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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Reply: Good Footwear

Good suggestions on the shoes, but I have a point.
Some of the leather on these stylish modern camping shoes is too thin to the point it will actually tear. Check the uppers, not just the soles. On the steel toes, good for reinforcement and not getting stepped on, but with an improvement. Get boots with non-metallic toes, like with fiberglass or polycarb inner toes instead of steel. First because they won't alarm all the metal detectors we have to go thru now, and second, because if steel does get smashed, it will stay pinched and can cut off toes and has to be cut off. The fiberglass or polycarb has some memory and will not stay deformed. It is also an electrical non-conductor unlike steel. Power company workers use fiberglass toe protection instead of steel for that reason.

--Saltcreek, on the forums

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG...toe protection is so important.
yes, steel will bend, but it will
protect. Carbon and Fiber will last
under Repeated Impacts, but will you
trust it for the Next One? my advice:
1. buy steel. it's cheaper.
2. first impact. buy another.
3. buy C.F. if you know that
you will not buy the best.

Anonymous said...

I am going to sound really geeky right now but Mythbusters did a special on steel toed boots. It does not matter which type of toe reinforcement you use, you will most likely get your toes amputated anyways.

http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2005/11/episode_42_steel_toe_amputatio.html

Don Williams said...

Re Mythbusters, I think the worker safety organization (OSHA) of the USA Government knows more about the value of steel-toed boots than a bunch of Joe Sixpacks with a minor TV show. As does the US military.

For several decades, OSHA has required workers in construction, etc to wear steel toed boots for safety. The Marine Corps uses steel-toed boots.

Obviously nothing can protect you 100 percent from harm if you make a stupid mistake.

FerFAL said...

Lost all respect for Mythbusters ( or what little I ever had) when they tried to make a point about a bullet falling at terminal velocity not being lethal.
They talked with a doctor that told them clearly that he saw several cases each year, and yes, that it is lethal, but they chose to twist things and their test to make it look like a myth.
Just a TV show guys.
FerFAL

BC said...

The Mythbusters show showed that while steel toed boots could pinch your toes, NO steel would cause much worse damage per the same impact.

Another reason for hardened toes that are not steel: Boots with non-steel toes are usually much lighter than boots with steel. I can run farther and faster with lighter boots.

FerFAL said...

My wife has a small company that makes air ducts. They move aorund tons of metal and had an accident once where a bult load of metla sheath (tons) fell on an employers foot. The steel toe boot saved the day and he was unharmed.
Anyone knows the specs for plastic toe protection, how much load they can take compared to steel?

FerFAL

Anonymous said...

Does anybody have any experience with Doc Marten boots? I believe that they were originally intended for hiking in the European Alps. I believe they have steel reinforcements too, and are thicker than the average Asian made American camping boot. Doc Marten boots are a fashion statement among young anarchists in the US, but I think they can take a lot more pounding than the average poor little rich kid gives them. I don't know if they have Doc Marten boots in South America, though. If they do they're too expensive. Americans can afford them, however.

Anonymous said...

To clarify I was not ragging on the foot protection just the part where your toes will sheared off it's steel.

Yes mythbusters does not always get it right. Especially the CO2 bit where they "proved" global warming by proving that CO2 is a green house gas. Which of course is irrelevant to the myth they were testing :).

Anonymous said...

Mythbusters are con artists. that illustrates how dumbed down our young people are. I am a retired shipyard worker. steel toes saved my feet TWICE in my life and i personally saw many others saved. If you believe mythbusters I have a bridge I want to sell you.