Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Around The House). This thread is read-only.
O.K all you hard working get stuck in and dirty types, who really makes the best working boots?
Which company keeps your feet happy and safe on the job site?
Wayne Burgess wrote:
O.K all you hard working get stuck in and dirty types, who really makes the best working boots?
Which company keeps your feet happy and safe on the job site?
Redwings are my current footware. I have a few pairs for different uses. For an 8″ boot good for getting down and dirty I use their 2218s I usually get three years out of them, vs the six to nine months lesser boots like Timberlands last. I’m also a big fan of their 406s for a light boot, almost like wearing high top sneakers. Before I moved to Florida I liked Whites insulated hunters they were the longest lasting boots I ever owned and among the most comfortable as well
Redwing average £250 a pair over here and not allowed on our building sites. 🙁
I used to wear Redwing ONLY! But over the last couple years the styles available through my company’s boot voucher program were awful. Apparently there are two tiers of Redwings now, a quality American made $200+ tier, and a budget tier made in God only knows what country. Of course the only ones our voucher worked for was the crappy models. I migrated to Timberland Pro and I’ve been really satisfied with them, the 6″ Pit Boss is my preference with the 6″ Titan a close 2nd. Coal Miners are harder on boots as anyone and most of them wear Matadors. They’re tough as iron but they take 6 months to break in. Same goes for Iron Age. Good boots, tough to break in.
Wayne Burgess wrote:
Redwing average £250 a pair over here and not allowed on our building sites. 🙁
Why aren’t they allowed ??? Over here they are ASTM 2413-05 compliant, so they keep our bureaucrats happy, Are you guys forced to use ISO 20345: 2004?
I migrated to Timberland Pro and I’ve been really satisfied with them, the 6″ Pit Boss is my preference with the 6″ Titan a close 2nd. Coal Miners are harder on boots as anyone and most of them wear Matadors. They’re tough as iron but they take 6 months to break in. Same goes for Iron Age. Good boots, tough to break in.
Three of the four Timberlands that I’ve had have failed in pretty short order, two had thread failures and came apart at the stitches, on the third the padded collar disintegrated. I do have one pair left, the Iditarods that I only wear in the snow.
I have never heard of Matador boots, got a link?
Yes we have to have steel in the under sole to prevent injury from sharp items through the sole of the boot.
My job involves climbing kneeling up down all day and I have never found a boot that is comfortable and lasts but also meets the regulations. 🙁
Not Matador, those are the cowboy boots my wife bought. Matterhorn is what I meant. Google them. They are as tough as the come. As far as Timberland durability, I get a new pair every year and I usually try and stretch them out to 2. I’ve never had a pair just up and fail on me though.
Wayne Burgess wrote:
Yes we have to have steel in the under sole to prevent injury from sharp items through the sole of the boot.
My job involves climbing kneeling up down all day and I have never found a boot that is comfortable and lasts but also meets the regulations. 🙁
the 3226 would meet most of those requirements, Made in China 🙁 probably not one of their better boots, so lasting and comfortable they may not be….
Can’t find anywhere that sells them over here. 🙁
Conductor562 wrote:
Not Matador, those are the cowboy boots my wife bought. Matterhorn is what I meant. Google them. They are as tough as the come.
Wow, I bet those MT801s would rock for concrete work.
As far as Timberland durability, I get a new pair every year and I usually try and stretch them out to 2. I’ve never had a pair just up and fail on me though.
I’m tough on my footwear, If I’m not out in the woods mucking about, I’m all over everything on the jobsite, and the constant flexing just tears them up. I consider myself lucky if a pair of normal boots lasts six months. So I either buy one $250 pair of boots or 3 $100 pair of boots every 2 or so years.
I’d say probably 8 out of 10 coal miners wear Matterhorns. Some of the guys that spend most of their time inside (loadouts, etc.) wear lighter stuff, but most all the guys that are out in the real mining area wear em.
That’s good to know about the work boots. Always looking for something. My feet are so messed up. Currently I have the China RedWing boots. I have to say they are great. I didn’t know Redwings had two different types of boots, the U.S. and the China brand. I was still assuming they were all made in the US. They are very comfortable, but I am pissed finding out they were China made. If I knew, I would have bought the US version. I bought them a couple months ago and found out a couple weeks ago, they were China.
We had 2 styles of Redwings available through our program. Some of the guys that got the other model seemed to like them, but the ones I got might as well been made of concrete. I have a 10″ pair or Insulated Redwings I only wear when it gets cold and nasty. They’re great boots, but I gave like $250 for them several years ago.
Conductor562 wrote:
We had 2 styles of Redwings available through our program. Some of the guys that got the other model seemed to like them, but the ones I got might as well been made of concrete. I have a 10″ pair or Insulated Redwings I only wear when it gets cold and nasty. They’re great boots, but I gave like $250 for them several years ago.
If you have to stand around in the snow all day, nothing beats a pair of Sorels
Getting hold of some of the cool stuff you guys have is very very hard because either they don’t sell them at all over here, or they cost twice as much by the time they are posted.
Be cheaper for me to hire a container and do a 3 year U.S shopping spree and then have that shipped.LOL 🙂
Wayne Burgess wrote:
Getting hold of some of the cool stuff you guys have is very very hard because either they don’t sell them at all over here, or they cost twice as much by the time they are posted.
Be cheaper for me to hire a container and do a 3 year U.S shopping spree and then have that shipped.LOL 🙂
When I was in the motorcycle biz, that was often a viable option, if you could deal with 12 week plus shipping time and all the customs/paperwork hassles.
