Quality boots, corks, etc. Have any recommendations?

Wesspur
Rugged made
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Went out on a limb and bought a pair of Merrill black 10” safety toe boots two years ago. They’ve held up really well, my feet never get wet, and they are super comfy. I wear them daily for work and they’re still going strong, and I’ll be getting another pair when these finally wear out. Think I paid around $150 for them.
 
I usually wear rubber boots in the forest which is where I go when I harvest berries or trees. They're tall and water proof. I got insulated ones for winter. Nokian brand. It's the old man foot wear, like what my granddad used to wear most of the time. If I was gonna do a lot of walking I'd probably get something for hiking, or just surplus army boots.

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I have a pair of general use work shoes with steel toe caps, made by Sievi in Finland. I also have a pair of Sievi "work slippers", almost like crocs but with an armored toe cap, I wear these the most when it's warm outside. All sievi stuff I've had is high quality and has lasted for many years. My nokian robber boots are 10+ years too, my earlier pair of nokian lasted almost 20 years before they gave up.
 
DennisCA said:
I usually wear rubber boots in the forest which is where I go when I harvest berries or trees. They're tall and water proof. I got insulated ones for winter. Nokian brand. It's the old man foot wear, like what my granddad used to wear most of the time. If I was gonna do a lot of walking I'd probably get something for hiking, or just surplus army boots.

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I have a pair of general use work shoes with steel toe caps, made by Sievi in Finland. I also have a pair of Sievi "work slippers", almost like crocs but with an armored toe cap, I wear these the most when it's warm outside. All sievi stuff I've had is high quality and has lasted for many years. My nokian robber boots are 10+ years too, my earlier pair of nokian lasted almost 20 years before they gave up.
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Nothing I'd more miserable than rubber foot wear for active work.
 
I've walked long, long miles in rubber boots in the finnish army... Standard issue, I'd say it works well in our climate. Boots are nicer to walk in, but if you're in the finnish forests, you can often find yourself stepping in something wet. Also like them for walking in dense foliage and shrubs. Keeps your legs from the knees down protected against snake bites and ticks.

At any rate they are pretty popular here amongst people working in the forest and hunters, so I think they can't be all that bad.
 
I see only one mention of Wesco. Sure they are expensive, but they'll outlast most of the boots mentioned and are usually rebuildable for about half the cost of new. Consider caulk boots like that an 'investment'. When I was loggin' in OR & WA, you'd be laughed at if you appeared in anything else but Wesco. I'm sure that's changed, but not the boot.

Kevin
 
Real1shepherd said:
I see only one mention of Wesco. Sure they are expensive, but they'll outlast most of the boots mentioned and are usually rebuildable for about half the cost of new. Consider caulk boots like that an 'investment'. When I was loggin' in OR & WA, you'd be laughed at if you appeared in anything else but Wesco. I'm sure that's changed, but not the boot.

Kevin
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An ex-logger gifted me a set of Wesco regular boots and a set of Wesco caulks, both 1980's vintage, and I've been daily wearing the regulars for months now. The caulk boots had the sole fall off but I'm thoroughly impressed by how comfortable and durable the boots are. When I have the extra $ I'll get them rebuilt if possible, and if they won't rebuild them I'll be getting a new set. My neighbor wears White's and swears by them but I think I'll stick with Wesco.
 
I look to the oldest book makers in the world, the Italians, for the best boots. They have been making quality all leather boots for hundreds of years. I purchased a pair of hand made scarpa boots in Italy after college in 2004. With care, the leather has not looked age in close to 20 years. They refer to them as Mountaineering boots, but they are basically a HD hiker.

The part that makes the boot is the inside material. It should be made of soft leather. The only synthetic material should be shoe laces.

The Scarpa boots sold in the US are not the same as the hand made scarpa boots sold in Italy. They are close and still high quality, but not quite the same. If you're ever in Europe, treat yourself to a pair.

Another fine Italian boot is LaSportiva.
 
