Red Wing vs Thursday Boots | My Thoughts After 5 Years of Wear

This is a showdown between the two biggest casual American boot brands, and they’re actually both the market’s best value option — in different ways.

In one corner, we have Minnesota’s Red Wing, founded in 1905, and their iconic cap toe boot: the Iron Ranger.

The challenger is the newcomer Thursday Boot Company, founded in 2014, and their own bestselling cap toe: the Captain.

I’ve worn the hell out of both of these boots for over 5 years. My Iron Rangers were the second pair of boots I ever bought, and I grabbed first Captains in 2017 — and I’ve picked up several more versions of the boot since.

So who comes out on top: the time-tested traditionalist or an industry-disrupting new guy?

Why Trust Us?

At Stridewise, I’ve been reviewing durable footwear and apparel since 2018, accruing over 100 reviews on this website and millions of views on our YouTube channel.

I first compared these two brands in 2018 but because it’s so important to get this right, I posted this updated review after six more years of wear testing. In addition to vastly increasing the amount of boots I’d worn, in the intervening years I focused on improving my knowledge base by visiting factories and tanneries all over the world and even making my own boots by hand in Guatemala.

Since I’ve also picked up a Master’s degree in Journalism, I know that research should include more than my own experiences, so I’ve also visited the headquarters of both brands in Minnesota and New York City, interviewed Red Wing’s product designer and Thursday’s CEO and Creative Director, I’ve filmed in several of their stores to grill their managers about sizing and components, and even traveled to Mexico and Minnesota to see where they’re made.

Pros and Cons: Thursday Boots & Red Wing

We put that summary up top in the yellow box but here are some extra easy to scan bullet points in case you need to get out of here.

Thursday Boots Pros

• More versatile: a low profile work boot/dress boot hybrid that’s much easier to dress up or down, especially given the range of leathers.
• More leathers: over a dozen leathers, colors, and suedes of different tannages to suit any occasion. You can pick flat or luggy soles as well.
• More fits and widths: three widths and sizes run from 6 to 16, versus Red Wing’s span of 7 to 14 with just 5 half sizes and two widths.
• $150 less expensive; an undeniable advantage.
• Easy break in
• Better shock absorption

Thursday Boots Cons

• Thinner leather: makes for an easier break in but not ideal if you’re picking the meatiest boot.
• Almond shaped toe isn’t everyone’s cup of tea if they’re after a chunky look that’s better for loose trousers.
• Made in Mexico: doesn’t mean they’re lower quality, but some guys prefer Red Wing for being American made. (Note Thursday does have a US-made cap toe as well.)

Red Wing Boots Pros

• More casual, vintage Americana look: if you prefer an old timey work boot look.
• Heavyweight feel: the leather’s ~0.2 millimeters thicker and the insole is a heavy slab of old fashioned, veg tan leather.
• Made in the USA: Red Wing have their own factory in Minnesota.
• A long history: Thursday is founded in and made for the 21st century, Red Wing has been operated for over 120 years.

Red Wing Boots Cons

• Very tough break in is the price of the thick leather.
• $150 more expensive.
• Bad shock absorption thanks to the traditional build and lack of midsole.
• Very hard to dress up: it’s the more casual boot.

Aesthetics

We’ve touched on the difference between these two boots. Basically, the Iron Ranger is a more classic-looking work boot, and the Captain is a more urban and city-friendly take on the World War II service boot, but it is definitely worthwhile to look at the details.

Red Wing Iron Ranger’s Aesthetics

• Thick, rugged leather
• Bulbous toe cap and round toe box
• Very casual
• Vibram mini lug sole

The appeal of this boot really comes from its timelessness; as part of Red Wing’s Heritage line, very little has changed about the about the Iron Ranger in the last few decades. It’s firmly a casual boot, particularly with its shiny nickel eyelets part and signature round, bulbous toecap. (It’s a true toecap, by the way, made with two layers of leather.)

The boot is pretty ubiquitous, and this is often the first boot a guy spends money on, although you’ll find plenty of people who don’t like it because they think the toecap is too clownish.

All of Red Wing’s rugged leathers are thick and give off that work-boot vibe.

Thursday Boots Captain’s Style

• More colorways and types of leathers
• Sleeker silhouette
• Hybrid dress boot/ work boot
• Sleek studded rubber sole or thicker Storm King soles

The Captain is much lighter and sleeker than the Red Wings. It makes sense: the Captain, like many of Thursday’s boots, is intended to be a hybrid work/dress boot. I think it succeeds, and it makes for a boot that’s far more versatile than the beefy Iron Ranger.