I can honestly say that I’ve never priced international shipping, but I know it’s got to be high.
Hands down Wolverine. I guess it would depend on exactly what you are looking for though. I for one can not wear any other boot, or shoe without nearly instant back aches and knee aches. As soon as I put my Wolverine durashocks on the pain goes away. I am on my fourth pair spaning ten years…
Just this newbies opinion………..
I had a pair or Durashocks one time. The were nice boots. I’d have probably stuck with them if my company had offered them in the boot program.
It’s notbuying them, its shipping them that’s a problem, it costs an arm and a leg to get things sent to the U.K. 🙁
Wayne Burgess wrote:
It’s notbuying them, its shipping them that’s a problem, it costs an arm and a leg to get things sent to the U.K. 🙁
Surely you have some decent domesticly made boots, no?
Wayne Burgess wrote:
It’s notbuying them, its shipping them that’s a problem, it costs an arm and a leg to get things sent to the U.K. 🙁
Surely, you have some decent domestically produced boots, no?
We can get the Dewalt boots.Dickies Boots are tough but like lead on your feet.
I was wondering what else was out there, and trying to find something out there that was tough,light, water proof, and stands up well when kneeling as well as up and down ladders,steps and stairs with comfort.Tall order I know but my job is very demanding on foot wear as well as on me LOL.
Just bought a pair of dewalt slide work boots with steel toecaps breathable design all the bells and whistles and yes you guessed it got home and while opening the box those familiar words are written on the box.Made in China.
Very comfortable boots but I honestly thought they would have been made in the U.S or over here in the U.K did not expect them made in China that’s for sure.
Quick update on these Dewalt work boots.
Very comfortable and took no wearing in.And much to the relief of the population of Lancashire they don’t make my feet smell like the bog of eternal stench.( name the movie lol)
Happy feet I got those happy feet LOL 🙂
I’ve had a couple of redwings and they were pretty good but don’t last long in concrete(longer than most of course).
I’ve been using Timberlands for a few years now and am very happy with them. I think it just depends on your body and job.
My employer has been supplying Timberland Pro the last few years. They are very comfortable and hold up pretty well. Redwing started making “select models” in China. They are like concrete.
The Dewalt boots have held up for a few months but are looking and feeling a bit tired now and have taken to throwing my rigger boots in the van just in case they give up on me while am out there. 🙂
I looooooooooove redwings!
Old thread, but I’m bored and catching up on old material. 🙂
I’m not super hard on my boots, but i bought these a few months ago and love them. They’re heavy, but I like that they’re ‘loaded’….steel toe, puncture resistant, water resistant, etc….
I wear these at work, by far the best boots I have ever worn
I dont put much money towards work boots, steeled toed Brahmas from walmart do the trick for me.
ChaseRogers wrote:
I dont put much money towards work boots, steeled toed Brahmas from walmart do the trick for me.
If you had to wear them all day, every day, you’d trash those Brahmas before long.
Conductor562 wrote:
If you had to wear them all day, every day, you’d trash those Brahmas before long.
Haha at the tennis courts I have to wear tennis shoes because we are not suppose to loo like “workers”…
How are Danner boots? I have heard good thing about the stuff they make.
I had a pair of Danner Canadians one. Very nice doots, think they’re still around somewhere.
Trouble is if they last they develop an odour and in some cases a life all they’re own. 🙂
Me i realy like the magnum boots
Jeth wrote:
Me i realy like the magnum boots
Never heard of them. My boot experience is as follows:
Red Wings: I always wore Red Wings. They were great boots, but they’ve slowly gotten all Chinese. They still make some nice boots, but you have to pay attention to what you’re buying. If they aren’t in the $200 range, leave them on the shelf.
Timberland Pro: The most comfortable boots out of the box that I’ve ever owned. No break in period at all. With heavy use, a year or so is all you’re getting out of most models. The Pit Boss models seem to hold up the best.
Matterhorn: Will outlive your children under normal use. They are stiff and require 3 months to break in. The are heavy. Excellent quality, just forever breaking them in.
Florsheim: My experience with Florsheim was about like Timberland Pro. Comfortable and affordable, but only 3 stars for durability.
Danner: The last pair of Danners I had was 15 years ago. They were excellent boots all around and were very comfortable. A lot can change in 15 years, but if they are like they used to be, they are fine boots.
Wolverine: (See Florsheim)
Magnum are u.s. military boots , and for welding i use royer
Jeth wrote:
Magnum are u.s. military boots , and for welding i use royer
Ahh, tactical boots. Should’ve guessed from the name
I love my Royer’s like I posted earlier, By FAR the best I ever had at work… And I tried a few pairs in the last 5 years, I go through a pair almost every 10 months… Boots don’t last long where I work but the Royer’s are awesome boots
Never hear of Royers either. Some kind of specialty boots?
Conductor562 wrote:
Never hear of Royers either. Some kind of specialty boots?
Nope just a small company up hear in Quebec that makes really nice boots
Royer’s are realy top quality boots !!! I love them !!! A Bit expensive but worth every penny
The past three summers I have been working as a park ranger for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Our duty boots that we wear are Danner. They are by far the best boot I have ever worn. I get a new pair every summer but my first pair is still holding up.
I know this don’t sound right but I like red wings…lol
I have a pair too and I like them as well.
I like Danner boots,althou you might not find them in the UK.
Search for what they call logger boots. Those types of boots have steel shanks in them and are usually built like tanks.
Arent Dr. Martens made in UK? You’d think they would have something. I love Dr. Martens air sole.