# Know any good shoes for standing on concrete all day?



## GouletPens

Like most, i have a concrete floor in my shop. Even though I have those pads everywhere I still could use some good shoes for standing all day. Does anyone know of good shoes I can get?


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## tim self

From the aspect of being a mechanic, I stood on concrete the hold time.  My preference is Red Wing or Wolverine with added cushion inserts.  Just my 2 cents.


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## bitshird

I'll agree ,after standing on concrete floors in machine shops I love my Wolverine Dura Shock boots, Red Wing used to be good, but I haven't had any for about 15 or 20 years, If you notice a lot of Doctors and Nurses wear New Balance leather sport shoes but they walk around more than someone standing in front of a machine.


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## Paul in OKC

I have Timberland Pro boots. Other thing would be to get a floor mat of some type. I think Harbor Frieght and the like sell about a 4x4 mat of some type.


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## smitty

I use to wear Red Wing but changed to New Balance # 926.  I'm on concert 8 to 12 hours a day.  I love them.


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## fritz64

my friend ruth is a cook at a retirement place. they have some softer mats then you will find at hd or hf. check out the food service places.


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## OldWrangler

It's not so much the shoe but the orthodic inside. My foot doctor recommended New Balance 575's for the shoe but he sold me 2 insoles made from a sponge with rubber on the bottom side and like a leather on the top. His nurse cut them out of a sheet of the foam about 2' x 3'. He charged me $20 for 2 sets and they have really made a difference in how my feet feel. I can be on them all day (and I am a 300 pounder) without them hurting. The liners have been in the shoes for over 2 years and are kinda mashed. I'll have to get new ones in Dec. when I see him again.

Wish I had the name of the foam but I've forgotten. I'll check with him and let everyone know.


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## Rifleman1776

This thread is of interest to me. Age has taken a toll on my feet, a natural occurrence. The padding on the bottom is all but gone and the wrong shoes are a painful experience. I wear a hiker type shoe most of the time. It has good cushioning. But, I am looking for something else also. Insoles have never worked for me because they take up so much room I can't get my feet in the shoe with those in. I used to wear Nike Airs and they are nice but expensive. But might have to break down and spend the extra bucks for some more.


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## LanceD

Crocs.


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## Jim Smith

Do they make steel toe Crocs?  I'm pretty careful in the shop, but the thought of dropping a lathe chisel or heaven forbid my Nova Chuck on my foot if I were wearing Crocs 

Jim Smith


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## mrcook4570

Why not sit?


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## maxwell_smart007

I have flat feet, so I wear Merell's, and have an orthotic insole (very expensive) that works pretty well...I don't like boots, so if anyone knows of any better shoes, that would be interesting to me...

Problem for me's always been the width - my feet are EEE wide...


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## mick

Like Lance I wear Crocs while turning. Plus I have the interlocking pads you can buy at Lowes or Harbor freight plus the nicer thick fatique mats the sell at Woodcraft over them at all my work stations. I have a lot pf periodic foot pain and my shop is truly the only place in the house that my feet stay comfortable!


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## Dario

I believe any high impact sport shoes will work (i.e. running shoes or tennis shoes).

I love my New Balance 906 (off road running shoes) and KSwiss K50 w/ SS (shock spring)


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## Mack C.

GouletPens said:


> Like most, i have a concrete floor in my shop. Even though I have those pads everywhere I still could use some good shoes for standing all day. Does anyone know of good shoes I can get?


I started out some years ago with a pr of New Balance 841's at the encouragement of my chiropodist. Then to 842's & 843's, same shoe different year. The eyelets were breaking in them and I complained bitterly to New Balance. They recommended their model 926, an extra wide shoe. I have 2 prs that I wear on alternate days. My shop is in my basement, so I am on concrete all day long. Love my new shoes.


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## Ozzy

I work in a warehouse and I am on concrete floors for 10 to 13 hours a day, I have  a ruptured disc in my lower back and the only shoes that I can wear at work without my back bothering me is Nike Shox. They are expensive, though shopping around you can find them pretty reasonable, but out of the four pair that I have had I have only had one pair fail. I still have the first pair that I bought five years ago, they are in pretty rough shape; I use them to work in the yard and when I'm pouring P.R. just in case I spill any.

Last year I bought a pair of Addidas Bounce, I haven't worn them to work yet but them seem to be pretty good and they were a lot cheaper than the Nikes.


