These Boots are Made for Woodworking


PeteJr

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I recommend wood floors. I hate working on concrete, so I built my shop with a crawl space. The other advantage of that was being able to run all the electrical and DC under the floor and up. But, seriously, a good pair of cross trainers should be comfy.

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I wear a pair of Bates "quarter boots" that I purchased from www.galls.com. Their service is great and their pricing isn't bad either. The boots I bought there were the same or less than the crappy ones I'd been buying at Sears. I also highly recommend Spenco inserts to replace the insoles in whatever you wear. Having arthritic knees and spending a good portion of my day on concrete floors, either in the store where I work or in my shop, they made the difference between sleeping all night and waking at 2 AM to take Tylenol because my knees were throbbing so badly they woke me up.

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I wear a pair of Bates "quarter boots" that I purchased from www.galls.com. Their service is great and their pricing isn't bad either. The boots I bought there were the same or less than the crappy ones I'd been buying at Sears. I also highly recommend Spenco inserts to replace the insoles in whatever you wear. Having arthritic knees and spending a good portion of my day on concrete floors, either in the store where I work or in my shop, they made the difference between sleeping all night and waking at 2 AM to take Tylenol because my knees were throbbing so badly they woke me up.

Good tip, Allen. I hope your knees are doing better.

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I wear a pair of Bates "quarter boots" that I purchased from www.galls.com. Their service is great and their pricing isn't bad either. The boots I bought there were the same or less than the crappy ones I'd been buying at Sears. I also highly recommend Spenco inserts to replace the insoles in whatever you wear. Having arthritic knees and spending a good portion of my day on concrete floors, either in the store where I work or in my shop, they made the difference between sleeping all night and waking at 2 AM to take Tylenol because my knees were throbbing so badly they woke me up.

Allen, I don't want to hijack this post, but I went to gall.com and noticed they have 5 different Bates Quarter boots for men. Which one did you purchase, and would you recommend any of the other 4? Thanks Allan.

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For boots I like my Danners. They work fine, last a long time.:) I'm on my fourth year on the current pair and they're still going strong. But they're pretty much for outdoor use mucking around jobsites and hiking.

For the basement, a good pair of cross-trainers works just as well. By "good pair" I mean expect to spend somewhere around a C-note. And the anti-fatigue mats are a must, at least for the places you'll be spending most of your time at.

I learned a long time ago that cheap work footwear is no bargain: whatever you save up front you'll end up spending on Advil, not to mention the pain and suffering.....

HTH,

Bill

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My most comfortable work boots over the years have been "CAT" as in Caterpillar.

http://www.catfootwear.com/

Everyday shoes are high end New Balance running/cross trainers. They consistently have a wider "toe box" and great cushioning.

Bottomline everyone has differences and should be fitted properly and buy regardless of brand.

p.s. No mention of "Crocs"? ;)

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Allen, do you need a provider number to order from Galls? My wife is a paramedic, and we needed to enter her registry information to get some supplies for her from them before. (Or is it a matter of certain supplies requiring proof of appropriate end user?)

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Pete, are you wanting a pair of good boots in general or specific to working in the shop for comfort?

Good boots in general are Danner and Georgia boots. Both of these make a good "work" boot for construction type work, usually have a lug sole on them and are going to be sturdy and last. A good insert is a must for comfort on concrete. These can run from about $200 and up.

There was another suggestion, and I 2nd this one too, is a pair of good tenny runners and using anti fatigue mats. That is what I do. I bought the cheapy foam fatigue mats (2'x2' interlocking squares) from Costco and they really made a noticable difference in the shop floor. Inserts are still a great idea in the athletic shoes. I prefer the running shoes myself for the extra shock absorbtion opposed to a crosstrainer but that is personal preference. Athletic shoes in general are less expensive than boots but wear out faster in rough conditions. Working in the woodshop would be, what I consider, easy duty.

Another thing about the boots is that they can take a bit of time to "break in" and get moulded to you feet and feel soft, unless you wear them all day, every day. Athletic shoes are pretty quick to break in.

