WVBill,
I can't think of the brand name of the boots I just bought but I'll tell you what I was looking for in a boot. I think the features are more important anyway. They may have been Iron Age. I think that was the name of the store that sold the boots but I might be wrong. If you really want to know I'll take a look and get the name.
I needed tall boots, 8 inches high so I can wrap ace bandages around my boot tops and trouser legs. This keeps the chiggers and ticks off of me for the most part. I've yet to find a chemical agent that stops these things. The chemicals scare me anyway. Tall boots, long trousers, and ace bandages work just fine.
I DONT like the quick lace eyelets on boots. They are nice when you lace up the shoes but they catch twigs, vines, sticks, etc. when working. Thats a bad thing when working with a chainsaw. I don't want to trip and fall carrying a chainsaw..... I think that would be a bad thing! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Besides you only lace the boots up once a day, so I can spend the extra second or two it takes to lace up.....
If you are going to get a boot with a "steel" toe push around the front of the boot to see how far back that protection goes. Most of the steel toe boots I was looking at only protected a couple of inches at the front of the boot. Not much protection if the chain saw hits the top of my foot or I drop a metal bar in the same place. The cheaper boots usually only had this leve of protection. The boot I ended up getting has protection that extends a good way up the foot. I'm not sure its all metal but there is something very hard that is on the top of the foot. Sure better than just leather.
Get a boot that can be resoled. The cheaper boots are glued on. I have not had any luck regluing the two pairs of cheap boots I have worn out. My dad has a pair of leather boots he bought in the 60's. He has worn them quite a bit and then I wore them working some summer farm jobs over the years. The soles finally wore out so we took it to a cobbler who put on new soles and the boots are as good as new.
Most of the boots seem to be using a Goodyear sole which provides some sort of electrical insulating protection as well as good skid performance. Don't know if its true but a lot of the boots I looked at/read about had the Goodyear sole.
You might also want to check out
http://www.rei.com. The stores have a good amount of information on what to look for in hiking boots as well as how to fit a boot. Some of that would apply to work boots as well.
I noticed some online stores selling boots. I was going to do mail order but I really wanted to see the boots in person and try them on. It took three trips to the store before I finally bought the boots! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Check your area for stores that sell safety shoes/boots to companies. This is where I got my boots. They certainly are great quality. But for what I paid they should! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
My requirements may not be the same as yours but at least it gives you some ideas....
Later...
Dan McCarty
