Looking for new Work boots?

[willsaw4beer]

Get a pair of American made Red Wings, keep the leather conditioned periodically, and be glad you did.

 

[saxman]

I have worn Red Wings for over 27 years working for a state highway department, I have tried other brands down through the years but always end up back with the Red Wing steel toes. They are made with very high quality leather and just hold up better than the others.

 

[XJWoody]

Danners here

I almost cried the day I had to pitch my first pair of Danner Acadias. But we had a fresh set on, so all was good. That set is like 14 years old now, third resole and somethings broke inside one (pops when stepping off) For a lighter duty shoe (walking & standing on decent surfaces) these rock.

8 years ago I took a job that required safety toes, and it was winter (in NC) At the time we could get a $60 allowance per year for safety shoes. I invested in a pair of Ft Lewis boots, 800gm, non-metallic safety toe. Perfect for construction surveying, but 2 days of asphalt paving and the outsoles were bombed. Resoled and I stay off hot mix... A good boot for a mix of support/protection and mobility. These are my wood-sawing and brush-pile burning boots anymore.

I took more of an indoor job since, and have dabbled around:

Cabela's Trail Lite hikers... Offshore, but a good value for goretex, I dunno about a lot of hiking with the boxy steel toed ones, but for me have proved durable and worth a hundred bucks. My first pair is 8 years old... caught hell, all sorts of abuse, not w/p anymore but still comfy. The 'new' pair is 3ish and doing fine.

Danner (china) 6" basic workboot with the squishy barely-tread foamy sole (at Ft Bragg, I think they called them "Electrician Soles") 5 years old. That pair of boots is totally comfy, but the lining is getting ragged and needs new insoles. The leather is hagged from ABC... Great value @ around $75, not w/p. May have to go in the trash basket

Chippewa (china) 6" basic workboots. Nothing comfort to write home about, compared to the similar priced Danner 6" (china) but they have held up. No real walking in these, just a lot of standing.

I just bought a pair of Danner Quarry II 8" gtx. Sadly, these are (china) as well. Worn them 10 hours and seemed good (keepers) so they got a date with the convection oven @ 125° and several coats of Danner boot goo. (the Acadia and the Ft Lewis took a few drinks of the goo, too)

I also just bought a pair of Danner cross-hikers... (china too ) going to ressurect my PT program. XC walks/runs building to weighted ruck-marches.

So one could surmise I have some chips in Danner's basket. Their products have proven worth to me, so I stick with. China sucks though... I should buy another pair of Acadias for the rucking. ??

I agree with Jasha a lot that (maybe layering for fit) good socks can really help. I am a sz 7 left and a 7.5 right, I have to favor the bigger foot for shoe size.

Dumb question? What do those tall "logger boots" help? Just extra calf protection from abrasions or? When I was rucking (backpack walking) tall boots were not my friend...

 

[PB]

Hey XJ, I had the same problem with my Rainforests clicking, it's not the midsole. The cobbler said the glue came undone from repeated use and the clicking sound was from the tackiness of the glue grabbing and letting go, if that makes sense.

The USA Danner hikers are worth every penny. I had the Radicals, but they didn't hold up very long.

 

[Smokerr]

or the steel toes my cut your toes off depending on what you drop on them

Yep, tell that to OSHA, good luck with the discussion

Wood cutting is probably the only place there is any real benefit to steel toes!

On the other hand, Wolverine has an entire lineup of shoes to fit any use, including huge numbers of no steel toes.

They are Stihl the best shoes bar (chainsaw humor) none. I have flat feet, first time in my entire life I actually had a comfortable shoe, vs one that was ok.

Has a wicking liner that removes sweat. Works, 10 hours on concrete floors and my feet have zero issues (sort of like the anti vitiation sytem in the MS270).

When I got them, I swore they were at least a pound lighter than my cruddy shoes same above ankle style). They weigh the same, but feel and wear lighter.

Upshot is, they are well worth a try.

 

[motoroilmccall]

Just picked up a set of Hoffman's for the summer, good lightweight 8" Calks for doing tree work. Never had a set of Hoffman's, but these things were dirt cheap.

ON CLOSEOUT FOR $50!!! CALKS FOR $50!!!

http://www.hoffmanboots.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=CLOSEOUT CALK

Anyone had em before? What the hack is this Cambelle they've been having problems with?

 

[Locoweed]

If you are interested in American made boots, check out this site. Free shipping & low price.

http://www.americanmadeworkboots.com/index.html

 

[stihl025]

Anyone have any experience with Georgia boots? Looking at a new pair, and really like the features of their 6' logger.

 

[excess650]

My Red Dawgs were delivered yesterday. I didn't want insulation or steel toes, but did want 12" height. The first impression was that they are very well made, with heavy, oiled leather, at least double stitched, full gore(?) vs partial tongue, excellent speed lace hooks, etc. They are NOT lined, so if you're interested in a Cambrelle or leather lined boot, this isn't it. Likewise, they don't have a removeable footbed, but that isn't necessarily a negative. I just happened to have several pairs of insoles that I've swapped from other boots to improve fit, and slipped a pair in. I wore them all day yesterday, they are comfortable, and break-in will be minimal. Made in Canada, not :censored:China. When I bought them last week they were on sale for $160.

