Safety shoes, not boots?

jbuck88

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Oct 25, 2010
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Just looking for some safety shoes, steel or composit toe, that would work for mostly office work. I have plenty of boots, but need some shoes that I can wear in the office and walk to areas that require safety toe shoes.

So as far as Danners seem to fit my feet the best and was leaning towards the Danner Blackbelt shoes. However I'm looking for opinions and USA made counts for a lot. Budget is $200, but can go up if needed.
 
I wore steel toe boots for 30 years, they are heavy. Guys in the warehouse are required to wear "safety toe" shoes; I don't know what brand they are, but they look like tennis shoes. I know you can get "safety toe" shoes that look like office shoes.

Go to a Redwing store if you have one in your area, if they don't have what you're looking for they can get it, or tell you where you can. I have a pair of Irish Setter boots that I picked up at the Redwing store a few years ago. If your job requires safety toe shoes, they should have a voucher program to pay for them. In the military we were authorized to get new boots every 6 months (steel toe lineman boots), I think I went though 6 pair in 24 years...well built footwear last a long time, don't go cheap.
 
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Mentioned above but Keen makes just about everything. The ones I had were a tad heavy, but they were boots to be fair.

Ariat, and Twisted X make some composite toed stuff as well.
 
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I wore steel toe boots for 30 years, they are heavy. Guys in the warehouse are required to wear "safety toe" shoes; I don't know what brand they are, but they look like tennis shoes. I know you can get "safety toe" shoes that look like office shoes.

Go to a Redwing store if you have one in your area, if they don't have what you're looking for they can get it, or tell you where you can. I have a pair of Irish Setter boots that I picked up at the Redwing store a few years ago. If your job requires safety toe shoes, they should have a voucher program to pay for them. In the military we were authorized to get new boots every 6 months (steel toe lineman boots), I think I went though 6 pair in 24 years...well built footwear last a long time, don't go cheap.


Yes. They have a program to reimburse for footwear. I have been looking for made in America if possible. I already have several pairs of hiking boots and work boots. So looking for an athletic type shoe.
 
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Keen and New Balance. I have the Keen in boot and shoe styles. Just like my Chippewa, they took about a week of being tied up hummin tight to break in nice.
 
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the Rockport Work composite toe shoes. They are comfortable though the footbed is stiff. I was between sizes and got the smaller whole size. They fit even better now after 'molding' a little to my feet. The soles are hard rubber with little knobbies/etc that have next-to-not worn any on the concrete and VCT floors at work.
 
Timberland Powertrain . The most comfortable work shoes I have ever worn. Traction on slippery floors is excellent. They are EH rated against electric shock. They only last me about 6-8 month and seem to be in short supply at the moment. I usually get them on amazon.
 
We have to wear them at work now, and I‘ve tried several flavors From Redwing (my favorite for boots), to Timberland Pro, to New Balance (thought I’d like these because I like their running shoes), and now Reebok. They all look and feel like freaking bowling shoes to me, but found these the most comfortable and most like my regular running shoes so far:


Sportin’ the tan flavor right now:

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One word if you want safety shoes that are not boots “keen”I personally run thorogoods USA made(im an electrician)
And had redwings during my apprenticeship but if you want non looking working boots but want all the safety and comfort then keens it is, if your looking for a more office oriented looking shoe then red backs Chelsea (Australian made) shoes. I wore those as a mechanic for lexus in another life.
 
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Redwing isn’t my style but they have shoes made in the USA. You can filter it on the search or you can click on materials used and it will tell you country of origin.

 
Danners are number one in my book.
At one time altama made an external composite toe shoe that was awesome

Skechers makes them too

Ill never buy another pair of redwings ever again. Worst fit, poor ergonomics, and dont hold up. Spent $300 on a made in usa boot, only to chuck them in the garbage two weeks later.

I buy two pairs of safety boots every year and can vouch for danners.
 
Keen....they don't look like sneakers so many places will not question they comply with protection requirements. I had a ton of manufacturing facilities that I needed to visit for inspections. All had some sort of protective footwear requirements, not to mention one with an electrical safety requirement. Keen was the easiest to find on the shelf for me. If I worked at a single place then maybe boots would be more in-line with the work crowd. Since I was an "outsider", wearing Keen shoes walking the manufacturing floor I didn't get the "management goon" looks from the employees.
 
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I like redwings or Irish setter work shoes. They have some comfortable “athletic” safety toe shoes. They also have some nice business looking safety toe shoes that fit right in with an office environment.
I've only had Redwing for45 years, and never regretted it. I now have a pair of Irish Setters with GoreTex FAG...fuck Al Gore) which are 100% waterproof. They can be resoled for about $60 at the factory. Comfortable the day you put them on, very little break in, no blisters. I called them and asked and thy told me they are moving all their operations back stateside. Good old American Company.
 
I used to buy Red Wings and Danners. Red Wings used to be great. My last pair of Red Wings lasted less than two years. When I can find a set of Danners boots that fit me well, they last a long time and are great. With all their different lasts, the fit is all over the board so you really need to try them on somewhere before committing. I wear a 12 4E or a 13W generally. As much as I love the Danner boots, the safety shoes they have right now just don't fit well for me. They do seem like they'll last, though.
 
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