Ok folks. I researched like a crazy person when deciding between 8111’s and 8115’s and after owning the 8115’s for about 8 months now, I feel like I never really found a good review of the Copper Rough and Tough Iron Rangers (8115’s) and how they were different from the Amber Harness (8111’s). After wearing the 8115’s pretty consistently over the past 8 months, I’ve really gotten to know and understand these boots. With that said, I wanted to share my review of the Copper Rough and Tough rangers and how they differ from others.

Leather

Red Wing’s Copper Rough and Tough leather is an oil-tanned leather, but it seems to have more texture and contrast in color than other RW oil-tanned leathers such as Amber Harness and Oro Legacy (875). I’ve seen Copper R&T boots advertised as a “distressed look”, which I absolutely hate as it implies they were designed to look pre-worn instead of developing wear and character over the years, which is NOT the case. However, I believe they’ve been called this because of how the texture and color contrast changes as you wear them. Creases both in front of the toe cap and on the sides appear more prevalent because the leather lightens in these areas as it’s broken in. This why you may see a lot of 8115 creasing concerns on other threads, as this is the first color contrast that develops when you first begin to wear them, however, the creases stand out less and less as the rest of the boot gets broken in. I also think a lot of people take the creasing and color contrast as a sign of the leather drying out, which is absolutely not the case. As the name implies, this is a rough & tough leather that is not going to have the same smooth and consistent color and texture as the Amber Harness. If you want your boots to shine, the 8115’s are probably not for you.

Color

This is an important topic as there seems to be a misconception that the 8115’s are much lighter than the 8111. This is the case when you first take them out of the box and depending on how you wear/condition them, there’s a good chance they will stay lighter than many 8111 you come across. As mentioned above, Copper Rough and Tough leather has more depth in color and texture and while they will darken a bit as you wear and condition them, the lighter color of the creases and more broken in areas can make them appear lighter. However, do not make the mistake of assuming they will stay the same color as when you first take them out of the box. The fine texture of this leather seems to really soak in anything it comes across, causing the color to change and provide contrast and depth. The double layer leather toe and heal will stay a bit darker as these areas will not bend and crease like the single layer areas which is why a lot of 8115’s can appear darker than say, the 1907. Personally, love the contrast and depth that this leather has to offer.

Conditioning

This is a topic that everyone has a different opinion on, so I’m not going try to convince you of what product to use. However, I will say that what you put on this leather and how often will affect the look and texture of these boots. Most conditioners will darken this leather, but I believe more liquid oils such as Obenaufs Oil and RW Boot Oil will darken the leather more than the recommended mink oil. I’ve also heard products like Lexol or Mustang Paste offers conditioning without significant darkening.

If you’ve looked at a lot of 8115 pictures online, you’ve probably noticed they seem to vary quite a bit in color or event texture. I believe this is mostly due to what they are conditioned with and how often. If you want to keep the original look of these boots, do not over condition and either use the recommended mink oil or something lighter than a heavy oil.

My humble opinion on frequency; I understand when you spend this much money on leather boots you want to do everything you can to protect your investment, however, I think a lot of heritage boot owners condition their boots way, way too often. I read of people conditioning them weekly or bi weekly, but it seems as monthly may be more common. I feel that even monthly is way too often for most people that don’t wear their boots every day in extreme conditions. This is premium leather that will not dry out suddenly and begin to fall apart. With that said, I try to treat my boots like a pair of selvedge jeans and not baby them, but allow them to take on as much character as possible before conditioning them. With that said, I typically go 4-8 months or more between conditioning boots that I wear frequently. If you wear yours in extreme wet or hot/dry conditions every single day, then you may need to do it more often. Either way, you really don’t need to condition them until they need conditioning.

Hope this has helped!