# Work Boots



## Greenguy29 (Apr 19, 2018)

In the market for a new pair of work boots. I have some Carhartt mock toe ones and they are good but don’t last. What are some of yall’s recommendations for the best safety toe work boots. Thank you so much!


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

If appearance doesn’t matter and endurance is the main feature, hands down Matterhorn mining boots or work boots. Super comfortable since they are made for working 12 shifts on rough rocky terrain where it’s cool and wet.

Ariat. But they span from cheap to very expensive. Best for pull ins. Expect to pay around $150-200 for good ones. Work hogs are on the cheaper end but can be fairly comfortable. I like the Intrepid series which are super comfortable and cooler in summer but more expensive.

Carolina if you like logger boots which is a lot of the Carhartt branded stuff. Again price and quality are somewhat related. But if you want a classic kind of generic black logger the Wolverine Buckeyes are cheap, surprisingly comfortable, and cheap. This is really the only Wolverines I’d recommend.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

I just tried a pair of Timberland Pros. I had to go up a size but they're pretty good for composite toe. They are kind of clunky looking and a little heavy. Just my style.


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## knothole (Mar 10, 2007)

I bought a pair of Danners and have been very satisfied with them.


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## TheLivingBubba (Jul 23, 2015)

Do a search in the Tools forum because we have covered this topic before many times and those threads have tons of good information. The key is to find what is comfortable and in your price range. I wear Danners and have for the past ten years, I have a few different models, but they fit well, are very comfortable and at the end of a ten hour day my feet aren't killing me. Boots are a tool for you just like anything else so find what you like and save a little to get the pair you want if you have to. 



Consider the features that you need, EH rated? Composite toe? Waterproof? Insulated? Reading those threads may give ya a bit more insight.


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

Keen work shoes!! Look the same as the hiking boots but much heavier duty. Can be safety toe as well.


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## Martine (Jan 26, 2018)

i got the timberland grid works about 2 months ago and they're the most comfortable thing i've ever worn.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Martine said:


> i got the timberland grid works about 2 months ago and they're the most comfortable thing i've ever worn.


My buddy says the same about Timberland.

Cabela’s threw these on sale cheap so I thought I would try them. I like them. Comfortable and light and so far they’re holding up well.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

I never got a year out of five different pairs of Timberland boots. Stoped buying them thirty years ago. I’ve worn Red Wings ever since. I would try Danners or White boots, but I haven’t had a need to change. 

One thing I noticed, is that when you filter for only US made boots, from US manufacturers, it narrows the styles. I do believe in spending it where you make it.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HertzHound said:


> I never got a year out of five different pairs of Timberland boots. Stoped buying them thirty years ago. I’ve worn Red Wings ever since. I would try Danners or White boots, but I haven’t had a need to change.
> 
> One thing I noticed, is that when you filter for only US made boots, from US manufacturers, it narrows the styles. I do believe in spending it where you make it.


This is the first pair of Timberlands I have tried since they went more of a fashion brand in the 90's. I have heard the Pro's are much better. I didn't intend to buy them but they were the only pair that were wide enough in all the brands. 

I will put up with a lot to buy made in USA, but I draw the line at boots that don't fit. It really sticks in my craw to spend $175 on made in China boots. After probably 20 years of made in USA Chippewas, used to be the best boots I've ever worn, I had to give up. Their "wide" sizes are now exactly the same as their regular sizes. I have held them sole to sole with regular sizes in the store. Used to be a great brand. But absolutely nobody local stocks a made in USA brand that fits decent in wide sizes, I can barely find anything opening up to the Chinese boots. 

One thing I will say, these Timberland Pros have a decent (not great, but OK) sole for snow and ice. It's just about impossible to get the vibram lug soles, which are great on snow and ice, most boots have more of a sneaker sole now. I think this is again just a way to make a cheaper pair of boots, and still charge $175 for them. You can no longer replace the soles and god forbid rob the manufacturers of a sale.


