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Where the rubber meets the road: What shoes should you be wearing in the workshop?
A good argument could be made that shoes are the most important part of your workwear ensemble. A good piece of footwear will not only protect your feet and provide all-day comfort, but the benefits will go all the way up to your spine and neck with the support they provide.
Welcome to the new Popular Woodworking Gear Guides, where we share with you the woodworking tools and gear we’re using in our shops. These articles are not sponsored content, but may include free samples provided from the manufacturer for testing and photography purposes.
What should I look for in work shoes?
When looking at work shoes, consider the following criteria: price, comfort, weight, safety (slip and crush), flexibility, and convenience. No one single pair of shoes or boots is going to excel in every category, so you’ll want to pick the right pair for the job at hand. This is especially true if you’re going to be sawmilling or working outdoors, where there are additional environmental concerns.
How much should I spend on work boots?
The old adage of you get what you pay for is especially true in footwear. In fact, there’s a specific anecdote about this very thing: “A man who could afford 50 dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in 10 years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent 100 dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.” Clearly prices have risen since the boots theory was coined, but the point still stands. I have a pair of Wolverine boots I picked up used in college that’s still holding up years and years later. The boots they replaced were some brand new department-store model that had the sole fall off after 6 months of light usage. All of that being said, expect to spend at least $150 on a reputable pair of boots
What about non-boot footwear?
If we’re being 100% honest, I’m probably wearing tennis shoes or croc-esque footwear over 50% of the time in my shop. Though if I think about it, almost half the time in the shop is spent cleaning things up, or assembling small projects, or finishing work. These are all perfect tasks for lightweight footwear with minimal protection. A tennis shoe or the like will at the very least provide a small level of protection against small items and stubbed toes. Still, if you’re working with sharp tools or heavy pieces of lumber, proper boots are a must.
Editor’s pick for lightweight footwear
Crocs Shop Men Shop Women $49.99+
- Price: 7/10 – Reasonably priced. For what they are, they’re kind of pricey, but they’re less than other options.
- Comfort: 9/10 -Pretty dang comfortable
- Weight: 10/10 – Excellent (like wearing a feather – I have flip-flops that are heavier).
- Safety: 2/10 – Very little. They will protect from small items getting dropped on them, but a sharp chisel or heavy wood will do damage.
- Flexibility: 8/10 – Not limited to the shop. These double as my camping shoes, garage shoes, and other general “outside” shoe.
- Convenience: 9/10 – High -They’re sitting there waiting for my feet right in the door. The only reason they’re not a 10/10 is that occasionally, the “four-wheel drive” strap gets flipped down and is an inconvenience.
Alternate Picks: Hey Dudes Men & Women • Adidas Slides Men & Women
Editor’s picks for leather boots
Red Wing Heritage Moc Toe Shop Men Shop Women $309.99+
- Price: 6/10 – Make no mistake, these are not inexpensive boots. Consider this a true buy-it-for-life investment though, and the price is easier to swollow.
- Comfort: 10/10 — Once they’re broken in, the level of comfort is unparalleled.
- Weight: 6/10 – You’ll definitely notice that you’re wearing them, but they’re not uncomfortably heavy.
- Safety: 7.5/10 – Quite good. Leather boots provide a good amount of protection from sharp objects, and are more resistant to crushing than tennis shoes. The soles on this model are not specifically slip-resistant.
- Flexibility: 9/10 – Not limited to the shop. Red Wing Boots are iconic and functional. Wear them into the shop, to the pumpkin patch, camping, or out to dinner on a Friday night (especially the sharp-looking 1907 model shown here.
- Convenience: 5/10 – Especially before they’re broken in, they are a bit of pain to get on. The laces need to be loosened and it helps to be sitting down to put them on.
Alternate Picks: Eddie Bauer Severson Moc Toe Unisex • Carhartt Wedge Boot Men & Women
Editor’s picks for 6″ work boots
Work boots are distinct from other boots by the additional toe protection, usually in the form of a composite toe cap (aka steel toe, though that’s rarely used nowadays). This type of footwear is essential when working with large, heaving lumber, or sawmilling, where there’s greater risk of crushing your feet.
Wolverine DuraShocks SR Icon Composite Toe Shop Men $164.95 / Wolverine Piper Composite Toe Shop Women $134.95
- Price: 8/10 – Right in the sweet spot for this style of boot.
- Comfort: 9/10 — High. Right out of the box these felt good on my feet. They’re also fairly breathable as well.
- Weight: 8/10 – For work boots these are quite lightweight.
- Safety: 10/10 – Very high. The boots are ASTM F2413-18 M/I/C EH rated, meaning they can withstand a 2,500 pound force. They also meet ASTM F3445-21 SR standards for slip resistance.
- Flexibility: 6/10 – Workwear only. This black pair all but screams “work boot”. It is available in dark brown and tan as well, which helps a bit.
- Convenience: 7/10 – Medium-high. These are actually pretty easy to get on and off. Still, you have to bend down to lace them up.
Alternate Picks: KEEN Utility Cincinnati 6″ Composite Toe Waterproof Wedge Work Boots in Men & Women
Editor’s picks for 8″ work boots
An 8″ work boot will provide more ankle stability at a slight cost in comfort for many people.
- Price: 8/10 – This is right about what you’d expect to pay for boots of this quality.
- Comfort: 9.5/10 — High. They need a bit of breaking in, but are very comfortable for an 8″ boot. They are very waterproof as well.
- Weight: 7/10 – They’re not heavy, but you’ll definitely notice them on your feet.
- Safety: 10/10 – Very high. The boots feature ASTM F2413 protective toe classification and ASTM F2413 electrical hazard standard, plus an oil and slip resistant outsole.
- Flexibility: 6/10 – Workwear only. They’re good-looking boots, but not something you want to be wearing to the grocery store.
- Convenience: 5/10 – Medium. It’s a bit of work to get these laced up every time you put them on.
Alternate Picks: Wolverine Revival 8″ Waterproof Composite Toe Industrial Boot in Men & Women
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