Woodslasher said:
An ex-logger gifted me a set of Wesco regular boots and a set of Wesco caulks, both 1980's vintage, and I've been daily wearing the regulars for months now. The caulk boots had the sole fall off but I'm thoroughly impressed by how comfortable and durable the boots are. When I have the extra $ I'll get them rebuilt if possible, and if they won't rebuild them I'll be getting a new set. My neighbor wears White's and swears by them but I think I'll stick with Wesco.
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Figure a full rebuild(if they deem it possible) is about half the cost of new. They take the whole boot apart and rebuild. They have a vid of what they do on their website.

Kevin
 
snobdds said:
I look to the oldest book makers in the world, the Italians, for the best boots. They have been making quality all leather boots for hundreds of years. I purchased a pair of hand made scarpa boots in Italy after college in 2004. With care, the leather has not looked age in close to 20 years. They refer to them as Mountaineering boots, but they are basically a HD hiker.

The part that makes the boot is the inside material. It should be made of soft leather. The only synthetic material should be shoe laces.

The Scarpa boots sold in the US are not the same as the hand made scarpa boots sold in Italy. They are close and still high quality, but not quite the same. If you're ever in Europe, treat yourself to a pair.

Another fine Italian boot is LaSportiva.
Click to expand...
This is true of their hiking boots(Italian). I still have a pair from the 70's. I can't wear them though because I never 'got the memo' that your feet flatten out and get 'larger' if you're on them all day. Those boots were 10 1/2 and I mostly wear 12 now.....can get by with 11 1/2 in some makes.

Kevin
 
KASH said:
I cant wear them in winter too cold for me.My feet have been frozen too many times since childhood.Insulated felt lined snow pacs with battery socks is my winter footwear.
Kash
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Freeze in the winter and wet soggy feet in the summer. Plus poor support to the point of being dangerous in the hills.
 
snobdds said:
I look to the oldest book makers in the world, the Italians, for the best boots. They have been making quality all leather boots for hundreds of years. I purchased a pair of hand made scarpa boots in Italy after college in 2004. With care, the leather has not looked age in close to 20 years. They refer to them as Mountaineering boots, but they are basically a HD hiker.

The part that makes the boot is the inside material. It should be made of soft leather. The only synthetic material should be shoe laces.

The Scarpa boots sold in the US are not the same as the hand made scarpa boots sold in Italy. They are close and still high quality, but not quite the same. If you're ever in Europe, treat yourself to a pair.

Another fine Italian boot is LaSportiva.
Click to expand...
Austrian Haderer, same thing. Bought new in 1974, still ticking. Used for ice climbing, rock climbing and some logging in winter.
 
fields_mj said:
I wore redwing boots for a long time. It would normally take 3 or 4 days before they were broke in enough to wear all day long. The boots were comfortable, but +12 hrs per day on concrete always left my knees in bad shape (6'2" and about 205 lbs back then). Switch jobs and haven't really needed good work boots since then. In the field, I normally wear Muck boots or Danner boots, depending on the weather, ground conditions, and what I'm actually doing. I've had 2 pair of Danner hunting boots that have lasted me over 15 years (intermittent use). I needed a pair of boots for a trip out west this summer (first prairie dog hunting trip). I ended up buying a pair of 8" Danner Kinetics and LOVE them. They don't have a safety toe of any kind in them, but they are, by far, the MOST comfortable boots I've ever put on. I didn't realize that I didn't have a pair for the trip until the last minute, so I only got them in time to wear to work for one day. 2nd day was 16 hrs of traveling, and 3rd day I was on my feet for about 17 hrs, most of it hiking around on the prairie. First 2 days, my feet were just a little sore at the end of the day, but not bad. Since then, they've been perfect. Next time I buy a pair of work boots with a steel/safety toe, it will be from Danner.
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Well, I wore the Danner Kinnetcs pretty much every day for about 15 months. They are still in good shape, but I had to retire them to home/field use because they've collected a lot of debris. We make medical devices at work and I'm tired of trying to clean all the saw dust and tirt out of them ;) I just wore them on a mission trip to Poland where we were converting summer cabins at a youth camp to house refugees this winter. The boots are still doing great. In the mean time I'm looking for a pair of Danner lookout EMS boots to take their place for every day use.
 

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