Tips on Choosing Safety Boots

Introduction 

What should you be looking for in a pair of worksite safety boots? Do you focus purely on safety and ignore comfort? That’s okay in principle if you’re only wearing your workwear safety boots for a short period, but not if you’re spending eight hours a day in them. 

At Active Workwear, we don’t see why you must sacrifice comfort for safety. That’s why our click safety boots are just as comfortable as our waterproof safety boots. After all, if you can’t stand another day in your boots, you’re not going to want to wear them, are you?  

Still trying to find the perfect pair of boots? Read through our quick safety boots buying guide and see which of the many options we have on offer will work best for you. Choose the footwear that offers complete protection without giving up comfort. 

Tips for Buying the Right Boots 

What Protection Do You Need?  

A steel-toed boot is never going quite match a sneaker in comfort, but it’s not designed to do so. It’s built to withstand workplace accidents with heavy materials. Before you even start looking at your options, determine what level of safety you need.  

On what kind of sites will you work? Will you need slip-resistant or shock-resistant soles? Do you need the steel-toed caps? What kinds of chemicals might you encounter? Do you need water-resistant footwear?  

It’s best to get a shoe that matches your needs as precisely to avoid discomfort or serious harm.  

Specialized Outsoles 

If you’re working with electricity, you’ll need shock resistant soles. It’s good practice to look for soles that offer excellent traction and puncture resistance as well. These will be useful across a range of different fields.  

Quality Leather Uppers 

Many of the top brands use leather uppers with good reason. They last long, offer an added layer of protection and breathe well, so they keep the feet dry and comfy. 

Stability 

Another important aspect we want to cover in our safety boots buying guide is stability. If you’re going to be covering rough terrain, this becomes especially important.  

Overall Coverage 

It’s also wise to look for boots that will help provide some ankle support. This will help to protect your whole foot instead of just the toes. You don’t want to roll an ankle while carrying a heavy load. 

Space in the Toe Area 

A wider toe area is probably not going to win you many awards regarding style, but it will pay off in terms of comfort. You should be able to wiggle your toes a little, without them feeling too constrained.  

Shock Absorption 

Something that you don’t often think about until you’ve been walking around all day on concrete is how well the boots absorb impact when walking. If your shoes don’t offer excellent shock absorption, they’re not doing you much good.  

Your Comfort 

There is this myth that your boots need to be broken in, but this is true to a very limited extent. If you’re trying on boots and they don’t feel comfortable, then you need a different pair. Old-fashioned safety shoes were massive clodhoppers that you needed time to get used to wearing. Modern footwear should be good to go out of the box.