Marseille Shoe

WallyWorld used to sell running style shoes with steel toes. I always thought those would be handy.

Steel toe boots and steel toe light hiking shoes are available everywhere. True kicking power and effectiveness come from shin kicks. The foot has too many small fragile bones. Muay Thai beats the karate style foot kicks always.

hso said:

I'm not sure where this might go, but steel toe/capped boots have been forbidden in many places because of their use as weapons.

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Can you name three of those "many places"?
You mean like night clubs and such, right? Isn't that more of a 'dress code' like patrons must wear ties?

I'm thinking I never heard of such a thing.

Outlawing steel-toe boots and shoes would take out half the blue-collar workforce here in Kansas.

On the other hand, maybe stuff like this??
But I have never heard of such a law anywhere??



rc

Not a good idea to kick with safety toe shoes

For a proper fit steel toe shoes should be a half size larger than normal shoe size. This way your toes will not be jammed into the steel toe box.

I purchased a pair of safety toe shoes several years ago, for doing heavy yard work. I don’t remember what happened or why but I gave a 12X12 landscaping timber a good swift kick and jammed my toes into the steel protection box. Hot damn that hurt

Moral of story, I don’t think it’s a god idea to kick anyone or anything wearing safety toe shoes.

They may be "prohibited" but I doubt the average doorman is observant enough to tell.

oldbear,

You fell prey to the "immovable force" problem. A shin, or some guy on the floor's face, isn't.

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Sir, you are correct. That damn thing was not going to move an inch, but my toes sure did!!

I can't help but wonder, if the use of steel toed shoes, in a fight, may be considered a dangerous and deadly weapon, by the courts?

Does anyone know of any case law about this?

Just imagine what these shoes would do in a fight!


or on a ski slope.

The topic of footwear for street work is something I lived with for many years. In my early years as a cop we were required to wear high gloss dress shoes (most wore Bates Floataways). No they weren't much of an advantage in a scuffle (although the welted edge of the soles would almost guarantee a nasty cut on your opponent's ankles if used to kick with...). The downsides were numerous since you couldn't run very well in them and if you ever hit any wet tile moving fast your shoes weren't going to provide a bit of traction (another of those "ask me how I know" moments). Yeah, they looked nice -but weren't very practical in a scuflle (I'm being polite here, using "scuffle" to cover everything from brief struggle all the way to full out hand to hand stuff....).

Finally after about eight years of that sort of footgear we were allowed to purchase whatever we chose as long as it was black and un-adorned. Most of us opted for lightweight black jogging or tennis shoes. In my world I'll trade steel toed footgear for something that provides great traction, is reasonably silent, and allows you to maneuver like your life depended on it... They worked out really well. When I left police work after 22 years almost everyone I knew had adopted that kind of footwear...

One other thought about footwear in a confrontation... No matter what you're wearing if you have a downed opponent and proceed to kick him/her you're using deadly force and will be charged accordingly in my world... As far as footgear goes -no such thing as something you can be charged for wearing - it's whatever you do with them that counts...

I wear steel toe boots because I am a contractor. Just simple Justin brand slip on boots that are comfy and protect my tootsies from dropping stuff on them. I wear them everywhere simply because they are comfortable and with my style of dress they look like they fit the part.

I have often thought that they would be handy in a scuffle. Not really in a full on kick, but a thump to the shin or ribs in a fight wouldn't feel that great. My thought is that I would be more apt to use them to give an aggressive dog a swift Pele to the snout if they got hostel with my dog or daughter.

The one downside is that I have to get wanded down every time I go to the court house to pull permits. You have to go through a detector there, and it's a hassle. They are allowed but its annoying to go to all the trouble of coming in metal free only to still set off the machine.

Recently I got a free gift card to Caterpillar to use on any merchandise up to $150. I opted for a pair of low top boots that laced up, had a nice thick grippy sole on them, and sported composite protective toes instead of steel. They are awesome. Great for taking walks with the family, wearing to work, they look Ok with shorts as they look more like shoes than boots, AND the plastic toe doesn't set off the metal detector. Not to mention they're lighter.