These are fully leather-lined boots with handsome combination-tanned leather and a studded rubber outsole that looks very flat from the side while still having a good grip.

Overall, no one can argue with the fact that these are two completely different aesthetics: the Iron Ranger is a true, chunky workboot, and the Captain is a more versatile hybrid that’s easy to dress up and dress down, particularly given its dressier leather options.

Of course, as I mentioned before, you can buy a ruggedized Captain if you go for the StormKing sole and one of their Rugged and Resilient leathers.

Leather

Both use durable leathers from well-respected tanneries, but some notable differences affect the price, break-in, and style.

Red Wing’s Leather

• Full grain leather, I have the oiled tanned verison
• Thicker than the Captain
• Matte finish
• Hardy, outdoorsy

One of the coolest things about Red Wing is the fact that they tan their own leather at their tannery, SB Foot Tanning Co, which produces about 6 million linear feet of (mostly oil-tanned) leather per year.

My boots are a lot darker than you might expect Amber Harness to look, and that’s because I made the mistake of conditioning them with Obenauf’s, which shifted the color dramatically. (If you want to avoid that mistake, use this neatsfoot oil instead.)

And, honestly, these boots don’t really need much conditioning. It’s a very hardy, full grain, oil tanned leather, and generally, I think oil tanned leather is underrated. It’s hard to scratch or damage and it can go a long time without treatment. Here, it adds a lot to the boots’ rugged, outdoorsy feel, though a potential downside is that it’s quite matte and doesn’t shine easily — again, it’s hard to dress up an Iron Ranger.

Thursday Boot Company’s Leather

• Combination tanned leather
• Shinier, dressier
• Easier to dress up
• Contours the foot better

The Captain is available in a variety of leathers, including a few from Horween Leather Company, but most of their leathers are made by LeFarc tannery. My boots we’re showing in this article are Brown (aka Thursday Chrome) and Terracotta. They come from Tier 1 United States cattle, and it’s very similar to Horween’s Chromexcel®, which is a combination tanned with vegetable and chrome. (Learn more about the different ways of tanning boot leather here.)

Thursday gives you way more options, so that adds to the versatility. They have waterproof suede options, and just in case you like the sound of oil-tanned, they have what they call their Rugged and Resilient line, which has similar properties: lots of extra oil so they need minimal upkeep and can handle all sorts of weather.

Their most popular leathers are the Brown and the Black Matte, which are both “rugged and resilient.” I will note that on Thursday Chrome, the leather finish can scratch away if you’re wearing them too hard; that happened on my first pair many years ago. They’ve since come out with the Rugged and Resilient ones and some suede and roughout ones, and those are more or less scratch-proof.

Again, it’s considerably easier to dress up these more lustrous leathers than the more matte Iron Rangers.

I will note that the leather on the Thursday boot is slightly thinner than the Red Wing, but we’re talking about a difference of about 0.1 millimeters here, which won’t really make a difference as far as durability is concerned. It does, though, make for a much better break in, and it contours to the foot more easily.

Construction

Both are resoleable, Goodyear welted boots. The sort of “classic” traditional Goodyear welted boot has multiple layers of leather: leather insole and midsole, and sometimes outsole as well. But these boots deviate from the classic construction in different ways.

Red Wing

• Rubber outsole, cork filler, leather insole, and no midsole
• 270-degree Goodyear welt construction
• Bad shock absorption

Older models of the Iron Ranger have the infamously slippery nitrile cork sole but, if you bought yours anytime after summer 2018, you probably have the low-profile (but still grippy) Vibram mini-lug seen above. No matter when you buy them, though, they’ll have a cork fille, steel shank, and leather insole.

Everything is stitched together is a 270-degree Goodyear welt, which makes it easy to resole but is a little less water resistant than a 360-degree Goodyear welt. These all markers of a quality boot.

[Read my original Red Wing Iron Ranger review!]

Thursday Boot Company

• Rubber outsole, cork midsole, leather insole
• 360-degree Goodyear welt
• More water resistant
• EVA comfort strip

The rubber outsole on the Captain has recessed lugs and offers similar flexibility and grip to the Vibram mini-lugs on the Iron Rangers. The stitching along the welt is a lot subtler on this boot (again, helping the versatility), plus it has a full 360-degree Goodyear welt construction, which means it’s more water resistant. The Captain also has a cork midsole and steel shank, and then something different: a Dura EVA comfort strip. It’s a material often used in athletic sneakers, and it makes for a boot that feels softer and bouncier than your regular heritage workboot.

