If you're in charge of Health and safety for a team, or if you're buying safety footwear for yourself, deciding between lace-up, zip-sided or dial system work boots (such as the BOA® Fit System) can seem like a potentially complex process. Why pick one fit and fastening system over the other?
In this blog, we'll be explaining the benefits of each option, and we'll also highlight how these particular styles could give you optimum results based on you or your team's particular job role, work environment and workplace hazards.
You'll learn too that your decision should also be a case of spec over style - although fortunately, the safety boots you'll see in this piece all happen to be pretty stylish...
Adjustable Fit
Laces give the wearer a snug fit, and as they run right the way up the tongue in work boots, they can be adjusted to be looser or tighter around areas of the foot and ankle to avoid painful areas, or to increase stability.
Durability
Laces are pretty tough, but if they break, they're inexpensive to replace.
Versatility
Lace-up safety footwear comes in a wide variety of styles such as shoes, trainers, hikers and hi-legs, which makes them suitable for various safety-critical environments including Construction sites and Manufacturing Plants to Waste and Recycling roles.
Traditional Design
Given the choice, many prefer the classic, rugged look of lace-up boots.
Did you know that V12 Footwear has a whole YouTube playlist on safety boot lacing methods? Take a look and learn your favourite!
Time
Compared to a dial system or zips, it takes more time to tie/untie laces, which can be frustrating if boots need to be removed or adjusted frequently.
Loosening
Over time, laces can loosen or become fully undone - especially if the wearer is moving a lot - which might require readjustment and retying throughout the day, and of course, untied laces are the ultimate tripping hazard.
Potential snagging
It's easy to assume that slips, trips and falls are mostly due to slipping or unexpected contact with objects, but the risk of snagging laces on machinery or hardware with protruding nails or screws is significant, and can lead to serious injury.
Quick On/Off
Zip-sided boots are very easy to put on and take off, saving time at the start and end of a shift. This is especially helpful in jobs where boots need to be removed regularly.
Ease of use
Once the laces of a zip-sided style are tied and fastened to the desired tightness, you can keep the laces in position and use the zip for the quick and easy on and off.
Adjustability
You can still adjust the laces for a custom fit, but equally, the zip can be relied on for the daily convenience of the main on/off. In a sense, a lace up zip-side gives you the best of both worlds.
Pictured: V12 Footwear's award-winning zip-sided safety hi-leg Avenger.
Durability
Zips - particularly if the boots aren't looked after properly - can sometimes get jammed, break, or wear out over time, especially in harsh environments. And once the zip breaks, repair can be costly or difficult, which often spells the end of the boot's life.
Fit Limitations
A zip might limit how tightly a pair of safety boots can be adjusted compared to a purely lace-up style, potentially making them less secure for people who are after a greater feeling of stability.
Water and Dirt
Some safety styles feature zips which can let in dirt, water, or mud if they are not waterproof, which can be an issue in wet or dirty work environments. Having said this, there are plenty of zip-sided boots that come with a waterproof covering.
Work Boots with a dial and lace system such as the BOA® Fit System allow for quick adjustments for a precision fit. This allows the wearer to quickly and easily tighten or loosen boots to their exact preference, providing a consistently even fit.
Fit
The BOA® Fit System - consisting of a dial, laces and guide - gives a micro-adjustable fit, which enables the wearer to find just the right amount of snugness, ensuring a glove-like fit for the foot, as well as stability, which in turn decreases the risk of trips and falls.
Quick On/Off
Micro-adjustable systems are faster to put on and take off compared to boots with alternative fastening methods. On the BOA® Fit System for example, to release the laces quickly, all the wearer needs to do is tug the dial out and they loosen immediately.
Pictured: Vanguard and Valiant - V12 Footwear's BOA® Fit System safety hi-leg and mid-cut
Frequently asked question:
"Laces? I thought the micro-adjustable BOA® Fit System doesn't have laces?"
Well, footwear with the BOA® Fit System don't have traditional fabric laces, but BOA® still refer to the stainless steel wires that move through the guides and tighten the footwear as laces. See this innovative and efficient system for yourself below:
Low Maintenance
Compared to fabric laces, there's a much smaller chance of a dial system breaking or becoming untied. Take the BOA® Fit System: the laces in this technology are designed to withstand loads up to ten times higher than required, and furthermore, BOA® dials can be opened and closed 5,500 times without losing their functionality—that’s the equivalent of taking your shoes on and off once a day for over 15 years! Take a look below:
Hands and hassle
In environments where boots need quick or frequent adjustments, this system can save time, and is better for those who have limited dexterity in their hands due to having arthritis or needing to wear protective gloves, because boots can be fastened, adjusted and removed with just a turn of a dial, rather than laces needing to be tied or zips needing to be located and gripped tightly.
Repair implications
Adjustable dials can be more complicated to repair than fabric laces.
Too even a fit?
While many wearers feel micro-adjustable fit systems offer the benefit of an even, uniform fit across the foot, some argue that zonal fastening (making a certain area of the boot tighter or missing out an eyelet to avoid a pain point) can help people with foot health issues or a unique foot shape, and this can best be achieved with lace up boots.
Cost
Unsurprisingly, boots with a more innovative and sophisticated fit or fastening system tend to be more expensive, due to the technology and additional materials involved in the manufacturing process.
Hopefully now you're clearer on whether you need to acquire laces, zips or dials, so why not take a look at the V12 Boot Finder to see if we've got what you're after? Just let us know your workplace conditions and hazards - along with any safety specifications - and our expert 'best pick' process will find you the perfect boot for the job, laces, zips or dials!
Click here to get in touch.