Steel Toe Sneakers
Steel Toe Sneakers
Steel toe sneakers are designed with the protection of your toes and the front of your foot in mind. By being aware of what you are buying and what you are ultimately using them for, you will be able to make a better, informed decision. I wouldn’t want you to make the mistakes I did when I purchased my first steel-toed shoe.
Some Basic Information
The steel insert, located in the front of the shoe, is called a “cap.” It provides added safety for the protection of your feet, namely your toes, from getting smashed by heavy objects.
Since the shoe is also covered (by the cap), it also protects the toes from being stubbed. For this reason, most businesses require that all employees wear covered footwear at minimum because even a stubbed toe can cause painful injury and disability.
When Do You Need A Steel Toe Sneaker?
Employment
Generally speaking, the types of jobs that require you to wear steel-toed footwear are those that involve heavy lifting, moving of heavy objects or working with large machinery. If you are purchasing your footwear for work, ask your employer for the written specifications to ensure that you adhere to all the requirements of your safety shoe. There may be other safety requirements that could prohibit you from purchasing a sneaker as opposed to a hard-leather boot.
Oftentimes, a safety sneaker will do if you are just visiting a construction area. You need to check with the site safety officer and always have the safety documentation of your sneaker on hand. Since sneakers do not readily look like safety shoes, it would be wise to have proof available to anyone who questions that fact.
Home Improvement and Moving
Steel toe safety sneakers are especially useful when doing home improvement work that involves heavy lifting and moving big appliances and heavy furniture. Of course clunky safety boots are fine but how much more comfortable could it be wear sneakers while doing it? If you get tired, you can temporarily rest the appliance on your steel toes!
When doing home improvement, often is the case when something goes wrong right in the middle of your project and you have to leave for the nearest home-improvement store. Well there’s no need to change shoes if you already have stylish sneakers on, now is there?
Sports
Keep in mind that, with a comfortable pair, you can also use them as athletic wear. People involved in extreme sports such as motorcycle racing also use steel-toed athletic shoes.
Fashion Doesn’t Have To Suffer
Gone were the days when looking for these types of shoes was limited to a few styles and sizes from an even more extremely limited number of shoe stores that even carried shoes with steel toes in them. These days, fashion doesn’t have to suffer at the mere thought of wearing heavy steel toed boots.
These days, shoe materials have become even more sophisticated with technology. There are even “steel-toed” shoes out there that are made of materials other than steel but just as strong and much lighter. When you think about it, most people who desire these shoes are standing, walking or being active all day so the less weight from their shoes comes as a welcome relief.
Fabrics, styles and colors have also become diverse as the market for steel-toed footwear increases. The number of footwear manufacturers such as Red Wing Shoes, Carolina, Men’s Converse, Pleaser, Timberland, Nautilus, SexyBlvd and Wolverine are growing as more and more are bending over backwards to get in on this line of footwear.
As a result we now, not only have work boots, but work shoes, sneakers for work in men’s and women’s styles. There are so many options available online and you can make your selection from hundreds of choices, all from the comfort of your chair. You can find them online at such reasonable prices now that it’s a shame to have to pay so much for them at the store.
Sadly, my old shoes are deep in the closet somewhere while I take my new shoes out for walks on a daily basis. I’ll tell you why. When I purchased my first safety shoe for work, it was a matter of spending a lot of time hunting down even one store that carried steel toed shoes only to find that they were heavy, not in my size and very un-stylish to say the least. There were no steel toe sneakers available at the time.
My old work boots were very heavy (and expensive) while my new WORX Steel Toe Sneaker weighs a mere 28 ounces and cost half as much! It’s stylish and light so I tend to wear them as much as possible. I especially like the polyurethane insoles that dissipate static electricity and the slip-resistant outsoles so I don’t worry about slipping or falling.