Blundstone Boots

[journeyman Mick]

I've been wearing Steel Blues for about six or seven years now and can't fault them. They're made in Australia and are the most comfortable boots I've ever worn and are more comfortable than any other footwear I have. Try them, you can't lose. They come with a 30 day comfort guarantee. Get a correctly fitted pair and wear them for a few weeks, if they are not comfortable just take them back for a full refund. You won't need to break them in, just slip them on and/or lace them up and start wearing them. Your feet will thank you for them.
Usual disclaimer, no connection, just an extremely happy and comfortable customer.

Mick

[Lignum]

Cliff, Ive been wearing them for years with no problems at all. Maybe you have extra smelly feet and the odour desinergrated the glue bond

the runners 33-612 in the saftey section on the web site is what i have now and they are increadable

[DavidG]

I use redbacks. Comfortable and last well.
My last pair, the soles fell to pieces after about 5 years. Rest of the was not much chop either but they were still comfortable.
Too much mud and water.

[Stuart]

Got a pair of Redbacks for work in the prison but wear them elsewhere too, they seem pretty good and are more comfortable than blunnies (to me anyway), plus they are 100% aussie made and owned apparently

http://www.redback.net.au/company.html
.

I didn't dare mention I had just bought a pair of Redbacks a few months back, as I couldn't remember where they were made - just needed a replacement pair of boots quick, and they seemed pretty good.

So now I feel very good they are in fact Aussie made, and they really are ####ing good boots. All air soles, bloody comfortable etc, and cost about $90. If they want, I'd pay $20 more per pair to keep them being Aussie made - and that to them is pure profit. There is way too much heading off-shore.

[Cliff Rogers]

I've been wearing Steel Blues for about six or seven years now and can't fault them. ....
Usual disclaimer, no connection, just an extremely happy and comfortable customer.

Where do you get them Mick?

[martrix]

put simply, it stinks.
Its highly payed executives making even more money off the backs of workers that earn $AU 1.50 a day.. Its not like its for the greater good or something noble, its just some greedy rich prique who wants more money in his pocket because he sees other rich greedy priques who are doing it.

I could go on, and on, and on, but I don't care anymore.
I don't know when, and I don't know how, but this is all going to end in tears .

For the record, I used to wear Mack steel capped boots, but now I exclusively wear steel capped Caterpillar boots. I spend a lot of time in them so its worth spending the extra $'s.

They usually last about 2+ years, and the only thing that ever breaks down is the rubber sole.....it simply just wears out. Nothing ever comes apart, unstitched or falls off.

.................and yes I know, they are made in the last great communist state.

[Cliff Rogers]

Cliff, Ive been wearing them for years with no problems at all. Maybe you have extra smelly feet and the odour desinergrated the glue bond ...

I reckon it was the heat 'cos it was while I was still living in Cairns & I didn't even wear them much, they just crumbled on the shoe rack.

[martrix]

I've been wearing Steel Blues for about six or seven years now and can't fault them. They're made in Australia and are the most comfortable boots I've ever worn and are more comfortable than any other footwear I have. Try them, you can't lose. They come with a 30 day comfort guarantee. Get a correctly fitted pair and wear them for a few weeks, if they are not comfortable just take them back for a full refund. You won't need to break them in, just slip them on and/or lace them up and start wearing them. Your feet will thank you for them.
Usual disclaimer, no connection, just an extremely happy and comfortable customer.

Mick

Hi Mick, are they the same brand that make a boot called "Howlers" or something like that?

If so, I tried them a few years back in the hope that they would be good quality and to support Australian made.
not much chop, I think they lasted a year and were uncomfortable. IMO

[lesmeyer]

Agree with Mick. Them Steel Blue boots are made right here in WA and I purchase them at a store called Work Clobber. In fact the boots are endorsed by none other than a man called Denis Lillee. The boots cost $144 when I purchased about 3 months ago.
Regards
Les

[journeyman Mick]

I reckon it was the heat 'cos it was while I was still living in Cairns & I didn't even wear them much, they just crumbled on the shoe rack.

Actually it was "polyurethane virus". The owner of Australasian Safety (Scott street, which is where you want to go for the Steel Blues Cliff) told me. Apparently the large concerns like mines etc were finding that they were spending more than they should on boots. Blokes were taking them home and sticking them in the cupboard after wearing them once or twice and then getting another pair. Apparently they approached a few manufacturers and had them add something to the polurethane used in the soles that would start the soles breaking down as soon as they were worn. So they could sit on the shelf for ages, but as soon as they were worn once the clock was ticking. I know I had a barely worn pair of boots totally disintegrate while I was wearing them one day, left the entire centre section of both soles behind on the front step of the hardware store.

It sounds like a bit of an urban myth to me, but the bloke that told me owns a business that supplies safety gear all over Queensland and into the Territory and a lot of the PNG mining operations. It certainly sounded plausible to me.

Mick

[journeyman Mick]

Martrix,
nope had a look at Howlers and they look like a cheap knock-off of the Steel Blues.

Les,
$144! they're not cheap are they, but then how much are comfortable feet worth? Priceless by my reckoning, if I wear lesser footwear I am in agony by lunchtime. I get charged corporate rate on my boots, think I paid $115 for my last pair.

Last year when I went to buy new boots I had a look at all the other brands on the market as I had been buying Steel Blues for years without seeing what else was on offer. I thought I'd better check out the other offerings to see what had hit the market since I'd started on the SBs. So I had a real good look, tried on heaps of other boots and then went and bought another pair of SBs.

Mick

[martrix]

OK, just found the Howlers and they are owned by the same company as Steel blue. They must be just a cheaper version of the Steel Blue.

Are these the ones you like?

I will check em out when it comes time to get newies.

If not its back to these. If you are a member with Rays Tent City, get them when they have their special members sale. I think I got them for like $160, but not 100% sure.....would have to check my receipts.

[bsrlee]

Polyurethane has a definite 'disintergrate date' - but the stuff I've seen should last 10-20 years. It would be interesting to see what happened if you took the boot company to court for deliberately making self destructing goods (not fit for use) and not advertising the fact on the goods - indeed there could be a whole feeding ground for the legal eagles there.

There have been rumours of similar conduct in the computer industry - just have a bit of code on one of the chips that checks the date, when it is beyond a certain date it stops working, or one that just measures hours of operation instead, so that all the boards don't fail at once.

Apple were doing a related thing - using a 1/4 watt resistor in the power supply which kept blowing every few months so you had to take the machine back to the dealer to get it fixed - once the Mac-heads worked out what was going on, they just broke the case open them selves & replaced the dud part - Apple eventually stopped doing this, and quite a few Apple retailers went under.

[Schtoo]

Cough...

Just over the back fence from your place too Al.

I have a pair, and they feel like slippers on your feet.

The most comfortable pair of boots I have ever had, and I have worn a few.

Blundstone (comfy, cheap enough), Oliver (ouchie), Redback (ouchie some more), Rossi (what the heck are they thinking), Timberland (US made, good but too narrow), Doc Martens (not bad, too narrow), Cat (a couple months) and a couple others.

A few pairs ended up as mum's flower pots since I couldn't wear them any more they were that bad.

I guess since I actually put some miles on them all day, every day walking around site, I wouldn't know what what good and what wasn't.

[TassieKiwi]

Now the box will say 'Designed in Australia'. I had a very comfy pair of lace-up blunnies - looked like hiking boots. The elastic sided ones I don't like. Olivers and Steel Blue are better.