Review on Men'S Thorogood American Heritage 6” Moc Toe Soft Toe Work Boot - Premium Full-Grain Leather, Slip-Resistant Wedge Outsole & Comfort Insole; EH Rated by Committed Schmidt

A few months before buying my first pair of Thorogood boots I bought a pair of brown Red Wing Irish Setter 6" work boots. By the end of my first day wearing them at my stand-up desk at work, I already knew they were the most comfortable shoes I've worn in my 46-year life. Better than Doc Martens, better than Nikes, better than everything else for all-day comfort and lack of fatigue. I love them so much I wanted a pair in black—though there was no way I was gonna pay $300 for high-end Red Wings.So I found these Thorogoods, which had the same cool styling and supposedly comfortable and high-quality build. Only the safety-toe version was available, so I bought them in a 9.5. By the end of the first day, the area above my big-toe joint on my left foot was very sore, but my right foot felt fine. The right boot was basically about as comfy as the Irish Setters. I figured the left one just needed to be broken in a little more, and that perhaps the fact that the boots are handmade had resulted in some anomalous difference between the boots. By the time I had worn the boots two more days, the bone in my left foot was bruised and extremely sensitive to the touch—and the left boot didn't seem to fit any better than on day one, either.Thinking it was a weird fluke, I returned the boots for a refund and purchased another pair (again, only safety-toe was available) in the same size. When it arrived, I went to put them on and found that the left boot in the new pair was even tighter and more uncomfortable than the first. There was no way I was going to get through even one day in them, especially considering my left foot was still recovering from the bruising. (Again, the right boot was fine.) I immediately put them back in the box and returned them.I still really wanted the comfort of a Red Wing/Irish Setter in a black boot, but I wasn't going to settle for the cheaper fashion imitations out there (years ago I had a pair of black wedge boots made by Eastland, and the soles wore down to slick, smooth surfaces quite fast, and they were nowhere near as comfy as the Irish Setters). So, I got on Ebay and the non-safety-toe version was finally available. Most reviews said it fit a little larger than normal, so I ordered a pair in 9 (the same size as my Irish Setters).When the 9s arrived, again the right boot was basically perfect, but the left one was just crazy tight. "W. T. F." I thought. I have never in my entire life had trouble with my left foot being tight in a single pair of shoes. After I wore the third pair a couple of days, the pain was excruciating again—there was deep bruising in the bone that took weeks to get better. As a last-ditch effort, I purchased a boot stretcher on eBay for about $30. The left boot only became tolerable after I put the special little bunion attachments in the left-foot stretcher, in the area that was so tight, and tightened the stretcher as tight as it would go, and in multiple different positions, for a couple of weeks straight. Even then, it still took some breaking in.Bottom line: If these boots fit correctly, they are very nice, well-made, and comfortable. But beware. While "handmade" is typically a selling point intended to assure you something is made with greater love and care, my experience with these Thorogood boots has made me wonder if the consistency of computer-aided construction wouldn't result in a better, more consistent product.