Red Wing Work Chukka vs Whites Semi Dress

The boots are nice and comfortable after a short break in. Rather than send them back for repairs, I’ll probably just use a good local cobbler that some redwing stores use for repairs in my area.

TL;DR: If you need some real work boots, get these. I changed my last to the 55 for my next pair, and those will be my longer day shoes, but man, these are outstanding boots that need little care and last forever. 18 months is 12 months longer than my last pair of work boots lasted. Bonus: I generally clean boots a few at a time, so the last shot is my Quoddy’s Ring Boots in Chromepak and my White’s Semi-Dress in Burgundy Horsehide

Yes my car is dirty but no my other shoes have never shown this much dirt after driving either. I was torn between these and the casual style RedWing chukka called the "weekender chukka"--those look like a direct competitor to clarks desert boots. I'm glad I went with these though because they accomplish everything that I had in mind, which was to get myself a boot that could do both ;) Edit: 2 year update. It's now July 2019, and I have worn these boots for at least 500 days

As with many things, you get the quality you pay for. These boots are quality, top to bottom. They're also going to last a lot longer than cheap boots, and you can get them repaired when they do wear down. Don't cheat yourself; invest in good oil, cream, preservative and a shoe tree (mmm, cedar

Regarding fit and comfort, these will defnitely need to be broken in but you can accelerate the process within about a day or two if you work the leather in a couple of differnt ways. When I first put these on, I immediately thought they were very narrow and made my arches ache a bit. It's not that they are narrow - it's that the leatther is very stiff. Here's how I solved that problem quickly - I put on the boots and tied them so that they were snug

Really impressed, I did not know a boot could be this comfortable. I plan on eventually owning a few pair. Buy them! You will not be sorry.

Shoes for my husband to work in. The shoes are actually very nice, smooth leather sharp looking, we just need the loafers instead of the chukka boot.

In addition, because these boots are made by Whites they can be resoled and repaired for ($50-$100) depending on the work. If you have the money, then I would defiantly recommend these boots as either an every day wear, or a more dressy look.

I've owned many other Red Wing boots and this one has the same high quality, flawless leather and abnormal fit as the other Red Wing boots I've owned. For some unexplainable reason, Red Wing decided to make all of their footwear half a size bigger than normal. I can't understand why, but when you buy any Red Wing boot or shoe, you should order a half size smaller than your regular size. That is what gives it 4 stars instead of 5

I got the SD's in 9.5ee and I think they're right where they should be, or at least as close as boots can be given such parameters as thick socks, medium socks, orthotics or no, etc. The toe box is roomy, and this is a wider EE than RW's. I don't notice any horizontal movement, and with light orthotics, these boots are pretty snug

It's a small price to pay for a boot that will last a lifetime. These are full-grain leather throughout. Even the stitching is some of the highest quality i've ever seen. No expense is spared in the production of these Made in USA boots

**Construction:** These are the first White’s Semi-Dress I’ve actually examined and I’m pretty happy with the construction. I believe all the little things people notice are definitely there – a bit of rubbing on the vamp from the edge cleanup, not the most amazing edge treatment, rough welt joint, etc. None of this bothers me. Maybe if I was buying shell boots I’d want them to pay some more attention to the details, but with these being all black (except the sole stitching) none of that is really noticeable and can be easily “fixed” with product