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## Travvy (Sep 17, 2017)

Sierra Trading Post is great (www.Sierra.com). Sometimes they have limited sizes, but it’s always worth a look. Right now they have timberland pro, waterproof, composite toe boots for $75.00


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## 460 Delta (May 9, 2018)

I've been wearing a pair of Carharrt Ground Force 6" composite toe boots for 9 months now, best boots ever. Bought them on markdown at Rural King for $75.00 and wish I had bought a second set.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

I tried one pair of Carhart boots. The felt OK but they fell apart in I think less than six months, really fast. They also had as a gimmick brown duck canvas on the insole. I don't know what the F. but they smelled so bad after a few days wear, I couldn't bring the boots in the house, but that was solved with a new set of insoles.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

I liked the Timberland Pro's and wore them for a few years, usually only getting a year of life out of a pair. This time I decided to try something different for a change and bought some Redwings as there is a store locally. I think they are Setters? Bought one pair of boots and one pair of shoes. So far so good. For freezing cold in the snow and or rain etc, I have some wonderful Kamik boots that do a good job of keeping my feet warm while out working on generators during the winter.


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## Martine (Jan 26, 2018)

99cents said:


> My buddy says the same about Timberland.
> 
> Cabela’s threw these on sale cheap so I thought I would try them. I like them. Comfortable and light and so far they’re holding up well.


i got the gridworks even though they're usually for iron workers. I LOVE two things about them, being that they lace up all the way to the toe cap, which is great for me since i'm a) a woman, and b) my feet aren't very wide. So I can tighten them a lot better. They also have a flat bottom which is super comfortable when I'm on a ladder since I don't have either my heel OR the front of my foot on the step (and once again, my feet aren't very big)

I had a hard time finding a small enough pair, but I did it! Most of the women's boots I've tried don't feel nearly as well made and I can always feel the toe cap's edge digging into the top of my foot.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

splatz said:


> This is the first pair of Timberlands I have tried since they went more of a fashion brand in the 90's. I have heard the Pro's are much better. I didn't intend to buy them but they were the only pair that were wide enough in all the brands.
> 
> I will put up with a lot to buy made in USA, but I draw the line at boots that don't fit. It really sticks in my craw to spend $175 on made in China boots. After probably 20 years of made in USA Chippewas, used to be the best boots I've ever worn, I had to give up. Their "wide" sizes are now exactly the same as their regular sizes. I have held them sole to sole with regular sizes in the store. Used to be a great brand. But absolutely nobody local stocks a made in USA brand that fits decent in wide sizes, I can barely find anything opening up to the Chinese boots.
> 
> One thing I will say, these Timberland Pros have a decent (not great, but OK) sole for snow and ice. It's just about impossible to get the vibram lug soles, which are great on snow and ice, most boots have more of a sneaker sole now. I think this is again just a way to make a cheaper pair of boots, and still charge $175 for them. You can no longer replace the soles and god forbid rob the manufacturers of a sale.


I think the width was the problem when I wore Timberlands. They only came in regular and wide back then. They didn’t have letter sizes for width. I don’t think The wide was a EEE. They always blew out by the ball of the big toe. I never buy insulated boots. They might have been insulated? Even when I wasn’t in the rain or mud, they were always wet around the same spot they blew out at. 


That is my feelings also on American made. If I’m going to spend money on an expensive boot, it better fit great and be made here or Canada. My feet don’t like most of the American made Red Wings. There is two USA made “Last” numbers that my feet like. When they switch them, or make them somewhere else, I’ll have to try something else from another company. The logger boots have a Last number that I haven’t tried. I just can’t see myself wearing a boot up to my knee!

