2023 test13 productsWorkwear & Safety Gear
Which Work Boots Brand Wins?
We compared 13 work boots options head to head. Red Wing came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Red Wing
Price shown in test: $275
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Runner-up
Reebok
Price shown in test: $111
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Budget pick
Black Hammer
Price shown in test: $40
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Dry traction, 2x4 pull test | Oily traction, 5W30 motor oil | Sole strength, bolt press to 1 inch compression | Sole puncture resistance, 16 penny nail | Top of foot leather puncture resistance | Heat resistance, 450F for 1 minute | Toe crush resistance, 2,500 and 5,000 lb with carrot indicator | Electric shock protection, 8,300V fence charger | Falling object toe protection, 75 lb iron dropped from 23 in | Overall average across the 4 objective test categories | Overall average including comfort and heat damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Red Wing$275 | 92.4 lb, best result of all boots tested | 28.4 lb, above average | 304 lb, best result, very good foot comfort and protection | 97 lb, tied for third with Reebok | 50 lb, fourth best | experienced some damage but not as much as the Redback | still had plenty of space around the carrot at both loads, best of all boots tested, metal toe plate had only a small bend | 7,150 V, a little lower than average | seemed unfazed by the impact, held up better than all other brands | came out on top overall | best average finish at 2.8 |
| 2Reebok$111 | 91 lb, second best | 31.4 lb, tied for best with Landman/Larnmern | 182 lb | 97 lb, tied for third with Red Wing | 59 lb, took the lead at that point | well designed to withstand the heat | fine at 2,500 lb, but 3,600 lb caused hazard to the carrot and 5,000 lb caused carrot injury, composite toe cap experienced a lot of damage | 7,300 V | composite toe cap compressed quite a bit but provided adequate protection, no visible damage | not tested | 3.7, second best overall average |
| 3Redback$234 | 70.2 lb | 31.8 lb, second best | 235 lb, fourth best | 77 lb | 61 lb, second best | sizzling pretty badly, quite a bit of damage | passed 2,500 lb easily, carrots pressed into padding but survived at 5,000 lb, toe plate became bent | 7,300 V | plenty of protection, toe cap bent almost as badly as the Steel Blue | performed very well, among the top finishers | 3.9, third best overall average |
| 4Black Hammer$40 | 88.6 lb, third best | 26.2 lb | 286 lb, second best | did not get punctured at over 300 lb, best result of all boots tested | 39 lb | held up just fine, no visible damage | easily passed 2,500 lb, carrots experienced a little pressure at 5,000 lb but survived, metal toe plate held closest to its original shape of any boot tested | 7,000 V | toe cap compressed less than the Brahma or AdTec, only an extremely small bend | not tested | 4.2, called out as performing well for a $40 boot |
| 5Larnmern$57 | 86.4 lb, moved into second place at the time | 31.4 lb, tied for best with Reebok | 113 lb | 106 lb, second best | struggled at only 25 lb | did a great job of withstanding the heat | held up fine at 2,500 lb and survived 5,000 lb as well, metal toe plate had only a small bend | 7,950 V, best result of all boots tested | performed about the same as the Dunlop, good protection, toe cap now bent | not tested | 4.3, fifth best overall average |
| 6Steel Blue$205 | 88 lb, fourth best | 34.6 lb, second best | 211 lb, fifth best | 52 lb | 35 lb | smoking and sizzling, quite a bit of damage | carrots crushed at 5,000 lb but plenty of padding, metal toe plate bent pretty badly | 7,300 V | toe cap compressed quite a bit, no harm to carrot, but the toe cap is bent pretty badly | performed very well, mentioned alongside Red Wing and Redback as a top finisher | not tested |
| 7Carolina$130 | 69.2 lb | 23.6 lb | 256 lb, third best | 76 lb | 35 lb | some visible smoke, no visible damage | withstood both loads fine, metal toe plate a little bent | 7,550 V, tied for second best | compressed a lot less than the Reebok or Rockport, small bend in toe cap | not tested | not tested |
| 8Rockport$127 | struggled at only 53.4 lb, last place | 23.2 lb | 199 lb | gave up early at only 35 lb | 66 lb, best result of all boots tested | held up just fine, no visible damage | made it to 2,600 lb which was the limit, toe plate completely collapsed before reaching 5,000 lb, composite toe cap broke in a couple areas | experienced the most voltage drop of all boots tested at 4,700 V | composite toe cap compressed quite a bit but the carrot pulled through fine, no visible damage | not tested | not tested |
| 9Herman Survivors$75 | struggled at only 54 lb | struggled at only 21.2 lb | 165 lb, performed better than average | 71 lb | 48 lb, one pound short of tying for first | held up just fine | easily handled both loads, metal toe plate still in great shape | 7,550 V, tied for second best | performed well with some toe cap compression, small bend | not tested | not tested |
| 10Dunlop$50 | 84 lb | struggled at only 23.8 lb | 112 lb | 89 lb, best of the boots without a steel lining | 43 lb, took the second place position | no visible damage, designed to handle the heat | easily passed 2,500 lb, 5,000 lb was right at the max, carrots squeezed with no visible fractures, toe plate a little bent | 7,500 V, tied for best among the mid pack | provided more than adequate strength to protect the carrot, toe plate now bent | not tested | not tested |
| 11Ad Tec$34 | 80 lb, about 5 lb less than the Brahma | 38.4 lb, best result of all boots tested | 112 lb, more outsole strength than the Brahma | 66 lb, much better than the Brahma | 49 lb | smoking and sizzling, did not hold up well to the heat | easily passed 2,500 lb, carrots still fine at 5,000 lb with less damage than the Brahma | 7,500 V, tied for best among the mid pack | protected the carrot but the toe cap is now bent | not tested | not tested |
| 12Brahmaunder $25 | 85 lb, described as performing well for a budget boot | 27.8 lb | 91 lb, folded inward a full inch, minimal padding | only 21 lb, worst result of all boots tested | gave up early at only 10 lb, worst result of all boots tested | no visible smoke or sizzling, held up well with only a small amount of damage | easily passed 2,500 lb, carrots nervous but fine at 5,000 lb, metal toe plate experienced quite a bit of bending | 7,450 V | protected the carrot but the toe plate is now bent | not tested | not tested |
| 13Emoji (sp?)under $20 | 58 lb, almost 35 lb less than the Red Wing | 26.2 lb, outperformed several of the pricier boots | not tested | only 14 lb, does not offer very good sharp object protection | not tested | not tested | not tested | result cut off in the transcript, host says it actually did not do too bad | carrot completely destroyed, worst result of all boots tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- dry traction, 2x4 pull test
- oily traction, 5W30 motor oil pull test
- sole strength, bolt press until 1 inch of compression
- subjective half mile comfort walk
- sole puncture resistance, 16 penny nail
- top of foot leather puncture resistance, nail
- heat resistance, 450F surface for 1 minute
- toe crush resistance, 2,500 lb and 5,000 lb with a carrot as an injury indicator
- electric shock protection, 8,300V electric fence charger
- falling object toe protection, 75 lb iron dropped from 23 inches
“Taking the average across all four categories, the Red Wing came out on top, but the Redback and the Steel Blue also performed very well.”