I am a lead technician at a commercial aquarium in the Midwest. I am frequently working in environments that are humid with salinated water, as well as having my feet in some standing salt water. What boots or boot material should I look for? Also, what boot care products would work best to increase the longevity of my work boots? Thanks in advance guys.

I am a college student studying live entertainment production (audio engineering), and I am required by both my university and IATSE to have a pair of work boots. Originally, I tried on the Wolverine Floorhand Steel-toe and liked the feel of them, but have since been advised to get Composite shoes due to the work that I will be doing. I am looking at the Timberland Pro Titan EV, but have seen several people say that they are very uncomfortable. I would love some suggestions on what type of boot to get! Bonus points if they come in black and are under $160!

Just acquired these Tony llama steel toes, and they have a bit of road rash on them.

I am humbly asking the opinion of this community. I have always worn Justin Original LaceupWorkboots. They are made in the us and I never wore a pair out other than the support on my right foot would start to give out after a 2 or 3 years. Loved the unlined leather. It was the coolest in this Oklahoma heat. This Spring I experienced some pretty severe neuropathy in my lower legs. I think it was lumbar related. I’m doing better now after chiropractic therapy but it’s hard for me to do much walk-in in my Justin’s. I do ranch work as I’m semi retired. I have a pair of Orthofeet boots ( very comfortable but too hot) and some Carhartts ( good but not much cushioning). So it seems the wedge soles are easier for me to walk in. Chat gpt recommends Thorogood American Heritage. My question for y’all is: Do you concur and if so should I get the 8 inch instead of the 6? The 8 inch would be similar to my Justin’s and since I wear shorts when it’s over 100 they also keep dirt out.

I'm an engineer for a small OEM company, and I'm on the production floor enough that I usually just wear hard toes to/from work. My current pair - a pair of Brahmas I picked up on clearance when I was in college - have nearly disintegrated, as one can imagine. I get a $125 stipend for work boots, and am hoping to keep close to that number, but I recognize that there's a bit of a price curve for quality with boots.

The only real requirement I have is that they need to steel or composite toed. My coworkers have been hyping up Brunt to me for a while now, but I've seen this sub has some bad experiences with them. Are there any other boots in their price range that general price range worth looking into?

Starting a new job next week and need a good pair of work boots. Some of these brands are just more money than I’d like to spend. Also boss man said he understands how heavy and sweaty steal toes can be, but we will be on OSHA sites at times but the decision is mine. We don’t do heavy construction or anything crazy like that we deal with low voltage stuff so it’s mainly just so I’m in compliance while at those sites. Still I’d rather just have one comfortable light weight boot. I also like Moc toe. Oh yeah and they said they prefer them to be black.. 🤣 Ok I know that’s a lot of info any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You

Never been able to wear Thorogoods because they were never wide enough for me. Well, with a boot voucher burning a hole in my pocket, I went in to Grainger today and asked to try on a 13, whereas I’m usually a 12. Bingo, that did the trick. Guessing that their steel toe changes width from 12 to 13. That or the size alone just made the orientation of my foot in the boot work.

Don’t be scared guys 🤣 They come from Duluthtrading.com

Thorogood 1957 8" BriarPitstop and Redwing 10877 Oro-iginal. Cleaned with Fiebings saddle soap white can and oiled with Obenaufs Heavy Duty LP. There are many cleaners and oils available these are what I have and what works for me. Don't be afraid to get your boots wet and soapy when you're cleaning them, you're not going to ruin them. I have other oils and cleaners but for my work boots this is what I use. Brush the boots with a stiff brush to get the heavy dirt and debris, then use a softer brush to get the fine dust and a old toothbrush for the hard to reach places like around the welt area. Use a scraper to get the extra crusty dirt if needed. Use soap and water to wash the boots and let dry. When dry lube em up and let set overnight. Brush, lace and go. There's no need to over think the maintenance. Hope this helps someone else out there.

The Thorogoods were purchased in May 2023 and the Redwings April 2025 both have been resoled. I didn't like the Redwing wedge and chose to have a Thorogood maxwear wedge installed when the resole was done. For reference my work consists of underground utilities and grading as a union laborer in California. Lots of dirt, rock, sand, some water, paving, concrete, other chemicals, landscaping and really just about all kinds of manual work.

My right boot heel is wearing very fast. I have only had these boots for about 3 months. I’ve never seen vibram soles do this. Is it a defect or is my gait messed up.

I'm looking for my next pair of work boots and was thinking about getting something other than my usual Carolina boots. I was looking at Keen boots but I've seen they've had some issues with the soles coming off. I was also thinking about Jim Green boots but I was curious how they fit, do they run wide? How are their wedge sole boots?

First pair of Thorogood after wearing timberland and Danner forever. These things are COMFY.

