Need steel toe shoe/boot recommendations

[wedi42]

i'm probably one of the few that don't like redwings.
i wasn't happy with any work boots till i bought timberlands from sears.
i guess everyone's feet are different.

 

[LordMorpheus]

We have the steel-toe discussion every once in a while, and I've never seen this level of support for redwings on this board ...

I do like mine. I like a shoe where I can wear the pattern off the tread (almost gone!) without anything else wearing out or breaking.

 

[ed21x]

I'm currently wearing boots from Hi-Tec. here They're quite cheap and seem to be standing up better than the timberlands that I've had before.

 

[Exterous]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Wolverines

I have worn steel toe of both wolverine and red wings - Overall I liked the woverine Durashocks much better. I found them more comfortable, my pair lasted longer and liked the slip resistant soles (it wasn't required, but nice to have)

 

[alkemyst]

WTF are you going to be doing?

Steel toes can be something HR just wants to have to something the workers REQUIRE!

There are alot of styles of steel toes now from boots to sneaks. What kind of shoe are you looking for?

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
WTF are you going to be doing?

Steel toes can be something HR just wants to have to something the workers REQUIRE!

There are alot of styles of steel toes now from boots to sneaks. What kind of shoe are you looking for?

Well, if they're willing to pay for it then I'm just going to get a pair I can wear out whenever we do site visits. Some places require it and some don't, but I'd rather just have a pair that gets dirty and beat up rather than wear my rockports and mess those up.

Text

I ended up getting these. Although they are made in china, they were 40 dollars under the bar and are actually quite comfortable. I'll let you know if they start falling apart..haha. Good to know they are electrical hazard rated...

 

[Gibson486]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=38&threadid=2275444

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: alkemyst
WTF are you going to be doing?

Steel toes can be something HR just wants to have to something the workers REQUIRE!

There are alot of styles of steel toes now from boots to sneaks. What kind of shoe are you looking for?

Well, if they're willing to pay for it then I'm just going to get a pair I can wear out whenever we do site visits. Some places require it and some don't, but I'd rather just have a pair that gets dirty and beat up rather than wear my rockports and mess those up.

Text

I ended up getting these. Although they are made in china, they were 40 dollars under the bar and are actually quite comfortable. I'll let you know if they start falling apart..haha. Good to know they are electrical hazard rated...

If I remember correctly, NAOH and I work in the same industry at competing firms....

We have to wear it. If we open a cabinet in with more than 120V, we need electrically rated shoes (as well as a whole fire retardant attire). If Osha comes along and sees that we are are not equiped with the proper attire (and they do random checks), the company we work for will get fined more than the cost of the boots.

 

[lokiju]

Doc Martens

I used to work a job that required me to wear steal toed boots and I got Red Wings since everyone swore up and down they were the best but they were heavy, shitty quality (yea yea they have life time warranty) and just overall seemed not worth the money in the end.

The next time I got some Doc Martens (Dr. Martens technically) and they were soo freaking light compared to the red wings, the quality was top notch, they have life time warranty and were so much more comfortable.

Well worth the money IMO.

These are similar to the ones I have

 

[hanoverphist]

cats are very comfy. skechers makes a couple comfy pairs as well. mine are the generic ones you get at Kmart tho, i rarely wear them. i wear a pair of skechers that look like they are steel toe and no one notices. since the most i do is walk the site for surveys or to tell people what to do where, i really dont need actual steel toes. as an electrician, im supposed to be wearing "hard toe" shoes anyway, steel toes are the debbil apparently.

