Are Thorogood Wellington Boots Good For Work? (Everything You Need To Know)

I have no doubt everyone reading this has heard of Thorogood boots, after all, they are one of the most popular USA-made work boot manufacturers in the world, who are well known for their iconic Moc Toe work boots.

But what they are less known for is their pull on/Wellington boots. There is an endless amount of reviews and info online about the Moc Toe boots but not so much when it comes to the Wellington boots.

Our aim in this article is to give you all the info you need to know about round-toe Thorogood Wellington style work boots so you can make a highly informed buying decision.

Some of the things we are going to cover are: How do Thorogood Wellington boots fit? Are they durable? Can you resole them? Are Thorogood Wellington boots good and what styles do they come in?

Strap in, we have a lot of info to cover! But don’t worry, I’ll keep it concise and to the point.

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What Wellington/ Pull on options does Thorogood have?

Thorogood offers Wellington boots in three configurations:

• Round toe
• Square toe
• Moc toe

Here are some of the most popular Thorogood Wellington boots models

For the purpose of this article, we will focus on the round toe variation since Thorogood offers it in a wider variety of styles.

Please note that the square toe and moc toe versions are built on a different last and may fit differently than the round toe styles in this review.

We hope to have a review of the square-toe and Moc toe Wellington boots in the future.

1. 804-4372: Unlined Crazy Horse leather on white soles (Discontinued)

This is the style, and my personal pair, of Thorogood Wellington boots you’ll see pictured in various places in this article.

Unfortunately, I found out recently they are discontinuing this particular style. That’s good news for you because it means you can pick it up for a deep discount!

The 804-4372 features a steel toe safety toe cap, comes in Crazyhorse leather and features a white Thorogood Maxwear lugged 90° heel outsole.

2. 804-3320: Waterproof Crazy Horse leather on white sole

The 804-3320 style is the same boot as the 804-4372, however, this boot has a waterproof liner.

Unlike the above unlined version, the 804-3320 IS NOT discontinued and is still in production.

3. 804-3310: Unlined Crazy Horse leather on black sole

The 804-3310 is the exact same boot as 804-4372 except for the fact that the outsole is black rather than white.

Aside from the outsole color they are identical in every way. The 804-3310 is still in production. I would also like to note that like the 804-4372, this boot is unlined and not waterproof.

4. 804-4939, The 1957 Briar Pitstop

The style 804-4939 comes in Thorogood’s Briar Pitstop leather, which is the same leather on the 1957 series Moc Toes that one of our testers, Jeff, recently reviewed.

The 804-4939 features a white 90° heel Maxwear lugged outsole. It also have a steel safety toe and a waterproof liner.

5. Tobacco Wedge Sole

The Tobacco wedge sole Wellington boots come in two styles, the 804-4205 and the 814-4208.

Both boots use the tobacco tan leather that comes on Thorogood’s iconic Moc Toe boots and have Thorogood’s Maxwear wedge outsole. Both boots are also unlined and are not waterproof.

The only difference between the two is that the 804-4205 has a steel safety toe whereas the 814-4208 is a soft-toe work boot.

Are Thorogood Wellington Boots USA Made?

Yes, they are! The heritage line, the boots in this article, are all made in America at Thorogood’s factory in Wisconsin.

Each USA-made Thorogood Boot proudly displays an American flag emblem stitched to the side of it for everyone to see.

Discover where other brands are making their work boots in this article.

What leathers do Thorogood Wellingtons come in?

You might be thinking: What’s the difference between all the leathers they come in and is one better than the other?

Below we are going to highlight the differences between the various leathers Thorogood offers the Wellington boots in.

1. Crazy Horse Leather

Unlike the name implies, Crazyhorse doesn’t actually come from a horse hide. Rather, it’s made from the entire cow hide. It’s made from only the highest quality full grain cowhide leather.

The only thing removed from the hide is the hair, the hide is then polished and treated with a special wax which gives it characteristics distinct from other leathers.

Crazyhorse leather is extremely tough and durable and patinas very well as the leather ages which is why it’s been the go-to leather choice of saddle makers for years.

Here’s another boot my fellow boots tester and editor, Adrian, is wearing at work: The Thorogood Trail Crazy Horse work boots.

2. Briar Pitstop

The Briar Pit stop color is very soft and supple. During the tanning process there are a lot of oils and waxes used.

This results in a nice slick oily finish on the leather. Because of the amount of oil and wax used in the tanning process Briar Pitstop is what’s known as a “Pull up” leather.

