In any line of work, having the proper tools is essential to maximizing productivity. In our line of work, pipefitting, staying healthy and avoiding injury is key since our job is largely physical labor.
To protect my beautiful feet, I personally prefer the Danner brand of steel toe work boots. More specifically, I wear the Danner Bull Run Moc Toe Steel Toe.
When I first purchased these boots, the only reason I choose Danner over the other reputable brands such as Carhartt, Timberland, Red Wing, etc is simply because I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and Danner was a local company based out of Portland Oregon. I had friends who worked in construction and I remember them having Danner boots on their Christmas wish lists. So when it came time to buy some boots, I decided to give them a shot and I’m really glad I did.
For the most part, all of the major boot brand companies probably have the experience and money to produce a high quality shoe so in my opinion, what sets the companies apart is the customer experience.
Up until last week, the brand of boots I was wearing made zero difference in my life. But while compacting the dirt around a fire hydrant we installed, I ran over my left toe with a jumping jack compactor and my steel toe boot not only saved my foot but also might have saved my life. How so? Here’s what could potentially be a worst case scenario. The machine crushes your foot and/or ankle causing you to fall to the ground and then the machine crushes your body, head, etc while you’re on the ground. It could be that quick.
But since I was wearing steel toe boots, when I ran over my toe, nothing happened to me other than a little damage to my boot. However, it did slice completely through the leather creating a half inch hole which allowed sand and dirt to get into my shoe.
So how did Danner make a difference in my life? Well, since I now had a hole in my shoe, I decided to call them to see if they could repair the hole. Coincidentally, my boot had been also slightly rubbing against my big toe. Not enough for me to make a stink about but since I had just smashed the hell out of the toe, I was worried that I might have bent the steel toe which would increase the rubbing to my toe, if it actually got bent which is probably unlikely.
But in any case when I called Danner and mentioned the situation, since I was still within the one year warranty, and the boot was rubbing against my toe, they told me they would replace them free of charge.
They immediately emailed me a UPS 2 day shipping label, I dropped the shoes off at my local UPS, and then two days later I received an email from them with a $260 web store credit allowing me to order a new pair from their website.
No long hold times, no back and forth bullshit, no questions.
This affects my life because I need these boots for work. Had the company made it a pain in my ass to replace the boots, I would have to either work with my feet at risk, not work at all, or go out and purchase a new pair of boots that day, all of which are not ideal options.
But instead, they made the process completely stress free and super fast which made all the difference for me.
So although I originally went with Danner for no particular reason other than their location, they’ve now made a lifelong customer out of me and I’ll probably never buy another brand of boot.
Not to mention these boots are pretty.
Here is what the pair I sent in looked like after one month of wearing them for work. I forgot to take a clear picture of the hole but if you look closely at the bottom picture, you can sort of see the punctured leather in the left toe.
I decided to order the black version this time around instead of tobacco so I can’t wait to get them!
The bottom line: Danner boots rock. And no, this isn’t an affiliate link so I’m not getting paid for this post. This is simply my honest feedback of the customer experience. I highly recommend these boots and company.
