Wearing protective gear is essential to being safe, being effective, and making life a little bit easier. Part of the necessary protective gear is a pair of work boots. If you have ever worked on an oil rig before, or even in construction, landscaping, or even warehouse work you've probably owned a pair of work boots in the past and are probably somewhat knowledgable about who the respected brands are. If not we'll give you a quick overview. A few of the most well respected boot makers who make the toughest boots are Red Wing, Carolina, Wolverine, and Carhartt.
Below we'll list some of the features you want your work boots to have. Most of the boot manufacturers listed above should include these features in most of their boots they make.
Oil Resistant
After all you are working on an oil rig so you should have oil resistant boots. The bottom or soul of oil resistant boots are made to have better traction and prevent slips from wet, oily, or slippery surfaces. Hundreds of thousands of workers a year are injured by slips and falls caused by poor traction. Having a quality pair of boots could help you from becomming a statistic. Another feature of many oil resistnat boots are boots which include stitch down construction. This means that the soul is bound to the upper part of the boot. This makes a better quality boot and also allows the boot to be resoled after the soles are worn out.
Steel Toe
Another important aspect of a boot for an oil rig worker is a Steel Toe boot. Again this is probably nothing new to anyone who has worked construction, landscaping, warehouse, or even at a shipping facility. Steel Toe's are pretty much standard in any work boot. The toe of a steel toe boot is reinforced with steel as the name would lead you to believe. These boots help protect your foot from heavy objects falling on your foot. Steel toe boots can range in price from $50 up to several hundred dollars for a pair. Steel toe boots are also combined with these other features mentioned in this article.
Insulated
The measure of insulated boots is how many grams are contained in the insulation. Boots with with a higher gram rating or number of grams are meant for colder weather. For example a 200 grams boot would be meant for summertime, spring or fall. Your body is generating a lot of body heat so you want the boot to not hold in all that heat and you really don't need the boot to keep you warm. In colder weather and winter time however you're going to want your boot to keep your feet warm and in this type of weather one might opt for a 400 grams boot. These types of boots are meant for colder winter weather where the feet need to keep warm and the body isn't generating as much heat.
Waterproof
Waterproof is anothr important feature of a work boot for an oil rig worker in North Dakota or anywhere for that matter. When working on an oil rig most workers will wear coveralls. Not only are your coveralls filthy at the end of a shift but your clothes underneath are also wet and filthy as well. Most oil rig workers won't even get into a dirty work truck in the clothes under their coveralls. Most opt for an additional change of clothes when they leave the rig. This illustrates how dirty, wet, and messy and oil rig worker can get during a 12 hour shift. This is why waterproof boots are such a necessity.
Some waterproof boots are just leather boots that have been treated with a waterproofing spray or element. If you really want a high quality waterproof boot look for a boot made with a material called Gore-tex. This is really an almost magical material. If you've ever read the book "The Tipping Point" you probably remember hearing about it. Gore-tex contains pores which absorb water and keep your feet dry and comfortable. During a 12 hour shift on the rig this is extremely imporant.
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