Pull up leather has deep and rich color tones from all the oils used in the tanning process.

This can be seen when you flex, crease and bend the leather because when you do that it causes the oils in the leather to move around.

Don’t worry though, the leather color will go back to normal once you stop creasing and bending it. In the case of Thorogood’s Briar Pitstop, those undertones are reddish in color.

The amount of oil used in the tanning process also gives the leather excellent water resistance.

Check out these other Thoroogod 1957 series Briar Pitstop work boots my colleague Jeff is wearing for his day job.

3. Tobacco

The third color Thorogood Wellington boots come in is Thorogood’s iconic oil-tanned Tobacco color that many of their popular Moc Toe boots come in.

Oil tanned leather is one of the most popular tannages used in the leather working industry world wide.

It’s also strong and rugged which makes it great for use in work boots but it is also very stylish which is part of the reason Thorogood boots are so popular.

I mean, who wouldn’t want a boot tough enough for work but still looks good enough to wear out for some drinks after work?

Both my colleague Adrian and I had a pair of Thorogood boots in this style, they were lace up though. Here’s Adrian’s review of his Thorogood 804-4200 moc toe boots.

What kind of outsole do Thorogood Wellingtons have?

Thorogood Wellingtons come with two different outsole options, a wedge sole and a sole with a 90° heel.

Both outsoles are Thorogood’s Maxwear outsole which is made from polyurethane rather than rubber or blown rubber which means it lasts longer and more durable than say a Vibram Christy sole.

The wedge sole is great if you are standing on finished concrete floors all day. The 90°heeled sole is better if you are stomping around muddy job sites, working at the farm or going up and down ladders all day.

My colleague Jeff wrote a very insightful wedge sole vs heel sole comparison article in which he shares the pros of cons of each one of these types of soles. Give it a read if you want to learn more about the topic.

Do Thorogood Wellington boots have a shank?

Yes! Yes, they do. Both the wedge sole and 90° sole have a fiberglass shank to help support your arches while keeping the boot weight down.

Do Thorogood Wellingtons have a Goodyear welt?

Yes, Thorogood Wellington boots are Goodyear welted work boots.

A Goodyear welt means that a strip of leather, or in Thorogood’s case synthetic material like PVC, known as a welt, is sewn around the perimeter of the boot’s leather upper.

Then a midsole is stitched to the welt and the outsole is then glued or glued and stitched to the midsole and welt.

Welted boots mean you can take them to a cobbler and have a new outsole put on if you wear it out, thus extending the life of the boots.

It’s also a stronger and more robust way to build a boot rather than gluing the outsole to the upper directly like many cheaper work boots such as the Brunt Marin Toe work boots for example.

By the way, if you’re new to work boots and you want to learn more, here’s a Brunt VS Thorogood work boots comparison in which my colleague Adrian is sharing some great information about the differences between these two brands.

Are Thorogood Wellington work boots comfortable?

Thorogood Wellington boots are comfortable, however, they do need to be broken in a bit before you can experience that comfort.

Below we’ll cover why they are comfortable and what you need to know about the break in.

1. The removable insole

The removable insole is one area where they really shine! In fact, it’s the one area that all Thorogood heritage work boots really shine in.

The removable insole is called the “Ultimate Shock Absorption” dual-density footbed. It’s called dual density because it uses two layers of polyethylene in its construction.

The first sits underfoot and has a built up arch area and contoured heel cup to provide all day cushion and comfort.

The second layer is in the form of two-strike pads under the footbed. One at the heel and one at the ball of the foot to provide excellent shock absorption while you walk!

2. Arch support

Aside from the arch support built into the removable footbed. Both boots have a decent amount of arch support built into the actual structure of the boots.

Naturally the version with the heel has a little more arch support than it’s wedge sole counterpart.

The heel version has a heel drop of about ¾ of an inch. The wedge sole on the other hand has a heel drop of ½ an inch.

3. Toe box space

The toe box space isn’t exactly the most spacious but it should fit a normal D width/medium foot without much issue.

It measures in at 3.894 inches at the ball of the foot and tapers down to 2.845 at the end of the toe box.

I’ll admit my toes feel a little cramped. But I also have the steel toe version, a soft toe however, should stretch a bit and feel a little roomier.

4. Break in period

They do have a bit of a break in period so be prepared! They were very stiff for the first several wears.

