Work boots

I have been issued with slip on steel toe cap boots, which I think are exce llent and do give me adequate ankle support. My old boots had laces, and th e laces kept coming undone, no matter how I tied them. And the lace loops i f successfully tied would get caught in bits of machinery that I need to cl imb around. I also need to remove the boots easily and quickly, e.g. when g oing into the boss's office. We are not allowed to track axle grease over h is new carpet.

I have been told that some industries ban slip on boots and insist on laces . Why? Are they mad? If they want better ankle support, how about zip boots or velcro?

Reply to
Matty F
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I have been told that some industries ban slip on boots and insist on laces. Why? Are they mad? If they want better ankle support, how about zip boots or velcro?

Matty, I didn't know the elfinsafety loon a tix had propagated so far. Here in UK my blokes are not allowed to wear slip-on boots/rigger boots etc on site. This working on crawler cranes, excavators, railway machinery etc. I prefer laced boots anyway and have never had any problem with laces getting caught or tangled in machinery. As for the boss[1]. Not too much bothered. I've been doing this for over 50 years and I ain't going to be buying a new carpet. After all these years I'm pleased to say that I still have all my body parts. Had a few close shaves but, hey, ain't life fun. Frankly and disregarding R&R. If people want me on site I arrive with good kit that I am comfortable with. If they don't like it they can tell me to foxtrot oscar. Hasn't happened yet. Perhaps we should all have a pair of slip-on boots, a pair of lace-up boots and a pair of Morlands. Dunno. World gone doolallytap. Fortunately I'll be out of it quite soon. I worry for my kids though.

I have very much admired your work over the past few years. Good luck, Nick. [1] Me.

Reply to
Nick

I have been issued with slip on steel toe cap boots, which I think are excellent and do give me adequate ankle support. My old boots had laces, and the laces kept coming undone, no matter how I tied them. And the lace loops if successfully tied would get caught in bits of machinery that I need to climb around. I also need to remove the boots easily and quickly, e.g. when going into the boss's office. We are not allowed to track axle grease over his new carpet.

I have been told that some industries ban slip on boots and insist on laces. Why? Are they mad? If they want better ankle support, how about zip boots or velcro?

Interesting thread here

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I wear "Chelsea" boot steel toecapped as my ankles are fubarred and I can't have low shoe type rubbing the Achilles tendons

Reply to
Nthkentman

There's something called a "lace-in zipper": a strip with eyelets on the outer edge, zipper in the middle. That allows the boots to be laced to the foot while adjusting tension to comfort, which adjustability is a benefit of laces. The ends of the laces are knotted off, no loops or loose ends. Then use the zipper to get the boot on and off quickly without faffing about with all the laces.

Thomas Prufer

Reply to
Thomas Prufer

For gardening, DIY and mountain footwear I use laces but have them too short for bows. I found out back in the '70s what a pain a frozen, tangled bow could be, tired from a day on the hills and cold fingers. I now just use a reef knot, tied down good and hard, and I've never had trouble in undoing it whatever the conditions [1]. It's also good on cycling shoes. I had a bow come undone and the lace was being wound round the spindle as I was pedalling. I felt it go tight and stopped, of course. This was a week after going on to gears from fixed...!splat!

[1] if, say, the reef knot is L/R, R/L, then pulling the L end straight out at right-angles just loosens the knot - a one-handed job.
Reply to
PeterC

I haven't got an answer as such and, for my hard landscaping I preferred lacing. I don't know why, either?

However, there was a time when I switched from lace-up to Wellington because, while deep in a very narrow part of a cave, my foot slipped through the slim V the two rock faces created above a small space below.

As this spot was the widest point, it was not possible to move along to a wider gap to release it. It was quite a struggle in such a restricted area before I managed to pull my foot back through. Hence, Wellies from then on. :-)

Reply to
RayL12

Seeing:

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certainly makes you think about that sort of thing ;-)

Reply to
John Rumm

Many years ago when we were handling liquid sodium I came across the safety boots which were used in the smelting industry, these had a flap right across where the laces would be, secured by velcro for quick release.

Also "rigger boots" are easy to slip out of, I have always assumed this is either for quick evacuation when stuck in mud in the path of a digger, or for ease of release if otherwise trapped.

Reply to
newshound

That's what elasticated overshoes are for.

Owain

Reply to
spuorgelgoog

On Thursday 18 July 2013 17:34 newshound wrote in uk.d-i-y:

I got some steel riggers cheap from Screwfix last year. They are almost as good as wellies if copiusly polished, and very comfortable (unlike most steels). I really like them for gardening and very easy to slip off, yet they do not fall off of their own accord....

Reply to
Tim Watts

OK, I've just looked up "rigger boots" and mine are nothing like that. Mine look like lace up boots but have elastic sides, rather like this:

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They don't slop around like gumboots. So I am NOT discussing rigger boots!

Reply to
Matty F

Made me think what a tosser he was, and that Danny Boyle isn't infallible after all.

Reply to
Huge

I read that in the Netherlands they still use wooden clogs as footwear in heavy industry. Many millions are made each year, only a proportion are sold to tourists, the author didn't know for sure what all of the others are bought for.

Reply to
Rednadnerb

I used to use wooden clogs when working in the garden.

Reply to
S Viemeister

I've just read a chapter in a book about the life of a fireman on the steam trains in the early part of the last century, he wore clogs after seeing the footplate crews from brum doing so, he found they were the most comfortable things he'd worn, but he really got their value when one day he got his foot caught in the gap between the engine's footplate and the tender as the train went round a curve,

He just pulled his foot out of the clog, and watched as the clog was crushed a bit, but still wearable when he extracted it when the line straightened up, Obviously had he been wearing ordinary boots it'd have been his foot being crushed, and the end of his career.

Reply to
Gazz

It was not his greatest film certainly, but given the limited scope of the story, I though it was ok.

Reply to
John Rumm

I got some LeCooper steel toe trainers from Makro over a year ago. They are comfortable enough to wear as everyday shoes (and just look like normal trainers). They seem to be lasting well. I Took the precaution of buying a size larger than my normal.

Reply to
John Rumm

One of my rules too

Reply to
newshound

They're Chelsea boots; some call them Dealer boots, I don't know why.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

Handy for workshop use. I was issued a set once, but I never wore them.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

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