Work Boots

Don't do it digger. They are a pain to break in. Almost 2 weeks of pain.

I have been very pleased with my KEEN boots on my third pair now.

HiTempguy wrote: Dunno if you guys get Dakota work boots down in the US, but that is all I have used the past 8 years of my life. They are a great boot, durable, not too expensive (~$150cdn). I've tried redwings and they feel awful, if they were worth it, I'd get them as my company pays, but they just do not feel good on my feet. Way overpriced for what they are IMO.

They're a house brand of Mark's and I don't think they're available from anyone in the US. I'm not sure if they can get Terra (my old favorite) or STC (my new favorite) there either.

I had a pair of Timberland pros a few years ago, but they didn't hold up like the Terras I had before them - soles separated from both boots after about a year.

I wanted to love the new Dakotas with the composite toes and shanks and "tarantula" soles, but my feet hated them as soon as I put them on.

Terra boots are top notch. I worked with them on their first composite toes back in the early 90's

I don't care for Dakota boots. They just don't fit me very well. I wear 8" black Sidewinder work boots as my everyday shoe and I love them. I have lousy arch, so I always put a quality cushion insole in them and that makes all the difference for me.

I have STC "Larch" boots, and nooooooo the company didn't pay the whole shot for them. They are an example of sometimes you do get what you pay for. They make my feet very happy.

I was a terra guy before these boots. I will go back to Terra if I can't work out a deal for a new pair of Larches when these die.

Red wing safety toes kill my feet.

Keen has some good ones. If you can wear shoes puma has a few different safety toe models.

I wear Doc Martens Industrial boots for work. I get about a year and a half out of a pair of $120 Fusions wearing daily. They are comfortable to me with wide feet, slip on, the steel caps are great as i've tested them several times, and slip resistance is awesome. Check them out at dmusastore.com then try to get a better deal on amazon.

I have been wearing a pair of Keen's. They are comfy. They are about ready for replacement after 3 years and I've gotten a few places to check out from this thread. Now if we could only have a thread like this, but instead of being about work boots, have it be about shaving or Ken Block videos. That would be great.

This thread might interest anyone shopping for boots:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275173

I know nothing about Thorogoods, except I've seen folks praising them on that forum before.

Ditchdigger wrote: I have pretty much decided that red wing heritage iron ranger boots will be my next big purchase They will be bought from some place that will measure my feet beforehand and I will pay through the nose for them.

I have a pair of Beckmans in cherry that are my everyday shoes. The breakin period was really painful, but they are now really, really comfortable. Try them on in person (the sizing is weird), and they loosen up quite a lot after breakin. Mine went from tight with some weird pinch points to allowing me to wear quite thick socks.

My work boots are 607s. I work in a cooler/freezer that is often wet, and didn't want safety toe. This was the best match. Very comfortable after long days on my feet.

Noone said Cat? I wore work boots 5 days a week and at some point 15 or so years ago I stopped buying anything else. Very comfortable right out of the box and they last a year. Couldn't get six months out of some of the others. (Spent a lot of time behind a shovel)

I've had a pair of insulated Chippewa Loggers for about 8 years now.

The company I used to work for paid for them for a filed job I did. I used them fresh out of the box for 12 hours a day for 2 weeks. They broke in quickly enough to not cause blisters. The soles worked good on greasy metal stairs and oil soaked cement.

I use them now for hunting, yard work, and basically anything where I want to protect my feet or will be dealing with sloppy conditions.

The soles can be replaced, and the insulation is enough to keep my feet warm when hunting in December in Mass, but not enough to prevent wearing them during the summer ( or in the office of the weather is sloppy on the way in/home).

I wear White's. They are very comfortable and made in Washington.

http://www.whitesboots.com/

I have a pair of aluminum toe and carbon heel reinforced DC high tops that are by far the most comfortable safety boots/shoes I've ever had. Short of deep mud/show they provide ample traction as well

I just got some Keens, but have yet to put any real miles on them. I will say they fit way better in a wide 12 than they do a normal 13.

I wear Merrell almost exclusively anymore......used to wear surplus military boots when working in corrections.

yamaha wrote: I wear Merrell almost exclusively anymore......used to wear surplus military boots when working in corrections.

I have a couple pairs of Merrell-- one for hiking, another for casual wear. They don't make work boots, though. I learned about them through the wife, who is an RN.

In reply to jstand:

I've been in nothing but Chippewa for over ten years. I'm outdoors in elements and nothing else I tried previously lasted more than six months. Some, (I'm looking at you CAT...) only lasted a couple weeks before disintegrating. I'm almost through my second pair of Chippewa boots, in ten years. The made in the USA ones are of a much higher quality than those that are not.

However I'm seriously considering Red wing for my next pair.

My first pair was Greb. Awful.

Second pair was Red Wing. Very comfy, but pricey.

I then used a number of Terra Ultralight boots for close to 20 years. Loved 'em, but can't seem to find them locally any more.

Now in a pair of Dakota, and seem to be enjoying them.

Ditchdigger wrote: Does timberland have different quality ranges or something? I was looking over their display last weekend when the missus was shoe shopping and was appalled at the shoddy quality for the $180 and up they were priced.

They have a PRO line, they last forever and are really comfortable. I end having to put new inserts in them every six months or so and get them resoled every two years but they last me about 6 years in total before they start to really break down and get smelly and un-cleanable.

You have to get them through boot world around here everybody else carries the non prop lines which do not last. Other thing is they have a non slip sole which is worth its weight in gold, and at least my old pair had a steel bottom to prevent nails from getting into your feet.

wbjones wrote: I've got an extremely narrow foot … so most of the really good boots won't fit … but thank goodness for Red Wing and Irish Setter boots ( and Dunham by New Balance)

Have you tried wearing 2 pairs of socks, or adding a second insole to a wider boot?

xd wrote: Don't do it digger. They are a pain to break in. Almost 2 weeks of pain.

You are doing it wrong. Get a good pair of thick, wool socks. Run the tap water as hot as it will go, fill boot with hot water, immediately dump it out, put on boots and walk around in them until they are dry.

White's and Red Wings are both very good. You only have one pair of feet, how much are they worth to you?

Zombie thread, canoe deleted. Toebra, heads up, wbjones is no longer with us.

What the heck? How did it end up on the first page of threads, post you deleted revived it?

In reply to Toebra:

Yes, any post will bring a thread back up to the top. The post right before yours was a spammer and got deleted, you can see the last post was 2015 prior to the spammer's post.