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## scotian12

I am 5'  5" tall and use a 4 inch high wooden platform on the concrete floor to have the proper height for turning at the lathe. This keeps me off the cold concrete floor and the plywood platform has some give to it. I use a Thorlos reinforced sock with steel toed leather shoes for protection if I drop a tool.  Darrell Eisner   Halifax, Nova Scotia


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## heinedan

Hello,

I have a pair of Merrill slip on shoes, and they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn in the past 52 years. Very nice shoes. I also havea pair of New Balance athletic shoes that are very comfortable.

Good Luck,

Dan


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## hewunch

Crocs, and I can move my feet if I drop something pretty quick.


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## jskeen

My wife and I just dropped almost a grand all together between podiatrists, an occupational therapist and a custom shoe place specializing in corrective shoes to try to fix her problems (planar faciatis) without surgery.  Expensive information here.  Your feet are different from everybody else's in the world.  What works for you may do serious damage to somebody else's feet, and visa-versa.  A small investment now in finding out what kind of feet YOU have and how best to take care of them may save you years of pain and expense down the road.  

If you have flat feet, ie the band of connective tissue that connects your heel to the ball of your foot is fairly loose, then you need rigid shoes with lots of arch support to help keep your arch arched, and avoid repetitive stress injury to that connective tissue (the planar facia)  If you need arch supports don't try to buy athletic shoes with built in arch supports.  They are designed for people with normal feet, and are almost never large enough or in the right place to provide the support that flat feet need.  Get some custom moulded orthotics made to fit YOUR feet Correctly.  You can go to a podiatrist and pay big bucks for them, but this is really only necessary if you already have serious problems.  There are several places online that will ship you a box of impression material.  You stand in it, close it back up, and send it back to them and they make you a pair of arch supports that fit you feet.  When you get these, take the factory inserts/arch supports out of your shoes, put them in and get a flat padded insert at wallyworld to put over them to hold them in place.  

If you have high arches, ie that facia is fairly tight, rigid tight fitting shoes press down on the arch and cause stress, therefore you should wear loose flexible shoes like crocks or something like that.  

Last bit of foot trivia.  Your feet are like the engine of a car in that most of the wear and tear happen when you first start it up and all the oil has drained out of the cylinders.  90% of the damage to your feet happens within 5 minutes of getting out of bed in the morning.  put your shoes by the bed and put them on BEFORE you make that morning trip out to the little building behind the house.


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## ahoiberg

i would seriously consider the danish shoemakers. (i.e ecco and born). the danes know what they're doing when it comes to footwear. i own both and particularly like to turn in my borns.


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## Skye

I know a lot of guys who work as mechanics. A lot of them swear by *Redwings*.


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## Dario

Skye said:


> I know a lot of guys who work as mechanics. A lot of them swear by *Redwings*.



There is the "steel toe"/"safety shoe" requirement factor to consider there though.  Same goes with me being in construction industry.  I wear steel toed shoes and Redwing is great but it is not anywhere near any running shoe or tennis shoe in comfort.

JMHO.


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## jskeen

I forgot to mention earlier, but I have fairly normal feet, no problems, and no special needs, and I have worn doc martins almost exclusively for about 10 years.  I worked in and out of hospitals all day and walked most of that time, logged lots of miles on concrete floors and never had a complaint with my doc's.  They have a nice flat footbed that you can add whatever you need to, and the "patented airwalk sole" has some cushion built into the sole itself, not just added on top.  and they last forever.  I still have the first pair GE ever bought me.


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## Skye

Dario said:


> There is the "steel toe"/"safety shoe" requirement factor to consider there though.



Ah, didn't know steel toed shoes were required. I know my shop has nothing that would warrant wearing them really.


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## flyingmelon

Being a nurse I am on my feet about 50 minutes of every hour. Mostly walking with some standing on tile over concrete floors. Have the bad back and plantar faciatis to go with an extra wide foot. The only thing that keeps me going is a pair of Z-Coils. Not cheap and takes about 2 hours to get fitted for them at the store but OMG what a difference to comfort and overall happiness they are.


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## almer

flyingmelon said:


> Being a nurse I am on my feet about 50 minutes of every hour. Mostly walking with some standing on tile over concrete floors. Have the bad back and plantar faciatis to go with an extra wide foot. The only thing that keeps me going is a pair of Z-Coils. Not cheap and takes about 2 hours to get fitted for them at the store but OMG what a difference to comfort and overall happiness they are.


