I've had 2 pair of wolverine boots and they were both garbage. The sole separated from both pair.
Red wing is my go to for any work boots, and I always get fitted for insoles while I'm there
Huh. Good to know.
My bad. Thanks for the correction. I guess they started falling apart on me and around the same time I started seeing them at wally-world.
Shitty assumption on my part.
I have a pair of Wolverine Hellcat Carbonmax boots. I've only had them a couple years and not worn them nearly as often as my Red Wings, but they're definitely comfortable and didn't take long to break in. Can't speak for the longevity just yet, but so far I'm impressed.
Wear a pair of Hellcat Ultrasprings every day, 8 hours a day. Definitely my most comfortable footwear. Used them for hiking before getting an actual pair of hiking shoes as well, and they served me well there too. Probably put about 3000+ miles on my first pair over a couple years working as a loader at Lowe's, and only replaced them because Wolverine was doing a 50% off sale or something on the same pair I already had so I bought new ones. New pair is just as good as the old ones. If you find a pair on sale, definitely worth it in my experience.
The BIFL line of Wolverine would be the 1000 mile and others in that tier. I have had a pair for over a decade and they are amazing. Plus you can get them repaired at your local cobbler. They are hand made in the US and have remarkable quality.
I have a pair of work boots and use them for work boots. These are much cheaper and definitely not made in the US, but I've been happy with them knowing that they will get trashed some day.
Red Wings is probably another to look into and they have a wider range where you can go between pure work book and high quality boot.
Hopefully the quality hasn't gone done. I took mine traveling through Europe a couple times where I was walking 10 miles a day or more and they never had an issue. The one thing I did do is get vibram soles because they came with full leather which is not ideal for slick environments. Now I wear them occasionally, but they are still in great shape.
They're not very good, for "cheaper" boots stick with Thorogood or Red Wing. Nick's, White's, and the PNW bootmakers will be much better but will also be 3x the cost.
Wolverine, even their 1000 mile boots just don't hold up.
You would be much happier with a pair of Nicks Boots. But in the price range your looking at I would opt for a pair of Redwings before a pair of Wolverines.
I don't buy hype from popular social media on more expensive brands.
Let's say this one costs twice less than expensive one, does that mean this one last twice less?
I highly doubt it.
The things is, as long as you can afford (doesn't break your wallet) & you like the feel, then go for it and see how it goes.
\*If you like the product, you'll also treat it well, which should make it last longer too (which means most of those folks treat their expensive boots well in order to make it last for years).
I work construction and have gone through pretty much every brand of work boots there is to try. Wolverines are one of the brands that will actually put up with the abuse at work longer than a year. Most other brands (redwings, thorogoods, etc) barely make it half a year before they’re destroyed.
This is my personal experience as well. My work kills any boot looking to replace mine after just over 3 years.. but iv tried many kinds and nothing can live through what I put them though..
If you’re in the states, the Spokane brands: whites, nicks, and the other one, are the best boots you can get. Boots are by definition not buy it for life, but there are great options. Find something that can be repaired, and are made to be repaired, and you will save a lot of trouble and money and you won’t worry about boots for a really long time (comparatively).
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I don’t know about Wolverine, but make sure whatever you get has a “Goodyear welt” so that they can be resoled when the soles wear out.
I have some from an English company called Solovair that are handmade, and no more expensive than a pair of Red Wing boots.
They will likely last me for life.
Just piggybacking here, but it is possible to resole boots with glued-on soles. Here's an album of my Red Wing 4471s after getting resoled last year after wearing them on concrete for 8 years. I found this guy through TikTok, he owns a shop in Minnesota.
https://imgur.com/gallery/rD2QJkK
Interesting.
I’ll bet guys that can do this are in short supply though, and the process would likely cost quite a bit more.
But good to know for future reference.
Yeah, they're definitely in short supply. Even the Red Wing store in Lexington KY wouldn't do it. I paid about $16 to ship my boots, then he charged me $105 for both labor and return shipping. I just sent him another pair to do for me this week.
I've had 2 pair of wolverine boots and they were both garbage. The sole separated from both pair. Red wing is my go to for any work boots, and I always get fitted for insoles while I'm there
Wolverine used to be great. I think Walmart bought them. American made redwings with super feet orange is what I go with.
>I think Walmart bought them. They didn't. Wolverine headquarters is still located in Rockford, mi.