They'd still give a nasty kick though.

In my limited experience with both offensive and defensive kicks learned in jujutsu, I would prefer a shoe that is light and offers good support and traction, allowing superior amplitude of movement, to one that is heavier and bulky.

That being said, I would most surely not like to get kicked by a foot wearing workboots like mine! They are hard and heavy; so would be a kick using them, I believe.

Lots of doc martin capped toe oxfords are very useful

I can think of a number of times I would rather have been wearing my Red Wings instead of the old GI soft black boots of the 70's. None of those instances involved fighting though, just lodge poles of GP medium tents, 30 and 55 gallon drums and the one misdirected sledge hammer. You know the Army says not to take you boot off an injured foot until you absolutely have too. They never mentioned in training the swelling getting so bad that laces had to be cut off in several places as they are so tight.

Around 78 I was in school getting an AA with emphasis on Law Enforcement. One of the papers I did looked at foot wear needs. In suggesting that LEOs might pick what best suited them rather than uniform low quarters, one would have thought I was suggesting human sacrifices. Personally I wanted something with ankle support and "oil proof" soles that is soles that could handle slick surfaces. One of my reasons was the number of LEOs on disability as department expense from ankle injuries and knee injuries (from falls) resulting from the forces use of those old GI low quarters.

This was also about the time Florida went to standardized uniform types to ID police as sepperate from Sheriffs Office. City cops wore everything from Barney Fife's Grey Nastys to white shirts in those days. My little town wore a sort of bright blue with dark pocket flaps that some folks described as "SHOOT ME HERE" patches.

I am not sure steel toes construction boots like my Red Wings would be that much of an advantage in a fight, other than protecting me from foot stomps by the other guy. On the other hand I have seen someone worked over good with fancy cowboy boots with pointed external metal caps.

-kBob

You know what?!

I was born & raised in leather sole cowboy boots.
Then started wearing dress Wellington leather sole boots at work.

Until I developed foot problems at about 55.

So I switched to orthopedic shoes for a while.
But the scabs on my ankle bones hurt worse them my hurting feet from barking them on everything I stepped on, or in.

Then I turned 65, and started slipping and falling down hard occasionally on ice and wet deck lumber!

So, a few years ago I switched to Bates side-zipper TAC boots.
They are as light as tinny shoes, but give full ankle support & protection.
As well as 100% traction, on anything.

And I haven't slipped on anything since!!!

Not the most stylish for sure.
But sure footing & comfort is more important then style at 71 years old!!

And they are not steel toe.
But I pity the fool that ever got kicked with one!

rc

I concur with comfort and a "non-slip"sole being more important than steel toes. I had to wear steel-toed boots in the military and they definitely give no advantage when you have to kick.....in fact, as others have posted, kicking something with the toe of your steel toe boot can be shockingly painful.

They were AWESOME for when you drop something on your foot or when somebody drives over your toes (yes it happened to me).
Now in my job I much prefer an oil-proof, non-slip comfortable work shoe. That non-slip technology is pretty amazing and works well....I can walk across an oil slick and not slip at all. Much more important if you have to run away from something and you can't afford to be careful about your step.

I've worked on farms, with horses, and in construction, and I gotta tell you those steel caps are great. If you've never been stepped on by a Clydesdale or a Belgian you just don't know. On the other hand those steel toed, and usually steel shanked, boots are awfully heavy for walking around in. I wouldn't want to be chasing or running away from anyone in them.

kbob... your account of the attitudes towards police gear and uniforms really takes me back. My experiences were similar - the resistance to a reasonable approach to footwear, uniforms, and every kind of equipment by most P.D.s back then was darned nearly set in stone. My outfit didn't get any chance to change until we got a new Chief willing to allow us a say in what worked.

I left that line of work almost 20 years ago now but the one thing I would have liked to do is be in a position to get the folks on the street the gear they actually needed instead of what is traditional (or -this is the way we've always done it....).