Leather Boots Vs Rubber Boots

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Permalink Reply by Brent Sanger on April 29, 2008 at 10:29pm

How are the leather boots at being able to be decontaminated after exposure to hazardous materials? From what I have known, that has always been a leather boots main drawback. I agree they are much more comfortable and durable than rubber boots. I wore the toe cap down to the steel toe of a pair of rubber boots, that were brand new, when I went through Firefighter 1 at the academy (we did a LOT of crawling). I have not had the opportunity to be able to afford a pair of leather boots, and cannot wait for the day I can.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Richardson on April 30, 2008 at 12:26am

Hey Brent,

I have worn leather boots for about the last 8 years. I have back problems and they seem to help a lot with that. I just switched to the new Globe boots. They are like wearing running shoes to me. The exterior (uppers) seems to be more resistant to liquids than the Warrington Pro boots I had. I am not a Haz-mat guy (by design) so I can't speak to that part but I am sure they had to undergo ANSI testing; that might be a good place to get information on what you are looking for.

Be SAFE!
Scott

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Permalink Reply by Todd Wilson on April 30, 2008 at 6:25am

I have worn leather boots for the last 5 years and have to say , I wish I had switched earlier. As far as selling admin, I would go the safety route. Rubber boots are bulky and overly cumbersom, which makes simple tasks such as climbing a ladder more difficult. One of the first things I noticed when wearing leather boots was how much easier it was to walk and climb with them on. Brent brings up a good point about them not being deconable, but your not wearing them into a haz mat scene . And if they get contaminated in a fire, your turnouts are probably going to be contaminated as well.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Guglik on April 30, 2008 at 9:33pm

Better fit + lighter weight = fewer lower extremity injuries. This should outweigh the issues with decontamination, although I've known chiefs that were so cheap that they'd rather pay lots for the injuries than pay a little for the boots.

Make sure that any females on your department understand the sizing, which is different than womens' sizes and is less obvious in a new pair of leather boots than in rubber ones, especially if they are used to the rubber ones.

I've personally used Warrington and Diamondback, and tried on Lacrosse. Pros have the largest range of sizes, but all should be available to fit most people. Diamondback and LaCrosse run narrower. Pros are the most expensive of those three. I've heard a LOT of positives from the guys who have tried the new Globes, and it sounds like they may havve some advantages in durability.

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Permalink Reply by Brent Sanger on April 30, 2008 at 9:54pm

I was not downing leather boots because of the decon issue. I was just asking about it. I am a Hazmat guy, so decon is an issue for me. I personally can't afford to get me a set of leather boots. And my department gets the cheapest thing they can in everything, so we get $90 rubber boots, instead of good boots.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Heller on April 30, 2008 at 10:07pm

I've been wearing leather boots for many years. The best selling features we used to convince our bosses were the following; They are lighter and cause far less fatigue on the firefighter. They are far better fitting which allows for better agility. They give far better grip when performing truck functions like climbing portable ladders and working on roofs. In all, try to impress on the Chief that paying a little more for leather boots will save in injury costs and time off. As far as decon goes, we have had boots destroyed in chemical fires and along with our turn-out gear, the insurance covered it all and was easily recovered from the insurance of the property owners. I've tested several different styles of Pro Warringtons and am very happy with my 5001's.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Guglik on May 1, 2008 at 9:20am

I wasn't trying to downplay the issue of decontamination, just trying to acknowledge it as a concern and give a counterargument for him to use. A lot of departments are very poor, even though federal aid has improved a lot of things. $100 is money that they have to take from something else they also need to buy. On the other hand, injuries are very, very expensive, and statistically, 1 out of every 4 firefighters gets hurt enough to need medical care every year (according to figures published by the IAFF, check the Wellness/Fitness initiative if you can't find them elsewhere).

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Permalink Reply by Scott Richardson on May 1, 2008 at 11:32am

Aaron,

Great point on the cost recovery! These days anytime there is recovery associated with Haz-mat PPE should be included.

I love my Globe Extreme boots. the only thing I am not sure of yet is their durability. I will gladly trade length of usability for the agility and comfort on the core body!

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Permalink Reply by Orlando Gonzalez on May 1, 2008 at 8:20pm

I have used Leather Boots since I was a Recruit. We all know that Leather is much more comfortable. I used rubber boots for 3 wks after all my gear was stolen out of my truck. First thing I ordered were a pair of Leathers. When I first got on the job, our dept. issued leathers, but with all the attention WMD is getting and of course cost, the powers that be changed back to rubbers.

As far as decon is concerned rubber is easier to decon. I stating the obvious.

If your dept. is looking to save money, its a toss up. Leathers will last longer but costs more, but Rubbers will serve Haz-Mat as well Structural Friefighting but will have to be replaced more often.

I have used Pro Warrington and currently using Thorogoods. I am also using as a station/wildland boot Ranger 3006

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Permalink Reply by Mike Walker on May 1, 2008 at 9:09pm

Blisters...... there aren't any with good leather boots. and go ahead and spend the money and get the Globes. They're like wearing tennis shoes.

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Permalink Reply by Chad Vesely on May 4, 2008 at 6:27pm

We had this discussion with our admin. The best thing for us was having the Deputy Chief getting a pair of leathers and he loved them. This is a great option to have them try the boots and they will be hooked.

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Permalink Reply by Barry Aptt on May 4, 2008 at 6:39pm

I love my leather boots. When we were tryign to switch over, it actually went like to old shampoo commercial they tell two friends and so on. We were eventually able to sell the Chief on them when we showed two studies that were done showing the decreased stress on FF's backs. The more prominent study was out of Canada that stated for every 1 lb. taken off the feet, it acts like 3 lbs off the back. As some have already said on this board, they noticed less back issues.

Use that.

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