SAFETY TOE BOOTS OR NOT.

[Wagtail]

Part of the problem is possibly having to go in and out of the house fifty times a day. That makes work boots impractical.

Nah, Mate. Quite a few of the work boots I'm seeing now have a zipper up the side... you lace them up to where they're comfortable and thereafter use the zip to put-on/take-off. Or there are the (Aussie-popular) elastic-sided work boots.

I have a Navy issued pair of "Oliver", steel-toed, firefighter boots. Lace-up but they come with a zipper 'insert' that goes where the laces are. A bit 'weighty', but extremely comfy once they're broken in.

 

[BrokenTrack]

Steel toes are just a part of the total protection a boot can offer. The second thing you want is metatarsal protection, which extends behind the steel toe and back towards the ankle.

Metatarsal boots offer better protection, but it sure comes at a cost.

I worked at a place that required them, and what we found was, while it did protect your feet better, because of the way they did so, you could not really walk normal-like. It was sort of stiff-footed if you will. Because of that, it really messed with our backs. Just about everyone in that shop saw a chiropractor for back problems, and even my own attributed my problem, and the problem of other coworkers, to the metatarsal work boots required at our job.

 

[Jstpssng]

Part of the problem is possibly having to go in and out of the house fifty times a day. That makes work boots impractical.

I had a JD 640 Fork Carrier I was welding, fall on my toes wearing running shoes. I still remember the unbelievable pain. I think that was the only time I broke or cracked a bone, in my toe. I probably should have been wearing work boots.

Learned something interesting from the ER Doc the next day. He got a bunsen (sp?) burner and made a straightened paper clip red hot, and poked it through my toe nail, like a hot knife through butter. INSTANTLY relieved the pressure and pain. Easily could have done it at home.

I learned that years ago, after jamming my thumb while opening a dump truck tailgate. The blood spurted out and sprayed the nurse... now that would have been a fiasco.
The worst part was that I did it on the job so comp paid for the outpatient visit; the endless paperwork involved was more painful than losing my thumbnail.
Since then I've gone to the Dr just once for a work related injury, after getting a stick in the eye; I just put it on my health insurance and paid the deductible.

 

[two_bit_score]

Metatarsal boots offer better protection, but it sure comes at a cost.

I worked at a place that required them, and what we found was, while it did protect your feet better, because of the way they did so, you could not really walk normal-like. It was sort of stiff-footed if you will. Because of that, it really messed with our backs. Just about everyone in that shop saw a chiropractor for back problems, and even my own attributed my problem, and the problem of other coworkers, to the metatarsal work boots required at our job.

Friend of mine had to wear those at work. He called them his Frankenstein boots because of the way they made him walk.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Imagine getting mowed down because you can't get out of the way fast enough, on account of your "SAFETY" boots? Like a bad dream, running away from danger in wet cement.

ALMOST smashed my pickup into something a few times when a stupid clunky pair of boots got caught between brake and accelerator pedals.

 

[Jstpssng]

Imagine getting mowed down because you can't get out of the way fast enough, on account of your "SAFETY" boots? Like a bad dream, running away from danger in wet cement.

ALMOST smashed my pickup into something a few times when a stupid clunky pair of boots got caught between brake and accelerator pedals.

That's one reason that I keep a pair of slip-on shoes under the seat... I wear them in the morning, so that my feet are wet and sweaty by the time that I get out of the truck; and in the evening, so that I don't have to keep my wet, heavy boots on until I get home.

 

[BrokenTrack]

The older I get, the more and more I just wear sneakers.

I do not do so while logging, but just about everything else I will.

Katie asked me the other day "why I was so hard on my sneakers", and I said it is because "I wear my sneakers like work boots now."

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
I used to buy a pair of New Balance sneakers every spring; they were made in Maine, of some material like cordura which handled getting wet. Then NB moved overseas, discontinued that line and I haven't bought a pair of sneakers since.

 

[Doofy]

My favorite slip-ons are Skechers Dual-Lite. Feather lite and very comfortable. Boots are just to hot and uncomfortable for a fat man.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Whenever I see that "N" on sneakers, I can't help think "OLD PEOPLE SHOES".

I wear institutional "no hole" crocks all summer around here, not off property. For chain sawing and just about everything. Feet can get pretty gross though! Sweat and dirt in a rubber shoe make mud!