Not only workers but a huge number of people need waterproof shoes. Sports, hiking, forestry, work… There is a great need of waterproof safety shoes.
Waterproof safety shoes can be identified also as WR safety shoes, in this article I will explain to you how to find such products on the market.
You work standing in wet environments for a long time? You work constantly in contact with water or liquids? Are you already using safety shoes but your feet get often wet?
Well, you definitely need waterproof / WR safety shoes, now I’ll technically explain to you what exists on the market and what technical specifications you have to look at for the perfect waterproof /WR safety shoes for your needs.
The legislation on safety footwear helps to prevent diseases caused by wet feet, but also learning more about the technical plus invented by the manufacturers will help you a lot.
In this article I’ll explain to you technically what to do if you need waterproof / WR safety shoes by showing you some of their most important features, because on the market there are a number of footwear solutions for this purpose.
I bet you’ll be surprised by how easy it is to find the best product for your needs!
The problem arising from the non-use of waterproof / WR safety shoes is easy to identify: wet feet, but also contaminated feet.
Yes, when you work in most cases you won’t just come into contact with water, but water and soaps, water and chemicals, water and additives, oils, animal liquids… The risk of contamination is rarely considered, but it is a real problem.
That’s why I strongly recommend to you to make a good search of waterproof / WR safety shoes.
Contents
The best solutions to protect your feet is to choose “WR”, water resistant shoes.
You have the European legislation on your side. In the UNI EN ISO 20345 and in the UNI EN ISO 20347 a technical plus is included, called:
- WR: it means “water resistant”. “water resistant” refers to the whole footwear, from the upper to the outsole, meanwhile there is another marking called WRU that means “water resistant upper”, so in this case the water resistant part is only the upper, not the entire footwear. Of course there is a specific test for the shoes that they have to pass to be declared WR. The standard says that when tested, after the test the total wetted area inside the footwear shall be ≤ 3cm².
Usually the footwear with WR marking has a waterproof membrane inside, that is more or less like an internal sock that protects the foot from the liquids, but there are few cases where the WR shoe does not have a membrane but just seams sealed with some special sealing adhesive.
There is a world behind the membranes, also different types of construction of the membrane into the footwear, I won’t go deeper inside this matter but I’d like to list the most famous waterproof membranes available on the market:
- GORE-TEX = laminate that prevents water from getting into the shoe, but still allows the feet to “breathe”. This technology provides ideal climate-comfort for all outdoor activities, even in the harshest weather conditions. All components (leather, textile) including the entire shoe construction are precisely attuned to one another and are subject to constant quality controls.
Best “GORE TEX” pick by SafetyShoesToday
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
- SYMPATEX = The Sympatex membrane is: wind and water repellent, prevents water from getting into the shoe but lets the foot “breathe”, ideal climate comfort, highest wearing comfort, keeps the feet dry and warm.
Best “SYMPATEX” pick by SafetyShoesToday
These membranes will protect the feet from water, liquids, fluids, wind… The ones I mentioned are the most known on the market but there are some others like Vagotex and Outdry.
Best “OUTDRY” pick by SafetyShoesToday
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
There are products with membrane almost in any type of design of footwear, shoes, ankle boots, rangers, riggers, with special soles like VIBRAM, with BOA SYSTEM, with or without side zipper, firefighter boots, chainsaw resistant boots, because there is an infinite number of situations where a worker needs waterproof safety shoes / WR safety shoes.
When you’ll have selected your pair from the many waterproof safety shoes / WR safety shoes your problem will be solved, because this waterproof safety shoes / WR safety shoes will protect you from getting wet feet, protection brought from the outsole and from the upper.
The result? Dry feet, safe work, no contamination.
I guarantee that if you use the right waterproof safety shoes / WR safety shoes you’ll live a better working experience.
What do you think about waterproof safety shoes / WR safety shoes?
Do you have points to add?
Please write your comments below!
