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Boot Thread - First pair of work boots.

Weird comment considering all of us are motorcycle riders, and work boots make for good riding boots.
I don't know that a great many of us have an official collection of riding boots...and if we do if like to assume they're being used as riding boots.

Between golf shoes, work boots, dress shoes and sneakers, I might have a dozen total and I feel I need to get rid of a few pair for some reason...seems like way too many shoes.

The idea of collecting 'things' always struck me as odd anyway. Not my thing.
A guy I used to live across the street from had about a dozen high-end motorcycle helmets that were never worn and never would be. Friends of the pretty things collect those stupid Starbucks cups. People collect watches.

I'm not envious of any of them nor the things they buy.

I find it all a waste of space and money...and anyone is free to bust my balls for wasting space and money on a 28-year-old Harley as soon as I start a thread about it :dunno
 
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To be clear this is all said in a light-hearted manner.
Y'all can obviously spend your money however y'all want.

:thumbup.
 
The working man's Imelda Marcos.

That’s me actually.

The amount of shoes I buy every year is just staggering. Laced up a new pair of sneakers today actually…to wear at work. Some lovely New Balance 990s.

You folks all know what I do for a living. I used to do actual work boots for a year or two. Too clunky, didn’t like having to get in and out of cars, or worse having to be in the car doing interior repairs. Then I switched to business-ish casual shoes like Eccos, and used those for years.

These days, I’m in running shoes. Those always have the best squishiest cushion. Only problem with these kind of shoes with a ton of high tech foam, is that that foam gets compressed and loses its resiliency. After a few months with my 240+lbs standing on them all day. So I’m replacing my work shoes every few months.
 
Mine too. $28 for a pair at the army surplus store. I resoled my pair 4x and would run 2-3 layers of orthopedic insert in them. I walked all over town in those boots.
I walked all over Fort Benning, Fort Hood, and South Korea in those boots (and jungle boots).
 
When in the mountains, I have two primary work boots, depending on what I’m doing. One pair is a steel toed boot, whose brand I don’t remember. I’ve been on the verge of replacing them for a long time, but then got some insoles that make them decently comfortable. Steel toes have been handy when handling large logs, as they have a tendency to roll and my feet have a tendency to be downhill of them.

For work up in a tree, I got a pair of ArbPro Evo 2 arborist boots, which work well with spurs or rope walking. They are close fitting enough to get into tight spaces and all-day comfortable in spurs.
never figured you for dude who’d put yourself downhill of a large, unstabilized log.
 
never figured you for dude who’d put yourself downhill of a large, unstabilized log.
Completely get that. It turns out that the steel toe makes a handy wedge to stop the roll when I see it get started. This is in the context of using a 6’ cant hook to maneuver a log before winching it onto the sawmill.
 
My first work boot was Santa Rosa Brand Steel Toe with Vibram brand souls.
Got them at Barney’s in San Rafael.
Sir Francis Drake Boulevard by the canal.
I wore these as a teenager to school and everywhere else till the steel showed. I used to kick things for no reason at all wearing steel toe shoes just cause I had them….
Geez
PaulR🤪
 
Completely get that. It turns out that the steel toe makes a handy wedge to stop the roll when I see it get started. This is in the context of using a 6’ cant hook to maneuver a log before winching it onto the sawmill.
you’re killing me, dude. my logger friends usually say something along the lines of ‘stand back ma’am, we know what we’re doing’. i’m gonna have to rethink standing back lol.
 
That’s me actually.

The amount of shoes I buy every year is just staggering. Laced up a new pair of sneakers today actually…to wear at work. Some lovely New Balance 990s.

You folks all know what I do for a living. I used to do actual work boots for a year or two. Too clunky, didn’t like having to get in and out of cars, or worse having to be in the car doing interior repairs. Then I switched to business-ish casual shoes like Eccos, and used those for years.

These days, I’m in running shoes. Those always have the best squishiest cushion. Only problem with these kind of shoes with a ton of high tech foam, is that that foam gets compressed and loses its resiliency. After a few months with my 240+lbs standing on them all day. So I’m replacing my work shoes every few months.
Dude I am so there with you. I usually only wear my running shoes at the gym to keep the mileage down but have to replace them about every 8-12months due to the foam squishing. Sucks especially as the nice ones now run in the $150- $200 price range. I liekd my first set of ONs but the fabric tore on the upper maybe because i lace mine up too tight but have kind of steered clear since.
 
ONs are probably the most comfortable sneakers I’ve walked in.
Great, another shoe not made in my size. :facepalm

I have one pair of NB sneakers, one pair of NB hiking boots and one pair of Birkenstock sandals... that's it. :laughing
 
I’ve wasted money several times on boots and shoes that I thought were comfortable when trying on in the store but then hated later after buying.
Some of those I’ll leave in storage at work as backups which could be years until someone eventually throws them out.
 
Damn what size do you wear?
15AA (double narrow). Most long feet are also wide feet. Most shoe companies (except NB) drop the narrow sizes above size 12 and start adding the double/triple/quadruple wide sizes.
I also have freakishly high arches that require orthotic insoles... my weird feet have done me no favors.
I used to wear 3 pairs of socks to try and keep my feet from flopping around inside the narrowest pair of 15 work boots that Redwing made. :laughing
 
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