TOOLS & WORKWEAR
workman should be without a pair of toe-capped boots and many will choose to purchase them from their local builders merchant.
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Which footwear those merchants choose to stock is important too, though, as the ideal pair of boots should offer a good level of protection to the whole foot, not just the toes. Many tradesmen will be reliant on the merchant offering some words of wisdom on which boots are best for the job and will be thankful for the opportunity to try a few options on before purchasing.
John Dabb, sales and marketing director at Hyde says that, with so many different safety boot brands out there, in all different shapes and styles, tradesmen are in danger of being bamboozled into purchasing a standard pair at a price to suit their budget and leaving it at that. “Being led by the price tag and settling for the bare minimum in terms of health and safety requirements may not only be a false economy, it can also be damaging to feet in the long-term,” he says. “To save this from happening, merchants should brush up on their footwear knowledge to help customers make more of an informed choice.” All safety footwear must meet the minimum safety standards set out by the International Organization
afety boots are an important piece of kit for anyone working in a trade. From heating engineers to builders, no
Best foot forward
Site boots - what’s more important, safety or comfort? BMJ looks at some options.
for Standardization (ISO), with EN standard for safety footwear across Europe (EN). This stipulates that all safety footwear must have toe protection against a 200-joule impact, which basically means the amount of energy the toe region can absorb before breaking. SB safety boots meet this minimum legal requirement. This means toes are well-protected, but does little to ensure comfort or even all-round protection for feet. A better bet, Dabb says, is S3 boots. These boots offer a water resistant upper and puncture resistant sole, in addition to the required toe cap. They also have a padded tongue and protection at the back for the Achilles too. “The BASE Beethoven safety resistant upper and protection from underneath, in addition to the required toe cap,” Dabb says.
Flex appeal
The biggest test of comfort and durability for safety footwear can be found in the cleat. The majority of SB boots have thick cleated soles made from polyurethane, which is solid and
much when bending.
“While most tradesmen choose boots because they look robust with thick cleated soles, they are in fact incredibly uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time,” Dabb says, adding that research has proven that that has the same safety built in. effective rule of thumb is to subject soles? “The answer is the bendier the better.”
Tired toes
With BASE boots this is due to a patented process that aerates the polyurethane used to injection mould soles with thousands of little air bubbles, which make the shoe up to 250g (30%) lighter, resulting in less effort needed to lift and reducing foot fatigue. With BASE Beethoven, this technology offers a double hit of plus points, as the air bubbles create a cushioning in the sole, for higher shock absorption than your standard, ‘thick-
“For just a few pounds more than a standard SB boot and with a an S3 safety shoe offers a wealth of protection and comfort that a value on.”
S3 safety boots such as BASE Beethoven of- fer more protection for feet and extra com- fort for the whole foot, all day long. Being bendier, they have more flexibility, increasing wearer comfort.
36 June 2017 BMJ
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