American-made boots were becoming something of a rarity due to cheaper labour and materials overseas. However, the American industry has seen something of a renaissance in recent years due to growing support of domestic craftsmanship.
At Bespoke Unit, we also have a keen interest in American craftsmanship and we’ve explored both heritage and new brands that manufacture boots on USA soil. Therefore, this guide will provide you with the very Best American-Made Boots For Men:
- Blucher Boot: Wolverine 1000 Mile Cordovan
- Brogue Boot: Allen Edmonds Dalton Wingtip
- Work Boots: Danner Bull Run Christy
- Blucher Boot: Allen Edmonds Sullivan Street
- Casual Boot: Red Wing Heritage Moc
- Tactical Boot: Danner Acadia
You can use the links above to jump ahead. We also explore the benefits of buying boots that are made in the USA later in this guide.
What Are The Best American-Made Boots For Men?
- Style: Derby / Bluchers
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $385 [Buy From Wolverine]
Overview
Designed in Wolverine’s Rockford headquarters back in 1914, the boots are crafted using leather from Chicago’s Horween Leather Company. Almost every part of these boots are sourced domestically including the laces from Landrum, South Carolina. Furthermore, they’re crafted with a Goodyear welt.
How To Wear
We often praise the sheer versatility of the 1,000-Mile boot as it can be worn for just about every occasion. Get them polished and they’re ideal for dressy occasions. Alternatively, let them age and scuff and they’ll look fantastic for casual wear.
Best Colors
There are a number of colours to choose from such as a classic brown or black. However, we’re quite fond of the bordeaux Cordovan or rust hue.
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- Style: Brogues
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $420 [Buy From Allen Edmonds]
Overview
Handmade in Port Washington, Wisconsin, we’re quite fond of Allen Edmonds’ craftsmanship. These wingtip brogue boots are designed with both style and durability in mind thanks to their renowned Goodyear welt. Although the soles aren’t made in the USA, they’re imported from the UK’s celebrated Dainite brand.
How To Wear
Again, these are a relatively versatile choice depending on the chosen colour. However, they’re somewhat dressier than the Wolverine’s 1000-Mile boot thanks to the more ornate and refined design. These look great in a suit as well as business casual attire.
Best Colors
There’s a greater range of colours available if you choose these boots without the rubber soles. However, the soles do offer something extra and are worth getting. In this case, you can choose between either black or brown calfskin leather.
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- Style: Work Boots
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $220 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Founded at the height of the Great Depression in 1932, Danner continues to produce much of its footwear in its Portland factory in Oregon today. With an accent on utilitarian boots, Danner’s footwear supplies a number of government agencies with its various work, uniform, hiking and hunting boots.
How To Wear
Although F2892-11 approved soft toe work boots, these are great lifestyle footwear too. We love them as a casual option to wear on a daily basis. They’re incredibly comfortable and offer good insulation for the colder months too.
Best Colors
Although only made in a single colour, the high-quality oiled leather can be treated for a desired style. Either leave them to age gracefully for a worn look or polish them for something less rugged.
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- Style: Oxford
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $420 [Buy From Allen Edmonds]
Overview
Similar to the Dalton wingtip boots above, these the Sullivan Street offers a stylistically different option. With a pebbled leather quarter and balmoral cap toe, they have a distinctive look and can be worn for numerous occasions.
How To Wear
As mentioned above, the smooth calfskin upper and pebbled leather quarter renders these boots quite versatile. While the pebbled leather is casual enough to be worn with jeans, the use of a cap toe and full-grain calfskin makes them formal enough for businesswear.
Best Colors
You can choose between either brown or black calfskin leather. We have a preference for the black as the cap toe provides that extra level of formality, which wouldn’t feel quite as effective in brown.
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- Style: Blucher Boot
- Formality: Casual
- Pricing: $290 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
While some Red Wing boots are now made overseas, the brand established its Heritage line in order to preserve its American production in Minnesota. Red Wing Heritage boots are not only assembled in the USA but only use leather sourced from their S.B. Foot Tanning Company.
How To Wear
With its distinctive moccasin-style toe, these are decidedly casual boots that can be worn either on a daily basis or for hiking. They’re very easy to wear and so comfortable that we rate them also as winter boots.
Best Colors
We’re particularly fond of the Copper & Tough leather that has a lovely contrast between the uppers, welt and sole. That said, the pebbled black, suede mid-brown or dark briar brown are all excellent choices too.