I'm pretty fussy about how shoes and boots fit, so generally will not buy without trying on. I can say that these 11.5M seem to be exactly the length and width that I expected. As others have already mentioned, changing to thicker or thinner socks is a pretty obvious way to modify the fit, but changine insoles, adding arch supports, etc can go much further to improve fit and comfort.

 

[JJay03]

I have yet to find a boot that I am comfortable in . Every boot I ever wore has ended up hurting my feet. A lot of boots are heavy also and I hate that feeling when im not as nimble on my feet.

 

[bruiser 1]

I too ,have been on this "BOOT" MERRY-GO -ROUND. I"ve tried Wolverine( Terrible boot, that Durashock kept splitting on me every 4 months. They gave me a new pair each time but, after 4 times I was done with them. I thought I would go with Danner, Redwing, LaCrosse,Carolina, etc but, their in the $100 and up range.Mind you I don't mind spending that much but, HELL they better last me a year or two. I have a FAT Foot (12EEE). Seems as though their all going the CHINA way as told to me by a shoe salesman. With that said he also told me Redwing will prorate their boots , something like 1st 6 months complete replacement after that 50% and so on up to 3 years if my memory recalls. Anyway so I just buy the BIG TIMBER 2 from WALLYWORLD( About $50.00) Steel Toed. If they last me a year I'm happy. Those Vibrem Soles Kill me. I need something with cushion.

 

[TRI955]

If you are interested in American made boots, check out this site. Free shipping & low price.

http://www.americanmadeworkboots.com/index.html

They are just up the road from my work.....I will have to go and check them out! Thanks, Mike

 

[cpr]

I'd go with Cabelas. I ordered these online and they've been comfortable from day one with no break in at all, but I did dump the factory insoles for better ones.

They may be Chinese, but I wore Red Wings at $200/pair and killed a pair every year at work. Concrete floors, concrete dust, gypsum dust, abrasive conditions underfoot, it was too much money to destroy them so quickly no matter how much I cleaned and oiled them. These are holding up much better at a lower price. I'll get another pair when these finally quit.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&parentId=cat20576&id=0020788

 

[tanker]

Been wearing Justins now for about 10 years,really like them and breakin time is minimal.9 1/2 EEE feet here and the justins are the best I've found. Scott

 

[excess650]

I'd go with Cabelas. I ordered these online and they've been comfortable from day one with no break in at all, but I did dump the factory insoles for better ones.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&parentId=cat20576&id=0020788

A few years back I bought a pair of Cabela's Duty Boots and was pleased with them. They were Gortex, Cambrelle lined, and had rubbery Vibram soles, but they don't list them any longer. Yes, they were made in China, and appeared to be Danner knock-offs. I liked them. These appealed to me, but weren't as tall as I was looking for,

 

[bmcdjohnson]

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a pair of Georgia 8" Gore-tex loggers. They're getting broke in now, and they are very comfortable. Hopefully they hold up well, seem to be very good quality.

 

[JJay03]

^ Those do look nice how much and where do you get them?

 

[Brian S]

My Red Dawgs were delivered yesterday. I didn't want insulation or steel toes, but did want 12" height. The first impression was that they are very well made, with heavy, oiled leather, at least double stitched, full gore(?) vs partial tongue, excellent speed lace hooks, etc. They are NOT lined, so if you're interested in a Cambrelle or leather lined boot, this isn't it. Likewise, they don't have a removeable footbed, but that isn't necessarily a negative. I just happened to have several pairs of insoles that I've swapped from other boots to improve fit, and slipped a pair in. I wore them all day yesterday, they are comfortable, and break-in will be minimal. Made in Canada, not :censored:China. When I bought them last week they were on sale for $160.

I'm pretty fussy about how shoes and boots fit, so generally will not buy without trying on. I can say that these 11.5M seem to be exactly the length and width that I expected. As others have already mentioned, changing to thicker or thinner socks is a pretty obvious way to modify the fit, but changine insoles, adding arch supports, etc can go much further to improve fit and comfort.

Thank you for the review of these. I was wary of them because I thought they were Chinese. Good to know they are made by "good people". When my POS Deadwings need replacement I'll probably give these a try.

 

[gilraine]

3 year old danners for me...

 

[Mr. Obvious]

Everyone knows about steel toe shoes but after I dropped a mower deck on the top of my foot I got a pair of steel toe boots with metatarsal guard. They have both internal and external guard. It seems to be a hard plastic piece that helps protects the top of the foot in addition to the toe.

http://www.workbootsusa.com/timberland-metatarsal-guard-workboots.html

My wolverines actually have a composite toe rather than a steel toe and the metatarsal guard. Here they are and a great deal if you fit one of the sizes they have on clearance

http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0040701812573a.shtml

Wolverine has a model with the carbon composite toe called the carbon max

http://www.vanderbilts.com/product_detail.aspx?ID=1081