The feeling of these soles is one of the biggest differences between these two boots. Even though they both have the cork midsole that molds to the shape of your foot over time and the steel shank for arch support, the Iron Ranger has crummy shock absorption — it feels like you’re walking around on hardwood. A lot of people like the old-fashioned workboot feel of the Iron Ranger (it does feel like a boot made a hundred years ago, which is a draw for some folks), but I definitely prefer the shock absorption of the Captain.

Between that and the full 360-degree welt, I’d give the sole of the Captain the edge here.

[Learn more: The 6 Kinds of Boot Soles You Should Know About.]

Fit & Sizing

• Order down a half size
• Thursday offers more sizes
• Red Wing‘s fit is more voluminous
• Thursday contours the foot more closely; better shock absorption

Sizing was simple for both boots: they both run half a size large. I’m an 11.5 and I ordered an 11 in both, which fit great. Thursdays come in a slightly larger range of sizes (6 to 15) than Red Wing (7 to 14).

Comfort-wise, as I mentioned, I prefer the shock absorption on the Captains to the Iron Rangers, and I feel Thursday has better arch support as well. The Captains are also sleeker, so they cradle the foot a bit better, while the Iron Ranger is more roomy (they use a more voluminous last), so it depends on what you like.

[Further Reading: How to Size Thursday Boots]

Price

Red Wing

• $349.99

These will run you $349.99 no matter if you buy them on Red Wing’s site, Amazon, Zappos, or anywhere.

They increased the price from $320 around 2020, the only price increase they’ve made in over 15 years. Given the circumstances, that’s a pretty impressive commitment to keeping the price down as much as possible.

Thursday Boot Company

• $199

These boots are only $199, whether you get them from Thursday’s site or Amazon. (Amazon has fewer colors, sizes, and widths; we recommend getting them from Thursday, especially since it’s way easier to do returns and exchange with them.)

What’s Changed: Thursday Boots vs Red Wing

While the heritage boot world often resists change, some developments are inevitable.

Price

Red Wings raised the price of the Iron Rangers by about $30 in the last 10 years, which isn’t that bad, and now they cost $350.

Thursday Boots has managed to keep the Captain at the same price, $199, for the last decade, which is honestly quite an impressive achievement.

Construction

• Both are Goodyear welted boots with unusual differences to their contemporaries
• Instead of a leather insole and midsole, the Iron Ranger has no midsole, so as to boost flexibility
• Instead of a leather insole and midsole, Thursday has a Poron foam insole so as to boost shock absorption

As far as construction, both Red Wing and Thursday are pretty much the same as they were when I bought my first pairs. There have been some changes to the soles.

Iron Rangers made after 2018 don’t have a famously slippy nitrile cork sole. Now, all Iron Rangers have the Vibram mini lug sole. That’s a high-performance, oil-resistant, flexible, yet low-profile rubber sole that’s 7 millimeters thick.

Thursday offers a choice of two soles. Their newer sole, the StormKing, is luggy and thick. The Captain with the Storm King sole isn’t dressy like the “classic collection” Captains that have sleeker studded outsoles. The StormKing ones also have a steel shank, so you get more stability.

Leathers

Red Wing offers fewer options of leather and only a couple of new ones, such as a light-colored oiled roughout leather called Slate Muleskinner, released in 2022, and a green full-grain leather called Alpine Portage, released in 2024.

Thursday has 15 options, and they’ve released a line of hardwearing, Rugged and Resilient leathers that don’t need much care and look great as you beat them up and a weatherproof suede that’s easy to maintain.

New Models

Red Wing also released a new type of Iron Ranger called the Iron Ranger Traction Tread that has the same sole as their Classic Moc Toe boots but attached an Iron Ranger upper. I interviewed Red Wing’s head of Product Design & Development, Mark Larson; he explained they added more modern materials for an easier break, like a chrome-tanned leather and taxon footbed that’s got more shock absorption than the classic Iron Ranger’s leather insole.

Wrapping Up

I do love the Iron Ranger, and I get why it’s such a popular boot: the timeless appeal of a true workboot is real. If that’s what you’re looking for, by all means, get yourself a pair.

But if you have a few hundred bucks, you’re looking to buy a pair of boots and you want to get the most possible wear out of them, I think you can’t beat the Captain boot for price and versatility. I simply find myself reaching for my Captains more often. And if you’re looking for more styles, Thursday has expanded its offerings, selling everything from cowboy boots to hiking boots and dress shoes.