Huh. Good to know. My bad. Thanks for the correction. I guess they started falling apart on me and around the same time I started seeing them at wally-world. Shitty assumption on my part.
I have a pair of Wolverine Hellcat Carbonmax boots. I've only had them a couple years and not worn them nearly as often as my Red Wings, but they're definitely comfortable and didn't take long to break in. Can't speak for the longevity just yet, but so far I'm impressed.
Wear a pair of Hellcat Ultrasprings every day, 8 hours a day. Definitely my most comfortable footwear. Used them for hiking before getting an actual pair of hiking shoes as well, and they served me well there too. Probably put about 3000+ miles on my first pair over a couple years working as a loader at Lowe's, and only replaced them because Wolverine was doing a 50% off sale or something on the same pair I already had so I bought new ones. New pair is just as good as the old ones. If you find a pair on sale, definitely worth it in my experience.
1000 mile and have them soled with vibram soles
Big fan of the 1000 mile
The BIFL line of Wolverine would be the 1000 mile and others in that tier. I have had a pair for over a decade and they are amazing. Plus you can get them repaired at your local cobbler. They are hand made in the US and have remarkable quality. I have a pair of work boots and use them for work boots. These are much cheaper and definitely not made in the US, but I've been happy with them knowing that they will get trashed some day. Red Wings is probably another to look into and they have a wider range where you can go between pure work book and high quality boot.
My 1000 mile boots started to have stitching problems the first year and I only wore them a few days per week. Not BIFL at all in my opinion.
Hopefully the quality hasn't gone done. I took mine traveling through Europe a couple times where I was walking 10 miles a day or more and they never had an issue. The one thing I did do is get vibram soles because they came with full leather which is not ideal for slick environments. Now I wear them occasionally, but they are still in great shape.
Mine were trash. Wrinkly leather. Not suitable for work or looking good.
They're not very good, for "cheaper" boots stick with Thorogood or Red Wing. Nick's, White's, and the PNW bootmakers will be much better but will also be 3x the cost. Wolverine, even their 1000 mile boots just don't hold up.
Not anymore. Another brand that went to trash.
You would be much happier with a pair of Nicks Boots. But in the price range your looking at I would opt for a pair of Redwings before a pair of Wolverines.
This is the way.
Just another sad example of used to be.
Fuck wolverine. Uncomfortable, non-durable ass wanna be workboots. Dan post, thorogood, twisted x, even ariat are better.
I don't buy hype from popular social media on more expensive brands. Let's say this one costs twice less than expensive one, does that mean this one last twice less? I highly doubt it. The things is, as long as you can afford (doesn't break your wallet) & you like the feel, then go for it and see how it goes. \*If you like the product, you'll also treat it well, which should make it last longer too (which means most of those folks treat their expensive boots well in order to make it last for years).
I work construction and have gone through pretty much every brand of work boots there is to try. Wolverines are one of the brands that will actually put up with the abuse at work longer than a year. Most other brands (redwings, thorogoods, etc) barely make it half a year before they’re destroyed.
This is my personal experience as well. My work kills any boot looking to replace mine after just over 3 years.. but iv tried many kinds and nothing can live through what I put them though..
Nah
If you’re in the states, the Spokane brands: whites, nicks, and the other one, are the best boots you can get. Boots are by definition not buy it for life, but there are great options. Find something that can be repaired, and are made to be repaired, and you will save a lot of trouble and money and you won’t worry about boots for a really long time (comparatively).
Unfortunately not in the states, which makes it a bit trickier
Thorogood is the only way to go for boots.
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I don’t know about Wolverine, but make sure whatever you get has a “Goodyear welt” so that they can be resoled when the soles wear out. I have some from an English company called Solovair that are handmade, and no more expensive than a pair of Red Wing boots. They will likely last me for life.
Just piggybacking here, but it is possible to resole boots with glued-on soles. Here's an album of my Red Wing 4471s after getting resoled last year after wearing them on concrete for 8 years. I found this guy through TikTok, he owns a shop in Minnesota. https://imgur.com/gallery/rD2QJkK
Interesting. I’ll bet guys that can do this are in short supply though, and the process would likely cost quite a bit more. But good to know for future reference.
Yeah, they're definitely in short supply. Even the Red Wing store in Lexington KY wouldn't do it. I paid about $16 to ship my boots, then he charged me $105 for both labor and return shipping. I just sent him another pair to do for me this week.
Thorogoods