Steel toe boots
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NSMaple1
Addicted to ArboristSite
OK, I'm still on my crappy tablet but Dancan nailed it with his link. I used a pair of Viking boots almost like the first ones on his page, but more like the calked ones further down the page but un- calked. I think I have around 10 years on them (not full time of course), and just picked up a pair of very lightly used Stihl boots to replace them that are identical boots to the old Vikings. Very reasonably priced, waterproof, durable, easy on and off, and I wear them whenever I am going anywhere that's wet even if I'm not sawing. As long as I'm able to walk, I will never be without a pair. They also work great with snowshoes, FYI...
Those Vikings are my winter boot but I have calked soles on them. They are sturdy but they are very heavy. After spending the dryer months wearing my Kuliens, those Vikings feel like they are concrete boots.
Just picked up a nice pair of waterproof red wing boots.
Try several on until you find one that feels right. Then buy that model. Best advice I can give for footwear.
Try several on until you find one that feels right. Then buy that model. Best advice I can give for footwear.
2012outdoorsman
ArboristSite Lurker
I am an engineer for a gas distribution utility and I am required to wear steel toe boos to work. I work with the gas mechanics hand in hand everyday who spend their life in the "trenches". Boots are pretty much the most important thing to them. Not a single one of them has the same boot. It's just like if I went in the parking lot and looked at their trucks. Each one has an opinion of why theirs is better.
I use to buy the $100 throw away boots and they lasted me a year. They were more hiking boot like but we're leaking and about in pieces when I threw them away. Truthfully during my work hours is my boots vacation time it's when I get home that they get their workout. I wear them day in and day out. A pair of sneakers will last me 8-10 years probably.
Last year I decided I'd spend a little more money and see if I could get a boot to last. I was not going to spend more than $200. The last guy I work with who came in with a pair of boots was cost $350. That's just not practical for my needs.
I decided my boots had to have a nmt (non metalic toe) this will keep your foot a little warmer in the winter time. Had to have goretex water proofing and a vibram lug sole. I ended up with a pair of danner quarry 6".
I love them. They are 1 year old right now and should last at least another year. They do not leak and the sole still has lots of life. I would buy another pair without hesitation. A lot of people love keen but the water proofing didn't last 3 months and the sole wore real quick.
My throw aways were comfortable out of the box unlike my Danners but the break in was worth it. I haven't had another brand of real work boots. My FIL recomended danner and that's why I gave them a try.
I couldn't do the logger style boot as it was just too much of a heel for me but that style is pretty popular at work. Good luck!
I use to buy the $100 throw away boots and they lasted me a year. They were more hiking boot like but we're leaking and about in pieces when I threw them away. Truthfully during my work hours is my boots vacation time it's when I get home that they get their workout. I wear them day in and day out. A pair of sneakers will last me 8-10 years probably.
Last year I decided I'd spend a little more money and see if I could get a boot to last. I was not going to spend more than $200. The last guy I work with who came in with a pair of boots was cost $350. That's just not practical for my needs.
I decided my boots had to have a nmt (non metalic toe) this will keep your foot a little warmer in the winter time. Had to have goretex water proofing and a vibram lug sole. I ended up with a pair of danner quarry 6".
I love them. They are 1 year old right now and should last at least another year. They do not leak and the sole still has lots of life. I would buy another pair without hesitation. A lot of people love keen but the water proofing didn't last 3 months and the sole wore real quick.
My throw aways were comfortable out of the box unlike my Danners but the break in was worth it. I haven't had another brand of real work boots. My FIL recomended danner and that's why I gave them a try.
I couldn't do the logger style boot as it was just too much of a heel for me but that style is pretty popular at work. Good luck!
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
I have a new pair of White almost a year old, I keep going back to my old blown out boots... I can wear them all day without pain. The Whites... no telling how many hours it will take to break in?!
Yup, when I worked on the east side which is quite a bit drier, I went through a pair of Whites. They were very comfy--I liked that broomstick arch. They lasted a season and a half and then had to go back for resoling--timber marking and cruising is hard on boots, you are walking and climbing and then working your way back down the hill all day long. But when I showed up over here with them, a guy called them east side sheep herder boots and said I needed to get calks, and Kuliens were the way to go but very spendy. Since off the shelf boots weren't available in my size anyway, I blew the big bucks and got a pair of 10 inch high Kulien calks and loved them.
I never could find a boot grease that kept the Whites from getting squishy when working on wet days. I hear that folks do now, but I still wonder. Maybe they changed their leather? I tried everything and they were like sponges.
The Kuliens? Well, I put the same boot grease on them and could wade creeks and only get them damp, until I wore holes in the backs of the heels from working on more steep ground with pumice soils. Those were repaired but water came in from then on. They still kept my feet drier than the Whites. They start at $700 now without any bells and whistles. They were $500 when I first got a pair, but worth it.
We switch to rubber calks in the winter because snow sticks to the leather calks and you end up walking on 6 inch platforms made of snow. That is a real safety hazard.
The rubber chainsaw boots are very reasonable and offer some of the best protection. The down side is weight and bulk. The upside is protection, water proof, and warmth (which can be a downside in the warmer months). Here are the rubber boots offered through baileys but do a google search for Husqvarna chainsaw boots and check ebay also. You might be able to buy a used pair in good shape for less than new or if you have a odd ball size foot.
http://www.baileysonline.com/Footwear/Chainsaw-Cut-Protection/
Several threads on this. Lots of personal opinions. I'll try to summarize some of it.
I like my toes. I wear steel toe boots for lots of work activities. Getting a well made boot, that fits your feet is also important, and very individual. I have found some steel toe industrial boots through a safety shoe distributor that are incredibly comfortable (Hy-Test Footbeds) for me, but they may not fit you.