The heel cup/heel counter is contoured and curved in to help prevent slippage but this created a hot spot on my right heel that causes me to get a blister every time I wore them.

I ended up having to put a large bandage around my heel until they broke in.

They were also extremely tight on my right instep which is higher than my left instep, so I don’t blame the boot, it’s just that my feet are shaped differently than one another.

It took quite a while for the leather to break in around my instep on the right foot and during that time the boot caused my right foot to go numb until the leather finally broke in.

However, they are still tight on my instep.

Thorogood Wellington work boots fit and sizing

Now we’re going to talk about how they fit and whether or not Thorogood Wellingtons run big or small, if they are narrow and what kind of feet may not be the best fit for them.

1. Are Thorogood Wellingtons true to size?

Thorogood boots most definitely run true to size. There is no need to size down with Thorogood Wellington boots unlike other heritage brands that run a half size large.

On a Brannock Device, I’m sized at an 11.5E, and according to this sizing chart from Thorogood’s website, I wear an 11.5 E in their boots.

2. Do they run narrow?

Yes they do! If you’re like me, and you are between D and EE widths, go with EE, especially if you like to wear thick wool socks with your work boots.

Running narrow is one of the biggest complaints that I see about Thorogood boot online and the problem is only compounded by poor sizing advice on many online forums.

So if you have wide feet, I’m sorry to say but Thorogood Wellingtons might not be for you.

3. Will they fit high insteps?

If you have high insteps these may fit you poorly, and that is not a knock against Thorogood, some feet just aren’t compatible with certain boots.

I have a high instep on my right foot and I had a lot of problems with the right boot being tight across the top of my foot during the break in period.

This was partially my fault though, as I had never worn a pair of Wellington style boots before. I ended up buying a size D width because I was worried about my foot sliding around in a boot without laces.

I realize now that it was a mistake and I should have bought them in EE because I believe it would have alleviated some of the issues I had with the right boot making my foot go numb because a EE width would have had more overall volume inside the boot.

My advice, if you have high insteps and are dead set on wearing Thorogood Wellington boots you have two options.

• First, you can order a EE width so you have more space in the boot.
• Second, you can replace the removable Thorogood insole with a thinner one. The downside here is a thinner insole may provide less comfort.

When I put a thinner insole in my Thorogood Wellington boots it did alleviate the tightness issue around my instep and my right foot didn’t go numb. It also created a little more room width-wise.

Do Thorogood Wellingtons meet ASTM safety Standards?

Yes they do! What safety standards they meet depends on the style of boot you buy. Below I’ll cover the safety features you can expect to find in Thorogood Wellington boots.

1. Safety toe

Some of the styles do feature a ASTM compliant steel safety toe. A quick and easy way to determine which boots have a safety toe is by looking at the first three numbers of the style number.

Any boot beginning with the numbers “804” is going to have a safety toe. Anything starting with the numbers “814” is going to be a soft toe boot.

2. Shock resistant

All Thorogood Wellington boots meet ASTM compliance for electrical hazards. So if you’re an electrician that likes Wellington style boots it’s good news for you!

3. Slip Resistance

There is nothing on the boots themselves that indicate they meet ASTM standards for slip resistance, which by the way, is a relatively new standard.

The boots however are marketed as being oil and slip resistant and I have personally never had issues with slipping in either the wedge sole or the 90° heel sole.

How much do Thorogood Wellington boots cost?

They cost as low as $259.99 for the Tobacco wedge soles, all the way up to $294.99 for the Briar Pitstop boots. I leave you a table below where you can check and compare prices of the different Wellington work boots on different online stores.

Boot model	Amazon	Zappos
804-4330	See In-Store	Not available
814-4208	See In-Store	Not available
804-4205	See In-Store	See In-Store
804-3320	See In-Store	See In-Store
804-3311	See In-Store	See In-Store
804-4939	See In-Store	Not available
804-3310	See In-Store	Not available

Who can wear Wellington boots for work?

The answer to this question is highly dependent on your employer’s policies regarding work boot requirements.

Some employers will not let you wear them because Wellington/Pull On style work boots doesn’t provide very good ankle support.

To the best of my knowledge (and research skills!), I’m unaware of any outright prohibition on them in any specific industry or trade nor have I ever heard of them being banned at a job site.

My advice, check with your employer before buying them for work.

Quick FAQ about Thorogood Wellington work boots

Below I’ll answer some questions you might have about these boots and I didn’t have the chance to include in any of the above sections.

