The "Weighty" Matters Behind Steel Toe Boots

If you work in a dangerous facility just like us, the safety of your toes may be dependent on your steel toe work boots. Steel toe is a traditional safety feature that protects workers like us all around the globe. After all, we don’t want to be walking around with missing toes. How then can our feet hold us up and support our weight if it is missing some parts?

Steel toe boots are great for our forefoot protection. They have been trusted for over a century. They have also been tested to ensure that they will not fail us. Steel toe boots are the leading work shoes for construction men that’s why sometimes, people just generally refer to them as construction boots.

Who Should Wear Steel Toe Work Boots?

Of course, even if they are referred to as leading work shoes for construction men, they aren’t just for the construction site. You’ll be amazed we can all use these boots in many instances. Here are some cases wherein we might be wearing our steel toe work boots:

1. We must wear these if our job requires us to wear them. We could be working in a manufacturing or processing factory and need these boots to keep our forefoot protected from possible harm.
2. If our line of work carries risks, like heavy a thing can fall or rollover your foot, we will have more security if we are wearing steel toe boots.
3. Some insurance companies even require us to wear these, so we have to comply to avail of the full benefits.
4. We have heard that a few hikers also prefer to use steel toe boots because they offer some measure of security as they hike.

A Few Nuggets of Wisdom About These Work Boots

We advise that you don’t wear them unless you need to because they are so much heavier than regular shoes. On top of that, they will set off all metal detectors, so don’t wear them going to the airport or passing through the federal building where these detectors about because you will make a lot of noise.

Another reminder we would like to tell you is that these steel toe boots are also not waterproof. If you constantly get them wet, they might rust, unless you buy the stainless steel kind or if the boots you bought are entirely waterproof. But even if it does get ruined with water, worry not because these steel toe boots are widely available at an affordable price because steel is a cheap and affordable material.

Can Steel Toe Boots Really Protect Us?

Just like us, you may be wondering what kind of protection can these steel to boots give. After all, we have put our who trust and confidence in these work boots, so the fate and life of our toes depend on this footwear. Can these protect our digits well?

If you have ever thought about how strong and how much pressure our steel toe boots can take, then you have come to the right place. These boots are for safety so they have a rating of ASTM 75 pound-foot compression resistance. In layman’s terms that all of us can understand, this means it can tolerate up to 2,500 pounds or 1,133 kilograms of compression. That’s fairly huge at over one metric ton.

If you’re having trouble visualizing it, then let us compare it with a car wheel. A small compact car weighs 2,700 pounds while a standard four-door can weigh 3,300 pounds. It is safe to say that if a car wheel runs over our feet, we will be relatively unscathed because one wheel will not bear the brunt of all cars.

However, if you are in an area where trucks abound or even semi-loaded ones, you will have to be extra cautious because these are heavier. You have to check out if they make composite or nano-tech boots that can withstand that intense level of pressure. The steel inside your boots will most likely bend at this point, but it is better the steel than having crushed toes.

What Makes These Steel Toe Boots Safe?

Steel is already an altered form of iron that has been mixed with a few compounds. We may find alloy toe boots, which usually mean other metallic toes such as titanium or aluminum. But the funny part, steel is actually an alloy itself when we mention if in scientific terms.

However, for the purpose of construction boots, these steel toes are not the same as alloy toes. A fun fact: steel has around 2% of carbon because this is a hardening agent. There are some comp toes, nanotech toes, or carbon fiber toes, but these can never be like steel toes, but all of them do fall under the safety toe shoe category. Therefore, it is also okay to refer to steel toes as safety toes.

How Much Do These Cost?

We perused the construction boots 2019 guide to ascertain the price and they can cost anywhere from $20 to $450. The higher prices come from premium brands that do offer higher quality materials for the shoe itself. It could also be waterproof and the steel could be made of corrosion-free stainless steel.

But in general, getting something around the $50 to $90 price range is already good. We don’t need to go triple digits for our work boots because even the median-priced ones will already do a good job protecting our beloved toes. If they do wear out, we can always buy new ones again because they don’t break the bank. It is critical to always have these on hand, so we won’t be complacent about our safety.

Final Word on Safety Boots

These steel toe boots may be uncomfortable because they are heavier when compared with our usual pair of shoes. They are also a bit harder because they offer us better impact protection. We also noticed that these shoes are snug and offer very little wiggle room for our little toes in the toe box area.

We must always remember, no matter how heavy these steel toe boots are, we have to bear them. In time, we will break in our shoes and we will get used to them. No matter how careful we are, accidents can happen and they often do when we least expect them. Thus, it is better to be prepared all the time by having our steel toe boots ready to use.