My wife is a nurse also,at least half her coworkers wear crocs,youd have to check workers compensation rules to see if they will allow them,i only wear crocs in my shop,i also have a few rubber mats in front of my machines,anyone who ive recommended crocs to ended up liking them


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## theartist07

just a thought that has helped me. i've had two back operations so you can get some idea of the pain i get. Anyway, i just let the saw dust and cuttings pile up and keep them swept up on the pad in front of the lathe, this creats a thicker and softer pad ; like i said just something that works for me. I also wear a hicking type boot with incerts added also due to my ankles being weak.

Jim


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## nava1uni

I am on my feet a lot and I also wear New Balance for both work and my shop.  One thing that I do know, from nursing, is that shoes only last a short period of time, even if they still look good.  this is especially true it they are worn all the time.  The support systems breaks down.  It is important to rotate your shoes so they have time to dry out inside to prevent fungal growth and to keep the internal structure more intact.  I wear orthotics when I am standing and turning for long periods of time as I have a high arch.  I bought them at a running store for about $40.00 and they fitted them to my foot.
The other thing is a gel mat that was not inexpensive, about $100, but since they save my feet and back it is worth it.  Concrete is brutal on the spine, feet, knees and hips so protecting them makes the cost actually not very expensive at all.


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## GBusardo

I am another New Balance person.  I would try on a walking shoe with at least an 800 number.  One thing I have noticed is that the old 808's used to be made in the USA. Now the equivelent is made in the far east somewhere.  Check out the tag, there is a difference in comfort and support.  Check the web for prices and you can get a good deal.  Good luck in your search.


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## Rudy Vey

Birkenstocks, not the sandals, but the closed slip-on. I also have interlocking soft floor mats in front of the lathe.


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## Hosspen

For hard concrete I kinda like the new balance & some Brooks shoes (they are about the only ones I've found wide enough for my feet.)
For wet concrete I like snowshoes.                   Just my 2 cents worth.


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## woodboys

Another new balance 810. For my steel toe boots it's red wing hands down but my podiatrist says the new balance are better for your feet. She also made me the foam insert for my boots where they heat the foam and have you stand on them to get an impression. Big difference in comfort, best 20 dollar investment I made.


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## TellicoTurning

Jim Smith said:


> Do they make steel toe Crocs?  I'm pretty careful in the shop, but the thought of dropping a lathe chisel or heaven forbid my Nova Chuck on my foot if I were wearing Crocs
> 
> Jim Smith



I don't remember where I saw them, but I think they do.  But from experience, if you do drop something on your toes, you soon learn a new dance.

I wear a cheap pair of Wally-world crocs during the summer.. it's too cold in the winter.. I either wear a pair of hiking boots or my John Deere work boots with thick socks or I have some slip on called GBX that I wear.  I'm okay until my feet get cold than I quit and go to the house.   I don't have concrete floor, my shop has a raised floor with special OSB flooring.. plus I have a mat from HF or somewhere that I stand on.  I had concrete in Houston when I got the mat.

FYI, Woodcraft sells a mat for about $15 that about 2 or 3' wide and about 5 or 6' long.. sometimes run them on special for $13 - or at least the WC in K'ville has them.


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## NewLondon88

I'll second (or third) the Merells. Once I found them, I just bought the same shoes
over and over. I get about three years out of them, alternating pairs. But I wear them
all year, all weather (rain, snow.. I work outdoors, too) and they were great working
10-12 hour shifts on tile over concrete. Leather shoes on that floor hurt so bad that I
ended up going to a podiatrist. 
If you're going to be on the floor all the time, keep an extra pair (or two) and change
shoes every couple of hours. Not only does it feel good to get the shoes off, but the
change of shape and space allows your feet more movement and less cramping. Get a
cue ball and roll it under your foot for a minute, too. Cement floors suck!


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## L1Truckie

Being a firefighter, Im in boots all day long.  For stationwear and general duties we all wear the Red Wing 4473's  http://www.redwingshoes.com/productdetails.aspx?prodid=1429   I wouldnt work a day without these!!!! I actually find myself wearing these even when im off duty running around.  Steel toe and an ecellent rationg on concrete wear.  As a bonus the zipper kit is really nice as well.  Any questions feel free to PM me


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## Rarest wood

crocs


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