One thing I've noticed working the flightline in the Florida summer is that wearing steel-toed boots creates a really bad case of swamp-feet. And when you're an aircraft mechanic, you have to take care of your feet, which is kinda the point of the steel-toes. But must you make your feet miserable to protect them? Even Marauders, which are made mostly of a type of black breathable (as in slightly more breathable than leather) mesh, aren't much better.
I propose sandals with a steel toe, and heel as well, but open around the rest of the foot. I can honestly say that the rest of the foot pretty much goes untouched in maintenance ops. The mesh and rubber used in hot-weather boots don't provide any real protection against anything except small scratches. I would gladly wear these sandals myself (not in public, maybe, but on the job, no worries).-- 21 Quest, Oct 19 2006 Steel Toe Tennis Shoes? http://www.zappos.c...164168/c/22652.htmlI don't think they had these when I was wearing steel toed shoes. [Zimmy, Oct 19 2006] Slip on steel toes http://www.oshatoes.com/Put these on your shower shoes... [wittyhoosier, Oct 20 2006] Safety sandals http://images.googl...e=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wiKinda like, no, wait, exactly like these? [squeak, Nov 13 2006] + warning: not for welders, though.-- Zimmy, Oct 19 2006 Actually, there was a reservist in my unit that had steel-toe inserts put in a pair of loafers... Norm never really had what anyone normal would call a fashion sense...-- 21 Quest, Oct 19 2006 I could have reall used a pair of these in the Navy... of course, if I had them in the Navy, it would probably have been because they made them into the standard-issue shower shoes.-- ye_river_xiv, Oct 19 2006 Seems like a plausable idea. Write to the company that makes those sandals and see if they will add some steel toes or jury-rig it yourself. I actually think you have a pretty good idea here that will have a niche market but then again what the hell do I know?-- NotTheSharpestSpoon, Oct 19 2006 Sketchers makes a steel toed sneeker. I own a pair and they are quite breathable and light weight. I do alot of roofing in the summer and it gets quite hot "up there". But I do like the idea.-- Chefboyrbored, Oct 20 2006 I used to walk through a factory that required 'steel toes to be worn at all times' with my open sandals and tell them that I had *Steel Toe Nail Polish* on my toes. + I could've used these.-- xandram, Oct 21 2006 It's your best idea yet. Excellent +-- xenzag, Oct 21 2006 Lovely! In the summers, I work landscaping jobs, and we'd buy them, no doubt. We actually talked about them on site this year.-- Twenty Dollar Duck, Oct 22 2006 Uh... I dunno, squeak. I can't read German (or whatever language that is), and those look like ordinary sandals. How about an English-language link?-- 21 Quest, Nov 13 2006 Sorry. Didn't think of that. The sandals in the link are all safety sandals for builders etc. They all have steel toe-caps and most have steel half-soles. It *is* a good idea but, sadly, also baked and widely available.
There's something rather incongruously cute about a big, burly builder wearing T-bar sandals with a punched pattern on the toe.-- squeak, Nov 14 2006 I think it has much to do with the quality of boot that you buy. If you get a cheap $20 pair you will not get as much ventilation and moisture absorbtion than you would with a pair that costs well over $100. I will still bun it for the good idea. After all, this is truely half-baked!-- Jscotty, Nov 15 2006 random, halfbakery