The indoor pair that I wear is composite toe with a flat sole. No heel. The thing I don’t like is that they are static rated, the opposite of electrically rated. We’re not supposed to work live. Lock out tag out and all. But sometimes......temporary is probably the only thing I touch live. And I have purposely swiped my hand against some live wires just to check if I’m ground, and nothing. I would never do that with anything over 120V. If I really thought these boots would be a problem, I would wear something else. I get three years out of them. They are comfortable till the day I retire them. I could re-sole them, but why bother at that point.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

HertzHound said:


> I think the width was the problem when I wore Timberlands. They only came in regular and wide back then. They didn’t have letter sizes for width. I don’t think The wide was a EEE. They always blew out by the ball of the big toe. I never buy insulated boots. They might have been insulated? Even when I wasn’t in the rain or mud, they were always wet around the same spot they blew out at.
> 
> 
> That is my feelings also on American made. If I’m going to spend money on an expensive boot, it better fit great and be made here or Canada. My feet don’t like most of the American made Red Wings. There is two USA made “Last” numbers that my feet like. When they switch them, or make them somewhere else, I’ll have to try something else from another company. The logger boots have a Last number that I haven’t tried. I just can’t see myself wearing a boot up to my knee!
> ...


Terra boots are Canadian made. I have a pair and, after five years of daily wear, they’re still good, even with the original laces. They don’t look like the photo, they’re all beat up but nothing wrong with them except the insoles eventually died.


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## Mobius87 (May 20, 2019)

I wear the SWAT 9" Classic Safety with the side zip. The side zip is the best part. I can keep them laced up tightly, but can take them on and off quickly. Very handy as I'm constantly in and out of customer's houses where I need to take them off and/or swap for a clean indoor pair.

I only get 8 months out of a pair before they're destroyed, but then again I've never had a pair of boots that last more than a year.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

splatz said:


> This is the first pair of Timberlands I have tried since they went more of a fashion brand in the 90's. I have heard the Pro's are much better. I didn't intend to buy them but they were the only pair that were wide enough in all the brands.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Vibram soles are stitched and nailed on so they are replaceable. The others are sort of melted/glued together and not replaceable. It’s a cheaper construction but you have less problems with it coming loose, fewer internal squeaks between the layers, and overall more comfort.

Some of the extreme premium brands (Danner, Halls, Matterhorn, some Ariat) are using the glued/formed method now and going away from Vibram soles on their premium boots but they are doing it with different soles from what you typically see on say Wolverine or Timberland. It’s a good design when it’s done right. Three issues with traditional Vibram. It packs mud very well even though the slopes cleat is supposed to shed it. It picks up every rock in the driveway and carries it (there is your traction). And when it gets cold the rubber gets so stiff you lose all the traction you ever had on ice to the point that rubber pac boots do better. You slide all over at around 20 F or colder. The low height lug version fixes some of this but like it or not the glued/fused soles do much better in the right boot. If you are not resoling Vibram is grossly overhyped. So it’s slowly disappearing for good reason. I know guys buying the “guaranteed for life” claim which usually goes along with resoleable boots. I destroy the internals and
the leather on the toes first. I guess if you were say a surveyor in a quarry it makes sense but for me the uppers fall apart first.

Thorogood has a lot of American made boots. Too bad most of them are garbage do bad I can’t tell good from bad.


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

Comfort , lightness, air flow, safety and style. Everything you need in footwear.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

I don't like the super thick / high heel vibrams, the ones I like are about an inch thick heel. 

I don't like the new sneaker-style soles. I don't think they are more comfortable, they don't let the leather stretch around the toe box to break in. 

I don't think any sole since old fashioned hobnails, the studded snow tires of boots, really work on glaze ice. The only thing that works on those are the yak tracks etc., the stretch on over sole with metal nibs. Only problem is you can't wear them indoors at all, they will mangle any floor. 

If you wear vibram soles around steel stud framing work, you'll have a hobnail or two in your soles before long. Maybe some strategically placed self tappers and I'd have a good boot for glaze ice. 

Vibrams are the only thing that bite into packed snow, which is something I am on constantly all winter. Harder / sharper is better. That's what's good about these Herman Munsters I bought from Timberland Pro, the plastic / rubber sole is pretty hard and bites the packed snow OK. 

