Always wondered why people wear 8 inch boots

[doublebase]

Why an 8-inch boot?

Let’s start here, do you live in a home in a developed neighborhood? Picture what all THAT looked like two years before your development was built. Forest. Now picture what it took to develop that land. The trees had to come down, the lot had to be leveled, a road paved, holes dug, gravel, water...

duradero.com

Interesting, they always look uncomfortable to me (I stick with a six inch boot). But people swear by the extra height.

 

[IndyIan]

Depends what you are doing, but when I'm doing outdoor work, I like to have taller boots with some pants cuff overlap without the cuffs too low, so you don't get stuff down your boots and don't get your pants as dirty or caught on stuff. I don't normally have them tight enough to provide much extra ankle support but I guess it helps.

For chainsawing in colder weather or other rugged stuff I like these.

Feels like you could demo a house, well maybe a mobile home, just using your feet!

 

[Escape08]

Wore boots during my ROTC days, wore cowboy boots at the Houston Rodeo event, wore Nike air delta force hi-tops back in 1980s, they looked good but uncomfortable. I have to take them off if I have to drive a car, on riding a motorcycle, yes

 

[doublebase]

Depends what you are doing, but when I'm doing outdoor work, I like to have taller boots with some pants cuff overlap without the cuffs too low, so you don't get stuff down your boots and don't get your pants as dirty or caught on stuff. I don't normally have them tight enough to provide much extra ankle support but I guess it helps.

For chainsawing in colder weather or other rugged stuff I like these.
View attachment 164155
Feels like you could demo a house, well maybe a mobile home, just using your feet!

I’ve never seen those, interesting.

Most of the folks I know wear a 6 inch boot, but lately I’ve been seeing more and more wearing an 8 inch. I ask why and they all say…they’re just super comfortable. And I’ve seen some
YouTube videos of guys swearing by the 8 inch Thorogoods over the 6 inch. Never crossed my mind to give them a try. I like a lite weight boot.

 

[doublebase]

Wore boots during my ROTC days, wore cowboy boots at the Houston Rodeo event, wore Nike air delta force hi-tops back in 1980s, they looked good but uncomfortable. I have to take them off if I have to drive a car, on motorcycle, yes

I always figured it was a requirement in the ROTC? Interesting.

One thing I do hear about is guys buying the Pacific Northwest boots. Big tall boots, expensive too.

 

[CanAmAndMore]

I prefer to be barefoot or in sandals.
But if the situation requires a boot, I want a tall boot, more than 8 inches preferably.

 

[doublebase]

I prefer to be barefoot or in sandals.
But if the situation requires a boot, I want a tall boot, more than 8 inches preferably.

Honestly, right? I’m finding myself wearing crocks in the summer (because my kid wears them), have you tried these things? Bought them a year ago for my son and they were $50 bucks!!? I’m like...$50 bucks for these things??? Then I talked to a couple welder friends of mine and it’s the first thing they wear when they take their boots off, they say they can wear them all through summer for almost anything (beside working). So, I bought a pair, and they are right! Haha. But they’re embarrassing to wear (for a boot guy).

 

[Kira]

To anyone looking at Crocs or similar:

Check out the Oofos line of flats/sandals/slip-ons.
SO (significant other) runs and volunteers with the running organization.
Discounts for rank & file members and officials come 'round.

I went for the sandals as I didn't want more than one pair of experimental footwear (I'm a curmudgeon).
I'm waiting for the next flurry of discounts.

 

[Recon 1]

For me it's all about ankle support! Have rolled my feet more times the I care to know.

 

[doublebase]

For me it's all about ankle support! Have rolled my feet more times the I care to know.

It’s funny you say that because I don’t generally work in the conditions the article speaks of, and I’ve never really given it much thought. My conditions are cement floors, a very hard and flat/even surface. I don’t roll an ankle in conditions like that, but I imagine some people with bad ankles might experience pain, regardless.