A couple of things to consider:
- 'Logger Boots' are not chainsaw resistant, unless they specifically say that they are. 'Logging Boot' is a style. Chainsaw resistant means that there are Kevlar, or similar, fiber pads in the boot, similar to those used in chaps.
- 'Safety Toe' is not the same as 'Steel Toe'. Both are designed for crush resistance. Steel provides more cut resistance:
- If someone tells you that steel toes are more dangerous, because they will cut your toes off, they are just wrong. End of story.
- Those rubber, chainsaw resistant boots (Viking, et. al), mentioned earlier, are the most affordable, but a little clumsy. Good for walking around in wet, snowy fields; and pull-on, as you requested; but not for climbing over logs, rocks, steep hills, etc.
- As VF mentioned, the cost of good boots, compared to the cost of an injury (even a fall) . . . .
So, lots of choices. Hope these comments help you decide what is right for you.
Philbert
I like my toes. I wear steel toe boots for lots of work activities. Getting a well made boot, that fits your feet is also important, and very individual. I have found some steel toe industrial boots through a safety shoe distributor that are incredibly comfortable (Hy-Test Footbeds) for me, but they may not fit you.
A couple of things to consider:
- 'Logger Boots' are not chainsaw resistant, unless they specifically say that they are. 'Logging Boot' is a style. Chainsaw resistant means that there are Kevlar, or similar, fiber pads in the boot, similar to those used in chaps.
- 'Safety Toe' is not the same as 'Steel Toe'. Both are designed for crush resistance. Steel provides more cut resistance:
- If someone tells you that steel toes are more dangerous, because they will cut your toes off, they are just wrong. End of story.
- Those rubber, chainsaw resistant boots (Viking, et. al), mentioned earlier, are the most affordable, but a little clumsy. Good for walking around in wet, snowy fields; and pull-on, as you requested; but not for climbing over logs, rocks, steep hills, etc.
- As VF mentioned, the cost of good boots, compared to the cost of an injury (even a fall) . . . .
So, lots of choices. Hope these comments help you decide what is right for you.
Philbert
NSMaple1
Addicted to ArboristSite
They work great for doing concrete work too - lol.
They are a bit heavier, but I think there is some cross talking going on in the thread. The OP will have to decide what he's using them for, or needs them most for. Whenever I'm chain sawing, I'm not doing much walking, so the weight isn't an issue. If he's just looking for a work boot with steel toes, that's another thing. And if he's doing a lot of walking in them, that might be another. I have another pair of steel toe boots, more of a hiking boot style. If I'm going to be doing a lot of walking in a day, or splitting, & no sawing, I might put those on. But I would go to two pairs or styles of boots (one for sawing & one for not) before I would go to one pair of non-chainsaw boots to do it all including sawing. Saw boots are a must for sawing, IMO.
zogger
Tree Freak
I just use the husky boots when cutting, waterproof and chain resistant, around a hundred bucks. I also use their pro forest helmet and the full cutting pants.
http://www.husqvarna.com/us/accessories/boots/rubber-logger-boots/544027942/
http://www.husqvarna.com/us/accessories/boots/rubber-logger-boots/544027942/
If you get the chainsaw boots that are not cawks you can get studs for the sole which helps in ice and walking on logs (I highly recommend the studs, its like $20 extra and enough for both boots). The tread patteran of the Husky boots are aressive but on ice you will go for a ride without studs. Some of my hardest falls have been tripping over those damn boots or on ice without studs. To say they are clumbsy is an understatement, you have to re-learn how to walk with them on.
My 2 cents: Just went with Carolina lineman boots with composite toe this fall and couldn't be more pleased - Have the Schmidt (sp?) TSC steel toes as my "trash" pair (note: my woods are VERY rocky). Like others said it is a preference. I was very happy with Timberlands back in the day but the last was the Pro version & the worst ever. First pair of boots I stopped wearing before they were worn out.
BTW - I considered the logging heel Carolina's but they talked me out of them as are a bit "tippy" and unstable under normal conditions. Made sense to me as I am not spending that much time in log piles where it would be a factor vs the everyday work.
BTW - I considered the logging heel Carolina's but they talked me out of them as are a bit "tippy" and unstable under normal conditions. Made sense to me as I am not spending that much time in log piles where it would be a factor vs the everyday work.
066blaster
Addicted to ArboristSite
Mine don't look very fashionable anymore, maybe I'll keep them till my toes poke through the steel, then maybe weld them with some filler rod and keep them another year.I was gonna pull a funny by downloading a picture of a Carolina boot and photoshopping a stiletto heel onto it, but you know, now that I see them, I really don't need to:
That picture comes straight from Carolina's own website; this particular boot is called "Men's 8” Steel Toe Waterproof Logger - CA9823." The website description sets this up as exactly the kind of straight-up work boot we're talking about here - steel toe, steel shank, waterproof, electrical hazard rated - but man, that heel makes it look like someone's idea of a fashion boot. I'd feel like Elton John walking around in those. I'm not surprised they're giving you trouble.
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waterman28
ArboristSite Lurker
Good god man put a layer of sho-goo on those and they will be good to go for five more years. I swear by that stuff...
Ironworker
Addicted to ArboristSite
http://www.theunionbootpro.com
I prefer composite, just as safe as steel but lighter and more comfortable.
I prefer composite, just as safe as steel but lighter and more comfortable.
Not as safe if your talking Chainsaw protection.
Way to many toe injuries for me. steel toes all the time here. Carolina composite 8in is what i'm wearin now. And sorrel steel toe for all this mud.
olympyk_999
Addicted to ArboristSite
you guys even allowed to wear non union made boots or what? I know you wouldn't but just wondering if its even an option?
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