Footwear Focus SAFETY FOOTWEAR
ENGLAND’S FIRST LADY OF CRICKET BAT CRAFTING – JENNIFER KEMBER OF SALIX – TESTS THE TIMBERLAND PRO LADIES TRAINERS. THEY BOWLED THAT MAIDEN OVER!
A mixture of blues and steel grey, they looked smart and compact. On
first wear, I found them surprisingly comfortable and, according to my sister-in-law Victoria, they improved the shape of my bottom compared with my old work shoes! Although a little heavier than most trainers, they are by no means chunky or cumbersome and remain very flexible, despite the safety toe cap and puncture resistant sole. According to the technical jargon, the Timberland PRO Series meets
the European standard EN ISO 20345:2007, which sets down certain requirements regarding protection from electric current, static and puncture, slip and water resistance. But, these trainers are far more sophisticated than I ever dreamt a pair of shoes could be. My usual basis for judging footwear comes down to how pretty they look and how likely I am to break my ankle/neck wearing them. The current a safety toe cap can conduct, or the ‘coefficient of friction requirement for a sole’ have never once crossed my mind. However, the safety toe cap in these shoes is capable of pro- tecting the wearer from shocks equivalent to 200 joules and will protect your pinkies from collapse under loads of 1500daN. Additionally, the soles have been tested on a
Timberland Ladies Saftey Trainer
F
variety of surfaces covered with different liquids for slip resistance and provide shock absorption in the heel, giving relief to people who spend large portions of the day standing. My only criticism of the technical performance of the Timberland PRO was whilst wearing them outside in the snow. Since the tread is pronounced to comply with slip resistance guidelines it filled with compacted snow which did not easily fall out making the shoes slippery when stepping back inside. All in all, I was delighted with these trainers; firstly by the comfort they
or me, safety footwear does not drum up the fondest recollections. Take, for example, my first pair of steel toe capped boots; bought by my mother in readiness for a tractor driving course from a sale for the princely sum of five pounds! There was good reason they
only cost a fiver. Even discounting the cheap, pitted leather, there was the enormous weight and discomfort to contend with. Then there were the jibes from the rest of my class when one of the laces snapped and I had to use a piece of orange bailing twine to fasten it. Those boots spent the rest of their life in the boot of my Clio until finally being consigned to the bonfire. In my work as a cricket bat maker, good sturdy footwear is important
offer and secondly that such a technical shoe can look so attractive. The Timberland PRO more than fulfils the safety standard required for my job; I also spend a lot of time wearing them in the stables with my horses and in the garden. And, they have not spent a minute of their life in the boot of my car!
THE SAFETY TOE CAP IN THESE SHOES IS CAPABLE OF PROTECTING THE WEARER FROM SHOCKS EQUIVALENT TO 200 JOULES AND WILL PROTECT YOUR PINKIES FROM COLLAPSE UNDER LOADS OF 1500DAN.
•Details: Timberland PRO Ladies Trainer
since sharp tools and heavy objects are used daily. So, my old pair of once-trendy trainers was not really suitable in a workshop environment (as my toes found out with the occasional dropping of clefts of willow on them!). But, I still preferred them to the prospect of a pair of hefty steel- ies! Imagine my surprise then when I took receipt of the Timberland PRO ladies trainers and opened the box to find shoes I would wear by choice!
14 • FOOTWEAR TODAY •MAY 2009 RRP price: £77.50
•Contact (trade): Tel: 01256 693200
Email:
uksales@sperianprotection.com
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