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- Type: Tactical Boots
- ASTM: None
- Pricing: $380 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Like the Bull Run Christy work boots, these are made in Danner’s Portland, Oregon, factory. Whether you work for the military, emergency services, or just like tactical boots, these are some of the best that you can buy regardless of country of origin.
Key Features
A Gore-Tex liner offers full waterproofing while Danner offers a full recrafting service at their Portland factory. As such, the Vibran Kletterlift soles can be replaced once worn, which gives these boots a much longer lifespan than others.
Best Colors
As tactical boots, it’s not much of a surprise that these are only available in black.
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Why Buy Boots Made In The USA?
Despite the looming threat of cheaper footwear made abroad, it’s reassuring to see the American footwear industry experiencing a renaissance. However, why should you buy boots that are made in the USA rather than elsewhere when it’s so much more expensive? Is it only a consciously patriotic choice?
Heritage
Firstly, one reason that draws many boot enthusiasts to American-made footwear is that it’s a way of preserving their cultural heritage. Although there are some younger brands, most of those that continue manufacturing in the USA are over a century old.
For instance, Wolverine’s 1,000-Mile boot as been in production since 1914 while Red Wing was founded in 1905. Meanwhile, the youngest brands featured on this list are Allen Edmonds and Danner that were founded in 1922 and 1934 respectively.
As such, these brands have become institutions with their own unique identities. Not only have these identities been formed by their particularly crafting processes but their regional cultures and local presence.
By wearing these boots, you don’t just wear something that looks and feels great, but you’re expressing and even supporting some of the culture yourself.
Preserving Brands & Shoemakers
Despite having experienced the lowest points of the economy, the above brands have persevered. Today, they continue to produce their boots in the USA without succumbing to the temptation of sourcing overseas.
When buying their boots, you’re not only preserving their cultural heritage but their craftsmanship too. An inevitability of outsourcing production to factories abroad is that the skill and passion requires to maintain the quality will drop.
There are many stories of brands that have closed their domestic factories for only their quality to plummet. A good example is Hunters, a British Wellington boot brand, whose Chinese-made models would literally fall apart.
When confronted by this drop in quality, some brands do manage to salvage their expertise by reopening domestic factories. This was the case with Hunters who relaunched their British-made boots.
However, some brands don’t manage to pick themselves up from such a drastic change.
Supporting Employment
Similarly, purchasing boots made in the USA means that you’re supporting fellow American workers. As long as these institutions continue to function, they will provide a variety of jobs for the factories’ local population.
Furthermore, many of the employees of these factories are skilled workers and craftsmen. Their expertise is unparalleled and they continue to exercise the same traditional craftsmanship as their forefathers.
Given much of what has been experienced in the USA with the fall of many industries, it’s not hard to imagine how it could affect everyone if factories were forced to close down.
Therefore, you’re supporting the country’s economy by wearing locally-made boots and encouraging brands to continue or pursue American production.
Superior Craftsmanship
Although we’ve touched on this point in each of the previous sections, we haven’t specifically highlighted it. However, it’s important to note that American-made shoes will likely be far superior to those made in large overseas factories.
Firstly, there’s often an emphasis on craftsmanship among the brands that continue to make their wares in the USA. Indeed, they are more expensive but for good reason.
In fact, Danner makes this clear by using The Great Depression as a parable for globalisation. It states that Charles Danner founded his business in 1932 with a “stubborn belief that, regardless of the economy, superior craftsmanship mattered.”
In essence, people will be willing to pay more for better quality footwear. In our guide to the best dress boots under $500, we actually touch on a cost theory popularised by Terry Pratchett that is highly appropriate here.
However, you’re less likely to find this from footwear made in large factories where production costs are reduced in order to sell more affordable footwear. In their cases, the boots will be made with cheap, genuine leather and cemented soles.
Meanwhile, all the brands listed above use Goodyear welts to construct their boots, which is a very labour-intensive process.
Furthermore, the leathers used for the shoes are of much higher quality given that the production costs are greater. In fact, both Wolverine and Red Wing are very transparent about their suppliers.
Therefore, your boots will not only last longer, they’ll age better too.
What Next?
Now that you have discovered the best American-made boots for men, why don’t you check out some of our related shoe guides for a wider perspective?
- Top 10 Boots For Men
- Best Men’s Boots For Winter
- Best Work Boots For Men
- Best Dress Boots For Men
- Most Comfortable Men’s Shoes
"Really helpful guide! I wanted to support the American boot heritage and found the ones I wanted here."Rating: 5.0 ★★★★★
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