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Pete, are you wanting a pair of good boots in general or specific to working in the shop for comfort?

Good boots in general are Danner and Georgia boots. Both of these make a good "work" boot for construction type work, usually have a lug sole on them and are going to be sturdy and last. A good insert is a must for comfort on concrete. These can run from about $200 and up.

There was another suggestion, and I 2nd this one too, is a pair of good tenny runners and using anti fatigue mats. That is what I do. I bought the cheapy foam fatigue mats (2'x2' interlocking squares) from Costco and they really made a noticable difference in the shop floor. Inserts are still a great idea in the athletic shoes. I prefer the running shoes myself for the extra shock absorbtion opposed to a crosstrainer but that is personal preference. Athletic shoes in general are less expensive than boots but wear out faster in rough conditions. Working in the woodshop would be, what I consider, easy duty.

Another thing about the boots is that they can take a bit of time to "break in" and get moulded to you feet and feel soft, unless you wear them all day, every day. Athletic shoes are pretty quick to break in.

I need them for working in the shop which is an everyday situation for me.

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Allen, I don't want to hijack this post, but I went to gall.com and noticed they have 5 different Bates Quarter boots for men. Which one did you purchase, and would you recommend any of the other 4? Thanks Allan.

The ones I purchased are these.

I went with the composite toed boots as I am A) accident prone and B) frequently using a pallet jack to move about large and heavy woodworking machines. I haven't tried the other boots but I've been very happy with the ones I bought.

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Allen, do you need a provider number to order from Galls? My wife is a paramedic, and we needed to enter her registry information to get some supplies for her from them before. (Or is it a matter of certain supplies requiring proof of appropriate end user?)

No provider number was needed, at least not that I noticed. I didn't try to purchase anything other than boots,though, so it may be on an item by item basis. I went there on the recommendation of my doctor who is retired from the Army and a woodworker as well.

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The ones I purchased are these.

I went with the composite toed boots as I am A) accident prone and B) frequently using a pallet jack to move about large and heavy woodworking machines. I haven't tried the other boots but I've been very happy with the ones I bought.

I'm thinking that these are the hit for working in the shop. I may have to try a pair myself. They are relatively inexpensive and sturdier that tennis shoes. Thanks for the link.

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I also have a bit of a foot problem, mainly due to years of neglect. I like to wear a good pair of walking shoes with Dr Scholls inserts. I have a nice comfortable pair of Baffin boots as well and a good pair of Gorilla Boots. Trouble with boots is I hate taking them off to come in the house.

In addition I wear good wool socks. The socks seem to help a lot.

I can spend the whole day in my shop and my feet are fine so long as i have proper support. If I try to cheat with a pair of slip-on's I feel it for a day or two.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Can't believe no mention these?

Croc's! Yep.. by far the best thing I did for my feet in my woodshop/concrete floors.

I spend hours on end some days (10-12)in my shop and for the longest time, nothing helped.

Tried boots, sneakers, low cut hiking shoes, etc.

What I found best were Mens Crocs with a wool sock. It's like a slice of heaven!

The model is full covered top and sides so no sawdust get's it.

10073_side_001.jpg

The model I got was "Specialist", $29 and sometimes on sale with a coupon code.

In the summer, I drop the wool socks and just plain ankle socks..

No, it's not steel toe and truthfully I don't see the need for a steel toe shoe in a woodshop.

I wear steel toe in my other job and find most not comfortable at all. Especially ones made for Police/Fire/EMS (I'm a FF)

I have had the big brands too. Very well made but tough to be in all day.

No, I wouldn't wear these doing construction, remodeling or metal work. But in a furniture woodshop, hell yes!

I have dropped a few 10' x 1" x wide Maple boards near my feet and didn't feel a thing. It would have the same thickness as a hiking shoe at the top/toe area.

Try the croc's. Then you'll see why hospital/restaurant workers wear them all day.

-Peter

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