Safety Boots & Work Boots
What to consider when choosing your next pair of safety boots or work boots?
When deciding on what pair of safety boots to buy next, it’s important to think about where you’ll be wearing your boots and what types of protection and features will be most important to you. Not all safety boots are made equal, and each pair comes with its own unique set of features, fit and styling. Use our checklist below as a starting point when buying your next pair of work boots.
Style
The style of safety boot or shoe is very important and usually comes down to a combination of personal preference and where you will be wearing your safety boots. Safety footwear comes in a variety of styles, such as high leg and ankle height work boots, slip on safety boots, and lightweight safety shoes.
High leg and ankle height lace up work boots are going to provide the most support on uneven or loose terrain and help to prevent ankle injuries when worn correctly. Slip on or elastic sided safety boots don’t offer much ankle support but are easy to get on and off and don’t have laces that can get caught or exposed to flame/spark. Safety shoes offer no ankle support but are often chosen for their lightweight characteristics, helping to reduce fatigue when standing for long days in warehousing or manufacturing environments.
When working in uneven or loose terrain, it’s recommended to look at high leg or ankle height lace up safety boots for added support. If you’re working indoors or on even surface, take a look at slip on and safety shoe styles for their lightweight and easy to wear styling.
Features
The features of a safety boot or shoe are probably the most important factor to consider when buying safety footwear. We can split features into two categories, risk-mitigation and user-centric.
Risk-mitigation features relate to minimising the risk of physical harm, such as a steel toe cap, anti-penetration midsole, or anti-slip sole. These features are the most important to consider first and will relate to what type of risks are associated with the environment you work in.
User-centric features provide additional comfort, durability and easy of use. Some examples of these features and styles are additional foam padding for comfort, waterproof boots for durability, or zip side boots for easy on-off. Choosing the right user-centric features will help to ensure you feel great about your new work boots.
Fit
The fit and feel of a new pair of safety boots or shoes is going to be different for everyone. Our feet come in many shapes and sizes, and footwear is no different. Fortunately, we have many brands and styles to choose from in both Men’s and Women’s safety styles. Brands such as Apex Footwear offer a good range of wide-fit work boots, while Grisport often include an additional innersole to tailor a firm or soft feel. Steel Blue have a 30-day comfort guarantee and some brands such as Blundstone, Puma and New Balance are well known for their comfort-oriented technology used in their safety boots. If you’re going to be wearing your new work boots often, take the time to evaluate what’s important to you.
For a more comprehensive guide on selecting the correct pair of safety boots, check out our Safety Footwear Guide.
Try before you buy
While we have a fantastic returns policy, which makes buying a new pair of work boots online a breeze, there’s nothing like trying before you buy! All of our stores have a huge range of styles from a wide variety of brands in both Men’s and Women’s sizes. Our expert team are super knowledgeable and can help you narrow down on the right pair of safety boots or safety shoes for you.
We're here to help you
We love helping our customers find the right safety footwear for their needs. Our friendly customer service team are available by phone, email or live chat if you’re unable to visit it in store.