I have been welding for about 20 years now and have never had a pair of shoes that stand up to the job. I dont require that much, they must be water proof or resistant, they must not get burnt up; I.E. strings(around where sole is sewn on), leather toes and must be some what warm as I live and work outside in iowa. Anyone ever had a relly good pair of shoes, if so i would like to know what they were.
I have for years, used red wing shoes, they have a rubber over the threads I also put shoe goop over the toes and over the threads i have had a pair last 3 years
Hope this is not against the forum rules
Mike
I got a pair of wolverine wellingtons. I love em there steel toe and elec hazzard and they are the most comfortable boots Ive ever worn. They have lacers too. There is a particiular pair a friend of mine wearrs that are identical to mine except tehre lacer. Worth their wieght in gold too :D
I have the Carolina brand of boots, but I replaced the original strings with leather ones and like the other guys have mentioned, I sit them out on my carport and spray them down good with camp dry and repeat until I get about 4 to 5 good coats on them and then use boot polish to slick em up to a nice shine before their initial use. They last good for me for years and I retouch the shine up every couple of days to keep them looking good and the spatter balls just roll right off. All the scrapes and scratches keep getting the camp dry sprayed on them to keep the leather sealed.
John Wright
John, thats a great Idea id not thought about with that camp spray. Where you find it walmart? or a sporting goods? any special brand you recommend or they all good as any other?
CHRIS
I have a pair of Carolina boots that I bought new at a flea market three years ago for $20.00. They are the most comfortable pair of work boots that I have ever worn. When they wear out, I'm going back to look for another pair. I weather proof mine too.
I'm not certain of the brand of waterproofing, I bought it at Super Shoes(where I purchsed my boots).
John Wright
We are required to wear metatarsal guard boots so I wear the ones made by Matterhorn.The metatarsal guard is made of a bunch of little plates overlapping to make the guard instead of 1 stiff plate.They are waterproof and I have never had a pair leak yet.Some people do not like them because the boot is 12" tall but the boot has saved my shin more than once.You can also get them 16" tall but I think that is a little too tall.Only problem is I wear the sole out from walking long before I hurt the rest of boot.
The thing people dislike most about boots is the price.Why pay $300 for a pair of boots when you can get a pair for $90. My feet love my boots. I have not gone home in years with my feet hurting. I have a shop full of people always crying about how bad their feet hurt but they will always buy the cheapest pair of boots they can find. I keep telling them those 2 feet you got have to last you a lifetime.If you are 24 years old complaining your feet hurt just imagine the pain you will be in when you are 34.
Qccwi,
$300 for a pair? wow thats a bit. But you do like them? How long would you say they last? I would assume resoleing isnt an issue then if the rest of the boot is good? Where do you buy these matterhorn boots? Ive not seen them. I will have to look into this. Im very concerned about my feet and legs since my accident
CHRIS
The price depends on where you buy them and what style you buy. I like a boot with a heel on it but my co-worker likes a boot without a heel.I buy the Search and Rescue boot and he buys the Mining boot. Matterhorn even makes a chainsaw boot that is supposed to be cut resistant but it is not made with a metatarsal guard so I cannot wear it. If that boot is cut resistant to a chainsaw that has got to be one tough boot.
Anyway I just use google or yahoo to shop around for the best price. Some places will sell a boot for $350 + shipping and another place will sell the same boot for $250 with free shipping.Just type in Matterhorn S&R boot or Matterhorn Mining boot(12255) co-woker knows what the number is for his boot).
Thanks, Ill give it a look..
CHRIS
I'm pretty fond of my Danners.. They finially died after a little over 2 years of abuse. One of the soles started falling off at a job so I used 1/4" s.s. lag screws to hold them together. I think I paid close to 200 for them but it was worth it for how well they broke in to my feet. It took about a year and a half for the steel toe to show which isn't bad since I'm on my knees alot. A few years back I bought a pair of Carolinas with the arch guard for around 140 and I wore holes though both pieces of leather on the steel toes in less than 9 months.
I was talking to a guy a while back and he suggested a boot that cost 350+ and was made out of buffalo. He said that they wear like steel and are the most comfortable boot he has ever owned. But I'm not sure if I could fork out that much cash for boots.
I prefer White's boots. They are the most comfortable I have owned.
My second choice is Redwing
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