Work boots

[Sandy Gaffs CC]

Saved my foot once. Broken big toe vs totally crushed foot. Side impact from rigged maple log coming around.

I watched a 4000lb oak log roll right over my toes once and was fine. There was a small “oh sh*t I’m f*cked” moment and then nothing. I wonder what the actual stress point on them toe cups is where they flatten? The say a 1/2” weld will take 50,000 shock testing to break…..then again taking your boot off is way easier without a steel cup pinching your toes to the nose

 

[Serf Life]

I currently run Makalus for spurs which are hard toe but not safety, been using hikers without safety toe but just switched back to comp toe hikers. 95% of my injuries tend to be off the clock at home working on the property, safety toes are also nice doing firewood or stone work.

 

[Sandy Gaffs CC]

I currently run Makalus for spurs which are hard toe but not safety, been using hikers without safety toe but just switched back to comp toe hikers. 95% of my injuries tend to be off the clock at home working on the property, safety toes are also nice doing firewood or stone work

Comp toe IS A GO! Way lighter too and you’re not asking to cut yer toes off. I normally hurt myself off the clock too just back from a broken 10th rib (pool skateboarding) ribs are bad REALLY REALLY BAD

 

[colb]

95% of my injuries tend to be off the clock at home working on the property, safety toes are also nice doing firewood or stone work.

Same here. I am more likely to run my finger through the blender at home after a long day of work. My handsaw is the exception.

 

[Sandy Gaffs CC]

Anyone ever run these things?

 

[Dan Cobb]

Steel toe boots on a tree jobsite HELL NO NEVER! Your toes have more of a chance surviving a crushing versus a crushing AND a guioteening via steel toe plate. My boss literally theew my boots in the dumpster and told me to go buy boots without steel toes if I wanted to work for him, first tree job, first tree boss. Steel toe is a NO BRO!!

Steel toes have saved me from injury once. Years ago I made a safety video for work (heavy industrial setting) about safety toe footwear. Got several cheap pairs of steel toe boots and mocked up some accident scenarios. F-250 driving over the toes, no damage. Setting a pallet holding a 1800 lb motor on the toe, no damage. The only scenario I created that damaged the toe was rolling a pulverizer grinding ball (13-1/2" diameter vanadium alloy steel ball, about 500 lb) off the forks of a forklift and letting it drop 4 ft onto the toe with the boot on concrete. And even that did not cause a full crush, seems like it reduced the height of the toe box by 40%.

I consider steel toe footwear to be much like seatbelts. There may be rare instances when you're better off without, but in the vast majority of cases, you're less likely to be injured with the protection. If the impact is severe enough to crush a safety toe, it would likely be a partial amputation without a safety toe.

Safety toe footwear is required in most industrial settings.

 

[Reach]

Steel toes have saved me from injury once. Years ago I made a safety video for work (heavy industrial setting) about safety toe footwear. Got several cheap pairs of steel toe boots and mocked up some accident scenarios. F-250 driving over the toes, no damage. Setting a pallet holding a 1800 lb motor on the toe, no damage. The only scenario I created that damaged the toe was rolling a pulverizer grinding ball (13-1/2" diameter vanadium alloy steel ball, about 500 lb) off the forks of a forklift and letting it drop 4 ft onto the toe with the boot on concrete. And even that did not cause a full crush, seems like it reduced the height of the toe box by 40%.

I consider steel toe footwear to be much like seatbelts. There may be rare instances when you're better off without, but in the vast majority of cases, you're less likely to be injured with the protection. If the impact is severe enough to crush a safety toe, it would likely be a partial amputation without a safety toe.

Safety toe footwear is required in most industrial settings.

Interesting to see a real-life trial of steel toe boots, thank you for sharing that!

My father is a big proponent of steel toes; he worked many years in the drilling industry, and some of those years as a test mechanic building drilling rigs.

Hydraulic failure on one of a pair of cylinders raising a mast on a rig, the mast twisted and fell, landing far off of the cradle it was supposed to be on. My father was pinned, for a couple hours actually before they could rig this mast and get it off him. He was quite beat up, but his toes, where the mast actually landed, survived. I believe he broke one or two when the steel toes on his boots collapsed partially, but nothing worse than that. Without steel toes, he would have lost both feet for certain.

 

[Sandy Gaffs CC]

Steel toes have saved me from injury once. Years ago I made a safety video for work (heavy industrial setting) about safety toe footwear. Got several cheap pairs of steel toe boots and mocked up some accident scenarios. F-250 driving over the toes, no damage. Setting a pallet holding a 1800 lb motor on the toe, no damage. The only scenario I created that damaged the toe was rolling a pulverizer grinding ball (13-1/2" diameter vanadium alloy steel ball, about 500 lb) off the forks of a forklift and letting it drop 4 ft onto the toe with the boot on concrete. And even that did not cause a full crush, seems like it reduced the height of the toe box by 40%.

I consider steel toe footwear to be much like seatbelts. There may be rare instances when you're better off without, but in the vast majority of cases, you're less likely to be injured with the protection. If the impact is severe enough to crush a safety toe, it would likely be a partial amputation without a safety toe.

Safety toe footwear is required in most industrial settings.

Welp, we are a rare breed and consider me stubborn and set in my ways. Was born in the 80’s. Seat belts can cause death in a car accident BUT they can also save, so I suppose we exhibit our freedom of choice with this one. Suppose it matters what you’re doing. Steel toes for a contract climber like me don’t make sense cause I make a mess and go home leave stocks at 10’ so that’s on the other guy. I dont cut below my waist or above my head and I am very conscious of my body positioning when making back cuts, snap cutting spar rigs etc. wear what ya wear and climb how you climb. Been w.o. Steel toes for 16yrs. Seems like a heated debate in the industry but the generation I was brought up climbing in didn’t even have rigging beaners. We’ve taken trees down with shoe strings I tell ppl LOL (not really)so there’s some “old school method” food for thought. I will kindly agree to disagree but will continue to strap my seatbelt on before I leave my driveway every single day. Cheers and have a great weekend!!