 

[EMPshockwave82]

Redwing / Wolverine

Even if your work budget is 150 bucks, PLEASE get yourself a GOOD PAIR of boots and don't care how much it costs. If you get a bad pair of boots and you are in / on them all day you will never forget it. Walk around the store for a few minutes after you pick them out and make sure they don't hurt your feet anywhere. Make sure the bottoms are soft enough. Take your time in selecting the correct pair of boots because not all boots are created equal.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Ahh, steel toe boots. Good at separating your foot from your toes.

true that, i crushed a pair when i was younger moving a freezer. had to cut the boots off, broke 3 toes. any farther and id only have 2 toes. i also dropped 8 pieces of 1/4"X3'X5' steel sheet that i had just cut on my foot at a different job, slid down the steel toe and smashed my footsie. that felt like i lost a foot for a week. im really glad i get to wear a collared shirt and carry a laptop to work now instead of real tools.

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: alkemyst
WTF are you going to be doing?

Steel toes can be something HR just wants to have to something the workers REQUIRE!

There are alot of styles of steel toes now from boots to sneaks. What kind of shoe are you looking for?

Well, if they're willing to pay for it then I'm just going to get a pair I can wear out whenever we do site visits. Some places require it and some don't, but I'd rather just have a pair that gets dirty and beat up rather than wear my rockports and mess those up.

Text

I ended up getting these. Although they are made in china, they were 40 dollars under the bar and are actually quite comfortable. I'll let you know if they start falling apart..haha. Good to know they are electrical hazard rated...

If I remember correctly, NAOH and I work in the same industry at competing firms....

We have to wear it. If we open a cabinet in with more than 120V, we need electrically rated shoes (as well as a whole fire retardant attire). If Osha comes along and sees that we are are not equiped with the proper attire (and they do random checks), the company we work for will get fined more than the cost of the boots.

This is true. The place I've been to regularly is supposed to require us to wear a full suit to protect us against arcing after opening the cabinets.. But no one at the place actually wears the suit or anything. Hell, my whole team has been to the site for years and we've gone in all sorts of apparel. It's crazy. I don't think I wanna take chances with this new place since someone told me they were running high voltage conduit in the ponds that are on the site...

 

[Redfraggle]

Aside from wear issues, don't take other people's opinion on brand into account. Everyone's foot is different, so try on a few brands and models to see what fits your foot comfortably.

 

[TheNinja]

I've had 2 pair of brown Dr. Martin's and 2 pair of black. The black ones are very stiff and sort of uncomfortable. The brown ones seem much softer.

Also, if you go anywhere near snow/ice, do NOT get the Dr. Martin's. They are horrible on ice and snow.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: alkemyst
WTF are you going to be doing?

Steel toes can be something HR just wants to have to something the workers REQUIRE!

There are alot of styles of steel toes now from boots to sneaks. What kind of shoe are you looking for?

Well, if they're willing to pay for it then I'm just going to get a pair I can wear out whenever we do site visits. Some places require it and some don't, but I'd rather just have a pair that gets dirty and beat up rather than wear my rockports and mess those up.

Text

I ended up getting these. Although they are made in china, they were 40 dollars under the bar and are actually quite comfortable. I'll let you know if they start falling apart..haha. Good to know they are electrical hazard rated...

If I remember correctly, NAOH and I work in the same industry at competing firms....

We have to wear it. If we open a cabinet in with more than 120V, we need electrically rated shoes (as well as a whole fire retardant attire). If Osha comes along and sees that we are are not equiped with the proper attire (and they do random checks), the company we work for will get fined more than the cost of the boots.

This is true. The place I've been to regularly is supposed to require us to wear a full suit to protect us against arcing after opening the cabinets.. But no one at the place actually wears the suit or anything. Hell, my whole team has been to the site for years and we've gone in all sorts of apparel. It's crazy. I don't think I wanna take chances with this new place since someone told me they were running high voltage conduit in the ponds that are on the site...

I wouldn't even think twice about it either. Whenever I go in, the first thing i ask is if it is alright to shut that panel down if it's higher than 120. I'd rather do that than get hurt by the impact of an arc. I saw those videos and the plant I go to now had an accident where they guy dropped his screw driver in between contacts. The result was not pretty. I just know that I want to live above the age of 50....I take no chances.