Where are Thorogood Wellington boots made?

The heritage line in this review is made right here in the good old US of America!

Are Thorogood Wellington boots available in different colors and styles?

Yes, as seen in this article, Thorogood Wellington boots come in a wide variety of styles and colors, different types of leathers, and also different toe caps, and outsole configurations.

Can Thorogood Wellington boots be worn in different weather conditions?

If you’re wondering whether you can wear a pair of Thorogood Wellington work boots in muddy or wet conditions, the answer is yes, you can.

It’s a matter of choosing the right Thorogood Wellington boot for the job.

In this case, you should go for a waterproof Thorogood Wellington boot that comes with a heel instead of a wedge sole.

This should keep your feet dry in wet conditions and the heel will give you stability and traction when working and walking through mud and soft ground.

Are Thorogood Wellington boots suitable for outdoor activities?

It depends on what you mean by outdoor activities.

If you’re asking whether the Thorogood Wellington boots are good for hiking and trekking the answer is no, these types of boots are not suited for those types of outdoor activities.

If you’re talking about gardening, farming, agricultural work, or working around the ranch, then yes, Thorogood Wellington boots are a great choice for these types of outdoor activities.

Are Thorogood Wellington boots waterproof?

Yes, some Thorogood Wellington work boots are indeed waterproof. Not all models though, only in the select styles we mentioned at the beginning of the review.

Do Thorogood Wellington boots have steel toe caps?

Yes, Thorogood Wellington boots do come with steel-toe safety caps. Some models that come with a steel toe cap are also available with a soft toe box if that’s what you’re looking for.

Additionally, if you’re looking for a Thorogood Wellington boot that comes with a non-metallic toe cap. The Thorogood Wellington Infinity HD model is what you need.

Are Thorogood Wellington boots suitable for industrial or construction work?

Yes, Thorogood Wellington boots are suitable for construction work and similar industries where a safety toe work boot is required since Thorogood Wellington safety boots meet the latest ASTM safety standards.

One thing you should be aware of is that some workplaces are not allowing workers to wear pull-on or slip-on style work boots due to the lack of ankle support in these boots.

So please check with your employer first before buying them for work.

Can Thorogood Wellington boots be resoled or repaired?

Yes, Thorogood Wellington boots can definitely be resoled thanks to their Goodyear welted sole construction.

Some models such as the Thorogood Wellington Infinity HD model are built by a direct attach method instead which makes it impossible to resole. But the vast majority of Thorogood Wellington work boots can be resoled.

Are Thorogood Wellington boots made from high-quality materials?

Yes, Thorogood Wellington work boots are made with high-quality materials.

From the leather used to make the upper, to the waterproof membrane to the sole and even the insole, Thorogood is using high-quality materials to make their Wellington work boots.

They could make their Goodyear welted boots using leather welts instead of PVC or TPU welts.

Leather welts last longer and are superior to synthetic welts such as PVC and TPU which are prone to cracking. This is one area that Thorogood could improve on.

Can Thorogood Wellington boots be used for horseback riding or equestrian activities?

The square-toe model boots might be good for this but the round-toe boots are not since the round-toe box will not allow you to stick your feet in the stirrup safely and comfortably enough.

Talking about safety, Thorogood Wellington boots come with polyurethane soles which is not what you want when you’re horse riding.

Why?

Because polyurethane has great anti-slippery properties which is helpful if you’re walking and working on slick surfaces.

But when you’re horseback riding you want to be able to get out of the stirrups as fast as possible in case of an emergency.

That’s why boots with leather outsoles are preferred when riding horses since you’ll be able to slip off fast and easily out of the stirrups if necessary. This is even more important especially if you’re not that experienced riding horses.

Having said that, many people will buy these types of boots to work at the ranch where occasionally they will ride horses too.

My final thoughts

In closing, I think Thorogood offers a very nice, albeit somewhat pricey, Wellington style boot.

They are built well enough for serious work and come with safety features that will meet your employer’s safety requirements. Yet they look good enough to wear casually around town.

I would personally prefer a leather welt for the price they are charging but the boots do look good and I think they are built well enough.

If Wellingtons are your thing I definitely think you’ll find Thorogood Wellingtons comfortable so long as you get your sizing right. I strongly urge you to print out the sizing chart we linked and use it.

Hopefully, in the very near future, we will have a Thorogood sizing guide to make sure our readers get boots that fit!

Well, I hope this helped!

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