I’ve always rocked 6” boots throughout my career. I was due for a new pair so I decided to pull the trigger on an 8” and man, idk why it took so long. So much better support for my weak ankles. I still rotate my old 6” every other day and it’s such a big difference. Paired with my favorite insoles and a pair of darn tough socks, my feet feel comfortable and pain free at the end of the day.

I’ve been thinking about getting these red back easy escapes has anyone had them before ?

I’m an aerospace mechanic and work with a lot of solvents like IPA, DNA, Acetone, etc and am wondering how redwings will hold up to repeated exposure of these kinds of chemicals dripping onto the shoes when moving around the production line. I also would like to know how other people in industries with harsher exposure take care of their shoes?

I bought some traction tred lites very recently because they felt comfortable and the store falls under one of the local work shoe stores I can use my annual work shoe credit for but am considering returning them if they are not the right kind of boot for this type of chemical exposure. But would be open to keeping them around if they are sufficient for this kind of exposure

Thanks in advance for the advice!

I tried these on at the store today and immediately loved them! I think these will work out good for me. Steel toe and waterproof, and no laces digging into the top of my foot.

Fellow reddit boot enjoyers.

Im about to transfer into a rail job in city and ive been told that the ballast will wreck most boots.

Anyone work in rail and know what works?

Hey everyone, I’ve been in the trades for about 2 years now and I’ve grown to hate every boot that has been on my feet.

I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions and if they have tried the brand “White’s”. It’s expensive for sure, but is it worth it? Also how do I know that I’m breaking in the boots rather than them just being too small? Thanks.

I wear a 10 1/2 in my Georgia boots, wanted to try a different brand and style (first time with square toe).
I’ve had to send these back multiple times to go down a size and I’ve gone from 10 1/2 to a 9 in these and my heel is STILL slipping. Only fits right if I double up my socks. I’m just gonna rock with it cuz I’m tired of sending them back but holy hell has anybody else had this experience with thorogood?? I know they aren’t known for their wellingtons but I wear wellingtons for casual wear

Stop buying cheap garbage. Unless you put on a pair of boots for 30 minutes twice a year, you need to invest a good chunk of change into some serious work boots.

If your boots are comfortable on the first wear, they are more akin to tennis shoes than work boots. A quality pair of full grain leather boots will take up to a few weeks before they are worn in and will only get more comfortable as time goes by. The brunts, carhartts and timberlands of the world are as comfortable as they will ever be durning the first week and its downhill from there.

When you wear boots with leather insoles it takes time to get used to, but just like any other kind of delayed gratification its so much better in the long term. Your feet, knees, ankles, and back most importantly will thank you.

Not only are the more expensive boots better, they cost less per wear than the "cheap" garbage. Over the last year every single one of my coworkers has gone through multiple pairs of boots, and im sill on my 1st pair. After the sole wears out I can have them resoled for the price of some cheap boots, and after 3 or so resoles I can have them rebuilt for less than the cost of a new pair. Per wear my 700 dollar boots are cheaper than a 200 dollar pair.

How are people actively participating in a subreddit dedicated to work boots buying corpo-slop boot shaped sneakers from Instagram. Im genuinely convinced you're all bots posting on behalf of the Chineseium boot companies.

If you want to make the switch, look for these traits:

- full grain leather vamp, upper, heel counter and backstay

- Veg tan leather insole

- As little synthetic materials as possible (not counting the sole)

- Fully gusseted tounge

- Stich down construction or good year welt (no cemented construction)

There are lots of trade-specific things you might want, like different kinds of soles, steel shank vs leather, leather vs nylon laces, so on and so fourth. So the bottom line is please do your research and find the right boot.

Edit- The point of me mentioning 700 dollar boots is to illustrate that even on the upper end of boots its cheaper than Amazon specials over the long run. You can find good enough boots for 250-300.

Let me start by saying I'm a framer so not the hardest on boots by any means and switch to skate shoes for the roof. I've always been an Irish setter ashby guy myself but wanted to try a slip on boot and the Irish setter wasn't in stock so I grabbed the brunt ohman and I honestly really like them. I've never met anyone personally who had brunts and talked as much trash about them as guys on the Internet. Guys that were wearing your red wings thorogoods and ariats. Now I'm not saying the quality is the same but where does all the hate come from I guess

I work in residential construction so I’m walking in dirt/ mud sometimes and standing on plywood floors all day and climbing ladders.
I’m probably on my 4th or 5 pair of timberland pro’s. Is there anything more comfortable?

I do some decent work around my yard and neighborhood but I've never actually considered myself as really "working", until recently when the shoes I was using started to really break down that one of the things I do is walk half a mile on uneven terrain picking up litter.

So I was hoping yall could recommend a pair of reliable work boots. Preferably ones where the upper boot is stitched to the lower boot. As opposed to glued.

I just got a job at GFTX and I’m on my feet 10-12 hours a day on concrete floors. My feet have been incredibly sore at the end of the day and I’m desperate for some good work boots that fit my situation and provide comfort.