 

[NaOH]

Damn, something like that happened in my area too. The workers told me a story about a guy that was working in a cabinet with a live breaker (mistake) and it caused an explosion. When I visited, there was still a huge black mark in the area where the explosion happened. Freaking eerie. Oh yeah, he died of course.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: ed21x
I'm currently wearing boots from Hi-Tec. here They're quite cheap and seem to be standing up better than the timberlands that I've had before.

that is my all time fave shoe right there. last forever, comfy and fairly cheap. i usually can get those to last for 3+ years, and im damn hard on shoes. im not supposed to be able to wear em for work tho, they are my after work and weekend shoes.

 

[cherrytwist]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Wolverines

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: alkemyst
WTF are you going to be doing?

Steel toes can be something HR just wants to have to something the workers REQUIRE!

There are alot of styles of steel toes now from boots to sneaks. What kind of shoe are you looking for?

Well, if they're willing to pay for it then I'm just going to get a pair I can wear out whenever we do site visits. Some places require it and some don't, but I'd rather just have a pair that gets dirty and beat up rather than wear my rockports and mess those up.

Text

I ended up getting these. Although they are made in china, they were 40 dollars under the bar and are actually quite comfortable. I'll let you know if they start falling apart..haha. Good to know they are electrical hazard rated...

If I remember correctly, NAOH and I work in the same industry at competing firms....

We have to wear it. If we open a cabinet in with more than 120V, we need electrically rated shoes (as well as a whole fire retardant attire). If Osha comes along and sees that we are are not equiped with the proper attire (and they do random checks), the company we work for will get fined more than the cost of the boots.

This is true. The place I've been to regularly is supposed to require us to wear a full suit to protect us against arcing after opening the cabinets.. But no one at the place actually wears the suit or anything. Hell, my whole team has been to the site for years and we've gone in all sorts of apparel. It's crazy. I don't think I wanna take chances with this new place since someone told me they were running high voltage conduit in the ponds that are on the site...

what? we do 480v every day and dont have to wear gear. we are arc-flash certified as well. we have high voltage teams that have to suit up for work, but our regular crews work inside 480v 600a cabs all the time with regular clothes on. hell, ive wired comms to VFDs sitting inside 480v cabs while they were live and im the programmer.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: alkemyst
WTF are you going to be doing?

Steel toes can be something HR just wants to have to something the workers REQUIRE!

There are alot of styles of steel toes now from boots to sneaks. What kind of shoe are you looking for?

Well, if they're willing to pay for it then I'm just going to get a pair I can wear out whenever we do site visits. Some places require it and some don't, but I'd rather just have a pair that gets dirty and beat up rather than wear my rockports and mess those up.

Text

I ended up getting these. Although they are made in china, they were 40 dollars under the bar and are actually quite comfortable. I'll let you know if they start falling apart..haha. Good to know they are electrical hazard rated...

If I remember correctly, NAOH and I work in the same industry at competing firms....

We have to wear it. If we open a cabinet in with more than 120V, we need electrically rated shoes (as well as a whole fire retardant attire). If Osha comes along and sees that we are are not equiped with the proper attire (and they do random checks), the company we work for will get fined more than the cost of the boots.

This is true. The place I've been to regularly is supposed to require us to wear a full suit to protect us against arcing after opening the cabinets.. But no one at the place actually wears the suit or anything. Hell, my whole team has been to the site for years and we've gone in all sorts of apparel. It's crazy. I don't think I wanna take chances with this new place since someone told me they were running high voltage conduit in the ponds that are on the site...

what? we do 480v every day and dont have to wear gear. we are arc-flash certified as well. we have high voltage teams that have to suit up for work, but our regular crews work inside 480v 600a cabs all the time with regular clothes on. hell, ive wired comms to VFDs sitting inside 480v cabs while they were live and im the programmer.

don't count your lucky stars....you may not have any left....

besides, you do that with OSHA there? If so, prepare for a $3K fine.

