but in my experience, the D (normal) width Irish Setter boots feel roomier than the EE width Thorogoods.

Irish Setter Vs Thorogood: Buying Experience 

• You can easily find both brands online
• Harder to find Thorogood at brick-and-mortar stores to try on.
• Irish Setter is readily available to try on at Red Wing stores.

Another thing to consider about either brand is the buying experience.

Where to Buy Irish Setters

While both brands sell online and in brick-and-mortar stores, Irish Setter has a leg up on Thorogood because you can walk into any Red Wing store and try them on. Every Red Wing store I’ve been in has a section for Irish Setter boots and stocks their popular styles. If you’ve got one in your area, you can just go in, scan your feet, and start trying on boots.

Where to Buy Thorogood

Thorogood isn’t as easy. There just aren’t a whole lot of places that carry Thorogood boots around me; it’s mainly Boot Barn and Western clothing stores that have Thorogoods you can actually go and try on.

I live in a decent-sized city (Tampa, FL), so it’s not exactly like I’m out in the sticks. It’s also worth noting you can only buy Thorogood from stockists; you can’t buy their boots from Thorogood’s website. That said, many of them are on Amazon.

Irish Setter vs Thorogood: Price and Value

• Irish Setter has a lower price point, with its most expensive boots topping out at $250, and most boots cost less than $225

• Thorogood tops out at close to $400 for their logger boots, and most work boots will cost between $250-$320

• Both brands can be resoled, adding long-term value.

Both brands offer a decent value, but in my opinion, Irish Setter’s lower price point offers more value than Thorogood. While a resole will cost about the same for both brands, your overall long-term cost will be less with Irish Setters due to the lower cost of their boots.

Don’t get me wrong: Thorogoods will last a long time, and the beat-up pair you see pictured in this review is about two years old and still going strong.

Another thing I should mention, the moc toe stitching affects the longevity of the Irish Setter boots.

Irish Setter uses a two-piece stitch for the moc toe. Basically, they stitch two pieces of leather together. If that stitching fails, the boot could start falling apart in the toe area.

Thorogood, on the other hand, pinches and stitches a single piece of leather together to create the look of a moccasin stitch. (A “mock moc,” or “decorative stitch” in industry parlance.) If the Moc toe stitching on your Thorogoods fails, your boots won’t fall apart as the leather in the toe area is a single piece rather than two separate pieces.

That said, a failed moc stitch is very easy and cheap to get a cobbler to fix. (Much more so than a resole.)

The Takeaway

When it comes right down to it, which boot is better is ultimately a matter of preference. Both are built very similarly with a hardy and long-lasting Goodyear welted design. Both brands are more likely to be made with synthetic welts than leather, but this method of Goodyear welting still produces a boot that’s very unlikely to delaminate at the sole.

Personally, I like the Irish Setter boots better as they are a little roomier and are more comfortable when wearing them all day than Thorogood. But hey, that’s just my opinion.

There is an army of loyal Thorogood customers that will tell you otherwise, and maybe Thorogoods works better for them — just not me.