Went boot shopping. Turned into a major fustercluck.

I normally can't stand to have safety-toe boots on my feet, they pinch my toes too much, especially when kneeling.

Also, I'm a little po'd at Chippewa boots as I didn't get the mileage out of them I thought I should for the price. Don't remember exactly how long I've had them but more than 2 years, less than 3. Had them repaired once, then the leather just behind the toe box blew up. Actually tore.

So drove to the nearest town 25 miles away, went to Store A: Nothing in my size in a non-safety boot. Crap.

Went to Store B: Stuff in my size, non-safety toe, but cheesy. You could tell just from the weight that I'd be lucky to get a year out of them, and $150+ price tag. Plus the fit was iffy.

Drove another 25 miles to the only Redwing retailer in 3 counties. Closed on Monday. Yes, I should've checked before I drove up, but I was still RIP-SHIT pissed! They'll get a Yelp review that may or may not make it past the censors.

Drove BACK to Ellsworth and went to Store C. Couple of decent boots, non-safety toe, but the fit was wonky. Felt okay sitting on the bench but when I walked in them the top of the boot creased and pinched the top of my foot.

Finally wound up buying another pair of Chippewa Loggers, had to take the steel toe but the toe box is big enough that I didn't notice any discomfort.

I did notice the $280 price tag tho.

This time I wrote the date on the inside of the shoe in marker. Sumbitches better last more than 2 years at that price...

Have you tried Danner? Their better boots come in wide sizes. If you are going to spend $280, they are worth a look.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Have you tried Danner? Their better boots come in wide sizes. If you are going to spend $280, they are worth a look.

I'll keep that in mind next time around.

Oh hell I buy 2 pairs of red wing. boots a year at $230 a pop. Granted I generally wear out the toes finishing concrete doing demo.
My current pair have been in service about 3 months and the toes are down to the steel.
My last pair of Chippewas I got about 3 months out of before they self destructed.
I made the mistake of getting a pair of timberlands. Literally blew them apart in 2 days. Yep spent $70 to blow a pair of boots apart in 2 days.
For me spending $430 a year in boots is expensive but I will pay the price for a boot that lasts 6 months in my line of work.

Amazon pricing is the same as the Union Boot Pro pricing.

quote:

Oh hell I buy 2 pairs of red wing. boots a year at $230 a pop. Granted I generally wear out the toes finishing concrete doing demo.
My current pair have been in service about 3 months and the toes are down to the steel.

Have you tried having the toes dipped? I used to have the same problem.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

Oh hell I buy 2 pairs of red wing. boots a year at $230 a pop. Granted I generally wear out the toes finishing concrete doing demo.
My current pair have been in service about 3 months and the toes are down to the steel.

Have you tried having the toes dipped? I used to have the same problem.

Not being facetious in the least - dipped in what? Rhino liner? Or something made just for shoes? I'm interested, and hadn't heard of this.

My brother has a sandblasting shop & his steel toed RedWings only last him 3 months! He paints the toes & seals the seems with a product called "Shoe Goo". Not pretty but it helps make them last longer.

quote:

Not being facetious in the least - dipped in what? Rhino liner? Or something made just for shoes? I'm interested, and hadn't heard of this.

It's a hard plastic similar to a bowling ball. They dip the toes in it and it protects the leather. Works really good for guys who are always kicking things, resting things on top of their boots, or on their knees where their toes are then on the floor.

Some places do it better than others. My local Redwing guy used to send them out. They were excellent. They now do them in house, and although not as good, still protect the toes well.

Not commenting on your boot misadventure.

But as far as a retailer being closed on Monday, I can see it. Thanks to off site corporate ownership, we now have a seven day a week retail culture, based on have employees (not owners) running and working in the stores.

However, there are likely still some family owned and operated stores, where the owners don't want to work seven days. In the old days these used to be closed Sunday. But now that religious issues don't drive people's shopping schedules, and a lot of non-retail people are off Sunday, and want to do their shopping then, the store owners figured they'd do more business being open on Sunday than Monday.

Note that this is sheer conjecture. But having grown up in such a store, it would make sense.

My store closes 3 days a year, Christmas, Easter and New Year’s Day... and the occasional snow day.

Most working folks just can’t make it in during the week.

To be successful we need to be open every day. It has its challenges but we need to make it easy for our customers.

Ill second the idea of coating the toe of the boot. Its very common where I work among the mechanical maintenance craft.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

Oh hell I buy 2 pairs of red wing. boots a year at $230 a pop. Granted I generally wear out the toes finishing concrete doing demo.
My current pair have been in service about 3 months and the toes are down to the steel.

Have you tried having the toes dipped? I used to have the same problem.

I have dipped, coated, and covered the toes with everything except another layer of steel. I have used commercially available products that seem to last a week or so. I have used flexible traffic membrane that lasts about a month.
Funny enough I had an employee At red wings tell me they would recommend cheap boots as mine would be torn up in a few months.
Perfect example was today actually. I spent the first 5 hours of the day saw cutting concrete slab with a 4.5” grinder as our demo saw is not set up for waterless dustless application as now required by OSHA. I then spent the next 5 hours on hands and knees finishing concrete. I’m rough on my boots

^^^ Have you tried a mining boot?

A friend/employee is a medic, and one of the several teams he is assigned to deals with structure collapse. He had to buy a set of approved boots and I was with him when he picked them up.

Mining isn't very common around here, so the boot shop said they had special ordered them. The toes on his boot are much more substantial than the toes on mine. The boots also cost a few times as much.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:

My store closes 3 days a year, Christmas, Easter and New Year’s Day... and the occasional snow day.

Most working folks just can’t make it in during the week.

To be successful we need to be open every day.

My rental equipment earns 70% to 80%, maybe more, of its income on weekends.

You already know the brand, model and size you want. Shop online. I usually find much better deals there.