Red Wing Celebrate 110 Years With the Huntsman Boots

Red Wing Pulled One Of Their Greatest Stunts In Years By Digging Out A True Gem From the History Books

You’ll probably recognise this scenario: a turning point in your life is coming up and your friends and family expect you to put on a big show. The feeling you get, I assume, is ‘how do I make this something really special?’

This year, Red Wing celebrate being in business (and being damn good at it) for 110 years. The stunt they pulled is one for the history books. In fact, that’s where they found it.

Red Wing Heritage celebrates its 110th anniversary with a very special boot; The Huntsman, style no. 2015. The story of this boot is so tangled up in the story of the company itself that it’s a miracle we haven’t really heard of it before. And it’s got what’s probably the greatest leather Red Wing have ever used.

Back in 1936, Red Wing Shoes introduced the 668; also known as the “Bird Shooter Boot.” With this model, Red Wing Shoes debuted their first hunting boot and soon became the go-to boot for long days spent in the outdoors.

After half a dozen successful years of the 668-iteration, the boot evolved into the 951 in the early 40s and, finally, in the early 50s, it morphed into the company’s most iconic style; the 877.

The Huntmans 2015 is a re-imagined version the original 668.

The To-Die-For Features of the Huntsman

Inspired by the early hunting boot design, the Huntsman is an 8” lace-up boot build on a 326 last. For this boot, Red Wing are using the beautiful Black Klondike leather (the one I mentioned above). This leather is known to age insanely beautifully over time as the black top colour wears off to show the brown base underneath. An utter beauty!

Also introduced with this pair is the Gro-Cord outsole. This outsole was used back in the day on the 668. At the time, it was a true innovation. Not only was (and is) the Gro-Cord a great alternative to soaked leather outsoles, it also offers the ability to move silently through fields and forests.

Other great features of the Huntsman include:

• Gunmetal eyelets
• Rawhide leather laces (plus an extra pair taslan laces as well)
• A special card that shows all the info of the boots
• Goodyear leather welt construction
• Made in the USA

The Huntsman is available now at your local Red Wing Shoes Store, which you can locate here.

Michael shot the pictures at the Red Wing Shoe Store in Amsterdam.