But I will say this, I was walking in a six inch boot along a sidewalk a few months ago and there was a major construction site where they detour you and have you walking under staging, etc. The ground was a mixture of things...plywood, then into gravel. The gravel caused me to lose my footing, and I didn’t hurt my ankle, but I did feel it give way for a second. I was shocked at how quickly this happened. Just BOOM! My foot moved the wrong way. And I’m watching these guys work in those conditions - they’re carrying stuff, tools, extension cords - there’s dust all over the place being kicked up. It was hot, loud, and extremely busy. Lot of them were wearing a Wellington style boot. Or boots with lug soles. Didn’t notice the height of the boots (I was too busy trying to get past the area).

 

[Astro14]

Wore these for many years - very, very comfortable.

I had them in both brown (flight suit) and black (digital camouflage AKA “blueberries”).

339 ST / US Navy Aviator Boot

Belleville 339 ST Berry Compliant, Chocolate Brown Safety Toe Flight Boot - USN/USMC - (339ST)

www.bellevilleboot.com

 

[supton]

For me it's all about ankle support! Have rolled my feet more times the I care to know.

I tried to do that, as I rolled my ankle a number of times, but have not found any boots that actually fit. So I gave up. Haven’t rolled an ankle in a while but I am not active like I used to be. Have a set of Bean boots that I slip on for doing anything messy (zero traction, have to walk carefully, sometimes I tie them) and use Gators out in the snow, sometimes with Yaktrax.

 

[Pew]

I prefer to be barefoot or in sandals.
But if the situation requires a boot, I want a tall boot, more than 8 inches preferably.

Same, I love my minimalist and zero drop shoes. I haven't worn boots after the military except for deep snow hiking. They're just too heavy and restrictive and I don't need the protection required since I don't go on any of our worksites.

 

[Speedbird001]

Because Sergeant Major says so. LOL

 

[doublebase]

Wore these for many years - very, very comfortable.

I had them in both brown (flight suit) and black (digital camouflage AKA “blueberries”).

339 ST / US Navy Aviator Boot

Belleville 339 ST Berry Compliant, Chocolate Brown Safety Toe Flight Boot - USN/USMC - (339ST)

www.bellevilleboot.com

Nice Vibram sole on those, not a tall heel, I can see why they’d be comfortable. Almost a mix between a wedge sole and hiking sole.

 

[cmarshall78]

I wear 8" boots at work on my construction job. I'm up and down ladders all day. I need them for the ankle support. I've tried shorter boots and didn't care for them. Doesn't bother me at all.

 

[vavavroom]

Ankle protection from abrasions and bruising, and added resistance to dirt ingress is an advantage of taller boots. That's why military, tactical, hiking, and work boots are often 8" tall. I have never fully bought the ankle support claim other than in the case of ski boots. If your boot is so rigid and stiff that it actually adds noteworthy ankle stability it also limits foot articulation. That may be good in specialized scenarios but for general use, I don't see this as a benefit. Overly cushioned and supportive footwear tends to actually weaken feet. Admittedly, as a surfer, I have very good ankle strength and stability. I also walk and run barefoot as much as I can to maintain ankle and foot strength and most of my footwear is rather minimalistic. I have high-end leather boots that are quite supportive but I wear them only if I need them. Usually, I just wear Clarks desert boots, which are pretty minimalistic and they offer zero ankle support.

 

[y_p_w]

When I went snowshoeing I whipped out gaiters - maybe 14 inches, along with waterproof membrane pants. It was interesting because I wasn't the only one. I did a guided National Park Service trek - might have been about 3-4 miles round trip, which is not easy in snowshoes and freshly dumped snow. They're supposed to keep debris (especially snow) from falling into one's boots, and I was wearing fairly ordinary mid ankle Gore-Tex boots. I did wear them under my pants on the premise that the snow would then fall back down, but some others (like the park ranger leading the trek) was wearing them over his pants and then tightening them.

 

[Rmay635703]

When I see large boots in the wild it usually results in the following.


Bussn cap FRFR finna be Lit mid tossers rizzler Livy drip king ke ke box yeet boi

 

[AutoMechanic]

I like 8 inch. Just my preference. I’ve had both. My problem is I walk on the inner side of my feet so with the extra support it really helps. Otherwise I wear out the inside part of the soul quickly. I have 6 inches at home and the 8 inches I wear at work.