Wellies - Steel Toe Capped or Not?

[MrsMozart]

Following on from the wellies thread I got looking for something I can wear to stand in an icy puddle without freezing to death. Note: I don't look for icy puddles to stand in a as a rule, it just happens

Anyhoo, on recommendation I looked at the Dunlop Purofort. Good reviews. Options for thermal (oh yes!), but seem to all have steel toe caps. I was always of the opinion that one shouldn't have them when dealing with neds, but that was some time ago so things might have changed.

So, steel toe caps - yay or nay?

 

[milliepops]

Nay for me.
probably depends on your horses but mine are of the "jump on you in moments of terror" variety and I'd be concerned that a hoof coming at speed from above would crumple the toe cap. That's why OH doesn't wear them either (farrier).

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

I can't have steel toe caps because my horse weighs around a tonne.

If your horse is a normal size, there's no safety concern with wearing them. If you work with heavy horses you should avoid steel toe caps.

 

[Widgeon]

I can't have steel toe caps because my horse weighs around a tonne.

If your horse is a normal size, there's no safety concern with wearing them. If you work with heavy horses you should avoid steel toe caps.

That's interesting, I've never checked what the weight bearing capacity of my Mountain Horse boots is - I know I have been stood on by a 16.2 ID x previously, and they kept my toes safe! She didn't jump on me though, just casually rearranged her feet and mine got in the way. I should've been paying better attention....

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

The current safety standard is for toe caps to withstand 200 joules (around 150 ft-lbs). I can't seem to convert this to something more meaningful.

It's a torque measurement

 

[twiggy2]

Steel toe caps or reinforced soles (my mountain horse boots have both) make your feet incredibly cold in winter.
Avoid them if you want warm feet.

 

[MrsMozart]

Steel toe caps or reinforced soles (my mountain horse boots have both) make your feet incredibly cold in winter.
Avoid them if you want warm feet.

Thank you! Warm feet is a must. I'm a wimp. I freely admit it. I want my feet to think they're resting in front of an open roasting fire

 

[fburton]

The current safety standard is for toe caps to withstand 200 joules (around 150 ft-lbs). I can't seem to convert this to something more meaningful.

It's a torque measurement

Torque is a force that causes rotation, so that's a little bit confusing/unhelpful in this situation. Joules, which is a measure of energy, and can be be expressed as the product of force and distance (as in ft-lbs), makes more sense to me as it gives an indication of how much energy the toe cap can absorb without (presumably) crumpling appreciably.

You can interpret this figure directly as withstanding a weight of 150 lbs (about 70kg) dropped on to the toe cap from a height of 1 foot. That doesn't sound like so much does it, considering the weight of (part of) a horse? Maybe it's good enough.

 

[The Trooper]

I don't wear steel toe caps at the yard, I have the fear that I will end up with amputated toes if one of my 750+kg drafts stood on me.

I'd rather have broken/sore toes.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Some of my employment entails working alongside students doing BHS courses at an equine (BHS) training yard. I asked whether I should have steel-toe-caps and was told emphatically NO!!

Apparently there was an incident somewhere where a horse trod on someone's foot, and the person was wearing steel-toe-capped boots, and what happened was the pressure/weight of the horse's foot standing on it, made the steel-toe-cap cave in and go down onto the person's foot......... truly horrendous. I think they had to get the fire brigade to cut off the boot.

My guess is that the H&S testing spec's for steel toe-caps would be more of a matter of letting a weight drop onto the toe, probably repeatedly and from a height, rather than the continuous pressure of a horse standing on it which obviously caused the problem.

 

[jojo5]

Just to say that i do have steel toe caps and reinforced soles in my wellies that are neoprene lined and they certainly don’t make my feet cold in winter as mentioned by an earlier poster - my feet are always toasty warm in them.

 

[Laafet]

All of my Thoroughbred stud jobs have stipulated and provided steel toe caps, both boots and welllies and you got sent home to change if you were not wearing them. I found the steel toe cap wellies the most uncomfortable things to walk in, especially in deep mud, with two mares. The best boots for not crippling you but effective at stopping your feet being squished were the Mountain Horse ones, work wouldn't provide these so I spent 10 plus years getting my feet ruined in 'mens workboots'.