 

[habib89]

i got these http://www.redwingshoes.com/pr...tails.aspx?prodid=1970

my company paid for them. i wanted something that is casual looking since i work in an office with frequent manufacturing plant visits. they were slightly uncomfortable until i broke them in. took about a week or two. also takes a while to get used to the weight of the shoe depending on what you wear now.

 

[JDub02]

I have 2 pair of Timberland PRO's. Very comfortable. Just make sure you get the correct width. I wear a normal width shoe, but need a wide with steel-toes because of the toebox.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: NaOH

Originally posted by: alkemyst
WTF are you going to be doing?

Steel toes can be something HR just wants to have to something the workers REQUIRE!

There are alot of styles of steel toes now from boots to sneaks. What kind of shoe are you looking for?

Well, if they're willing to pay for it then I'm just going to get a pair I can wear out whenever we do site visits. Some places require it and some don't, but I'd rather just have a pair that gets dirty and beat up rather than wear my rockports and mess those up.

Text

I ended up getting these. Although they are made in china, they were 40 dollars under the bar and are actually quite comfortable. I'll let you know if they start falling apart..haha. Good to know they are electrical hazard rated...

If I remember correctly, NAOH and I work in the same industry at competing firms....

We have to wear it. If we open a cabinet in with more than 120V, we need electrically rated shoes (as well as a whole fire retardant attire). If Osha comes along and sees that we are are not equiped with the proper attire (and they do random checks), the company we work for will get fined more than the cost of the boots.

This is true. The place I've been to regularly is supposed to require us to wear a full suit to protect us against arcing after opening the cabinets.. But no one at the place actually wears the suit or anything. Hell, my whole team has been to the site for years and we've gone in all sorts of apparel. It's crazy. I don't think I wanna take chances with this new place since someone told me they were running high voltage conduit in the ponds that are on the site...

what? we do 480v every day and dont have to wear gear. we are arc-flash certified as well. we have high voltage teams that have to suit up for work, but our regular crews work inside 480v 600a cabs all the time with regular clothes on. hell, ive wired comms to VFDs sitting inside 480v cabs while they were live and im the programmer.

don't count your lucky stars....you may not have any left....

besides, you do that with OSHA there? If so, prepare for a $3K fine.

yes, osha has been onsite with a hard on many times while we do it. we arent a fly-by-night contractor, we have a UL508 shop, 24 hr service as well as a construction division. our reqs for opening a cab are pretty well laid out, but we dont have to suit up in arc flash gear over 120v. one lady osha inspector made us her pet project for 8 months when she saw one of our guys in a 6' trench without shoring, so she literally followed our guys from site to site to try to get us on more. even did it on her own time, which was the part that got her fired for stalking us. are you commercial? i wonder if its the difference from commercial to industrial. we are all industrial, and i only deal with telemetry, comms and the programming/ gfx side of it all. ill do control wiring when needed, but its not my regular job. control is never over 120v, usually 24vdc

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist


yes, osha has been onsite with a hard on many times while we do it. we arent a fly-by-night contractor, we have a UL508 shop, 24 hr service as well as a construction division. our reqs for opening a cab are pretty well laid out, but we dont have to suit up in arc flash gear over 120v. one lady osha inspector made us her pet project for 8 months when she saw one of our guys in a 6' trench without shoring, so she literally followed our guys from site to site to try to get us on more. even did it on her own time, which was the part that got her fired for stalking us. are you commercial? i wonder if its the difference from commercial to industrial. we are all industrial, and i only deal with telemetry, comms and the programming/ gfx side of it all. ill do control wiring when needed, but its not my regular job. control is never over 120v, usually 24vdc

well, we do both commercial and industrial. I also do the controls side and I still have to suit up whenever they will not let me shut down a panel that has anything over 120.