I did find one pair of Wolverines that fit very well once they broke in, the soles had crap traction but they were fine on concrete. They looked like the old style welt but when you looked closely, they weren't, you can't replace the soles, disposable boots. They were supposedly pigskin but it was like a nubuck leather, showed any slightest scuff and looked dirty and beat almost immediately. 



paulengr said:


> Vibram soles are stitched and nailed on so they are replaceable. The others are sort of melted/glued together and not replaceable. It’s a cheaper construction but you have less problems with it coming loose, fewer internal squeaks between the layers, and overall more comfort.
> 
> Some of the extreme premium brands (Danner, Halls, Matterhorn, some Ariat) are using the glued/formed method now and going away from Vibram soles on their premium boots but they are doing it with different soles from what you typically see on say Wolverine or Timberland. It’s a good design when it’s done right. Three issues with traditional Vibram. It packs mud very well even though the slopes cleat is supposed to shed it. It picks up every rock in the driveway and carries it (there is your traction). And when it gets cold the rubber gets so stiff you lose all the traction you ever had on ice to the point that rubber pac boots do better. You slide all over at around 20 F or colder. The low height lug version fixes some of this but like it or not the glued/fused soles do much better in the right boot. If you are not resoling Vibram is grossly overhyped. So it’s slowly disappearing for good reason. I know guys buying the “guaranteed for life” claim which usually goes along with resoleable boots. I destroy the internals and
> the leather on the toes first. I guess if you were say a surveyor in a quarry it makes sense but for me the uppers fall apart first.
> ...


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

Timberine any good ?


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## 199480 (Oct 24, 2019)

Good boots are worth their weight in gold and cost almost as much. Can't go wrong with White's, Nick's, Frank's or Wesco. They are all good boot builders that build a quality boot that lasts. I wore White's when I was farming and they lasted 10 years before they needed the first complete rebuild, i would have them resoled ever two to three years though. The downside is they hurt to break-in, but once that is done they feel like your own personal heaven for feet!


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

dronai said:


> Timberine any good ?


These might be OK - Timberland Pro Boondock


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## Wardenclyffe (Jan 11, 2019)

Last pair was a year and half old,still have them for spares,

Get money every year for them,...

Wolverine Men's Durbin Waterproof Boot


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

I went shopping for boots and didn’t want Chinese made. It was difficult. I bought Cofra, made in Europe. Good boots.


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## jcd302 (Dec 17, 2019)

I have had good luck with Red Wings. They offer Made in USA as well as overseas. You just need to look at the tags. 

Like everyone else, I wear them daily and they usually last over 2 years. I know I am over 2 years on this pair and they are jut starting to split a seam. I have a new pair waiting in the closet for when these finally give out.


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## jarrydee (Aug 24, 2019)

I have a pair of Timberland pros, and a pair of carhartt force 6" composite. I switch back and forth. Both are good.


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## jarrydee (Aug 24, 2019)

Wardenclyffe said:


> Last pair was a year and half old,still have them for spares,
> 
> Get money every year for them,...
> 
> Wolverine Men's Durbin Waterproof Boot


I like those!


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## N4tionalNYC (Dec 29, 2019)

Redwing King Toe


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

I'm on my 4th pair of Dakota 529s, don't know if they are available in the south.

Inexpensive and I haven't had to break any in, comfortable right out of the box. 

I don't know what else I would look for.


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

Zombie thread!


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

Hmmm. Not sure what happened there. I normally only surf "new posts" since my last visit.

Hope I didn't create any hardship for you.....


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## kb1jb1 (Nov 11, 2017)

Sometimes old post are good to review. Codes change and PPE requirements change. So does the manufacturers quality.


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## Almost Retired (Sep 14, 2021)

It showed up in my new posts as well, the internet stars got misaligned?


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

Made is USA Red Wings.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

Almost Retired said:


> It showed up in my new posts as well, the internet stars got misaligned?


Vindicated! Thanks!


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