It's that time of the year again, we need a new pair of safety shoes. The old shoes are broken, worn too long or simply don't like them anymore. And now you are spoilt for choice. The selection of safety shoes in the store and especially in online shops is huge and you first have to find the right work shoe.
Since safety shoes are often worn for 8 hours or more a day, they must have a good fit, be comfortable and should also look good. In addition to these features, the safety aspect must not be ignored. With so many points, it's easy to overlook things. To avoid 5 common mistakes when buying safety shoes, we are going to give you 5 tips today!
1. The right protection class for safety shoes
Safety shoes are offered in different protection classes such as S1, S2 or S3. The protection class depends on the safety elements that have been installed in a work shoe. A shoe is tested by a certification body and is then certified according to CE. The protection class and the CE mark must always be on the product and clearly indicated in an online offer.
In order to protect you properly at work, the employers' liability insurance association (BG) or the safety officer specifies which protection class must be worn in the workplace. If, for example, a protective toe cap and a puncture-resistant sole are mandatory, a safety shoe of protection class S1P or S3 must be purchased. Always ask exactly which protection class is required so that you always choose the right protection class for your safety shoes.
2. The right size for safety shoes
Would you rather buy a safety shoe with a protective toe cap one size larger? No way! It is very important that a safety shoe fits really well. The shoes are usually worn all day and therefore the safety shoe should be neither too big nor too small. Shoes that are too small can pinch and cause blisters. If a safety shoe is too big, it can even lead to (work) accidents, as the risk of tripping is much greater.
Manufacturers of work shoes already take the steel toe cap into account when specifying their size. In most cases, the size you wear with your normal street shoes can be chosen as usual.
3. The right width for safety shoes
Safety shoes must be comfortable and this depends on the size and width. The foot must have enough space in the shoe so that it literally "doesn't pinch anywhere". After you have decided on the right size, it also depends on the right width. The standard width for safety shoes in Germany is width 11. For about three-quarters of people, this width is suitable and very comfortable. For people where a width 11 is not wide enough, many manufacturers have safety shoes in their range with a width 12, width 13 or even width 14.
Even if the width is unfortunately not uniform among the manufacturers, it can be assumed as a guideline that the difference in circumference between a width of 11 and a width of 12 is about 3 millimeters.
Our tip: Some safety shoes from high-quality brands can also be obtained in different widths. In this way, every employee in the company can be equipped with the right width for him/her.
About the >> size guide from Omniprotect you can easily determine for yourself which width is suitable for your foot.
4. Pay attention to high quality safety shoes
We can easily spend several hundred euros on the latest sneaker. Quality can also cost something! And what about safety shoes? A cheap model should be bought as soon as possible.
But be careful! A safety shoe is often worn much longer than the chic sneaker. And the work shoe also has to do the hard work and protect you from the dangers at work all day long. So do something good for your feet and your joints, and don't miss out on high quality when buying safety shoes. After a long and hard day at work, you will be grateful if your safety shoe has an anatomical footbed, is made of a high-quality, water-repellent and breathable material and the sole has optimal cushioning that has been easy on your joints.
So invest in your health and buy high-quality and comfortable safety shoes.
5. Avoid the look of safety shoes
The best safety shoe will only protect you if it is worn. This sounds so logical, but it can be a big problem. If cheap and very clunky safety shoes are bought, it is better to wear the comfortable sneaker on the construction site. However, this does not provide you with any security at all.
The optics therefore have a lot to do with acceptance. It is very important that the work shoes are not only comfortable and comfortable. The look of the shoes must also be right. If you feel comfortable in the shoes and like to wear them, it offers you optimal protection.
You can now find sporty safety shoes in all sizes, colours and styles.
At omniprotect.de you have a wide selection of high-quality brands and sporty safety shoes that you can hardly distinguish from normal sneakers.