Leather v Rubber Boots

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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd Chief Sharp on March 16, 2009 at 12:41am

My firefighters are still using the rubber firefighter boots ( Firewalker Shoefit) We have tried the leather boot from Globe and the jury is still out. Stay tuned! I have worn the zip up Haix leather boots for duty boots for several years now and wouldnt be without them except on days when I wear my Danner Ft Lewis boots. Bottom line is wearing something that not only protects you but is comfortable. Besides that it just fluff.

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Permalink Reply by John Schander on March 16, 2009 at 12:46am

I've got a pair of Thorogood Wide toe leather boots. I'm an instructor, so I need a boot thatI can wear for extended periods of time as well as fight fire in. I also wear a size 15 so the wide toe is a big help.

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Permalink Reply by Floyd Aldridge Jr on March 16, 2009 at 12:43am

Warington Pro boots are my choice. Been in them for 15 yrs now. Was the best thing for my feet, My Dr said!!

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Permalink Reply by Nick xLTx on March 16, 2009 at 12:47am

I have a pair of rubbers that I wouldn't trade for the world, to me they feel just like a regular tennis shoe. Granted they do weigh 9 1/2 pounds, they're still the most comfortable ones I've put my feet in. I'll probably get a pair of leathers when they finally wear out though.

Our FD issues rubber boots, due to budgets and price our dept considers leathers a luxury so if ya want em they come out of pocket unless someone donates some or we can get a grant.

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Permalink Reply by John Schander on March 16, 2009 at 12:49am

Iunderstand about the budget thing I hadto come out of my pocket to get mine, but Iwas able to deduct part of the cost on my taxes.

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Permalink Reply by Dustin J. Millis on March 16, 2009 at 3:46am

My dept. issued leather globe's to all members about two years ago. I had rubber boots for a few months and then got the leathers... wow...I'm never going back to rubber boots.

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Permalink Reply by Nick xLTx on March 16, 2009 at 10:36am

Got any extra surplus 9.5 wides around? lol I got to try on a set when I was at the fire academy one time. I'ma try to go for the globes when I buy my set.

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Permalink Reply by strtcopr on March 16, 2009 at 8:33am

Warrinton Pro leathers-like wearing slippers.

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Permalink Reply by gb on March 16, 2009 at 8:52am

there is no contest between leathers and rubbers once you put on a pair of leathers you will never want to go back to rubber but i also understand budget prob. i think my deptment paid about 350.00 a pair for what we have

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Permalink Reply by jessica on March 16, 2009 at 9:20am

still using rubber hear at our FD. they can be all right but take forever to dry and get cold quikly. I ride horses when I'm not in my gear and use lether for evreything vary comfey but most members in our FD wolnt have the time to take good care of lether boots

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Permalink Reply by Brian "Moose" Jones on March 16, 2009 at 9:41am

Leathers are comfortable, BUT...They have a higher chance of contamination and can not be de-contaminated if they come in contact with haz-mat. Every firefighter could walk through a haz-mat at any time in any building such as cleaners, industrial and residential chemicals etc.

I have worn rubber boots since the start and will continue to wear them for that purpose, leathers are too expensive to have to replace every time they get contaminated.

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Permalink Reply by Captain Busy on March 16, 2009 at 12:01pm

is there really a good way to decontaminate your boots?

to quote an article put out by Globe Manufacturing...

One area of concern for all footwear involves the issue of chemical contamination and cleaning. Both rubber and leather are affected by chemicals adversely. It is difficult to provide a very specific answer if one material is better than another because the ability to decontaminate boots depends on many factors including the chemical(s) involved the exposure, the manner of exposure, the condition of the footwear, and how the footwear is maintained.

Leather is a porous material and as such it will "absorb" many chemicals. The ability of leather to absorb chemicals will be affected by the surface tension of the chemical. Lower surface tension chemicals (such as many hydrocarbons) will tend to penetrate the leather more easily than water-based ones.

The leather's resistance to penetration by chemicals will lessen as the original finishes and polish wears off. Depending on the volatility of the chemical and the care of the boots, the chemicals can remain in the boot leather.

Highly volatile chemicals, such as hydrocarbon solvents (e.g., hexane, benzene, and gasoline) will tend to evaporate from the boot leather. In contrast, less volatile chemicals such as creosol and naphthalene may tend to remain in the leather until high temperature exposures drive these chemicals out of the leather.

While there is a moisture barrier to the inside of the leather, the moisture barrier does not prevent permeation — the passage of chemical molecules through a material — of the chemicals. However, the amount of permeation will be low unless the chemical exposure is sustained over a long period of time and the exposure concentrations are high. Nevertheless, the moisture barrier does prevent the penetration of liquid chemicals and ensures that even very small amounts of liquid do not contact the foot.

Chemical absorption

Rubber is equally affected by chemicals. In this case, chemicals "absorb" onto the surface and permeate through the material. The Neoprene rubber that is used as the principal rubber in firefighter boots is particularly susceptible to certain chemical classes.

For example, organic acids (formic and acetic acid), aldehydes (formaldehyde), amides (dimethylacetamide), amines (ethyl amine), esters (acetone), halogenated hydrocarbons (chloroform, carbon tetrachloride), aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons (hexane, benzene, gasoline), and nitrocompounds (nitropropane) readily permeate Neoprene materials.

Neoprene generally resists permeation when exposed to ethers (ethyl ether), inorganic salts (sodium hypochlorite), inorganic bases (sodium hydroxide), and inorganic acids (sulfuric acid). When exposed to chemicals, the rubber can swell and deteriorate, which in turn increases the rate of permeation. Also, if a rubber is not cleaned (as with leather), the chemical stays in contact and will continue to permeate and degrade the material.

The general procedure for decontaminating boots is to rinse with water, wash with a liquid detergent such as Tide and scrub the surface with a soft bristle brush. The bootsshould then be air-dried for at least 24 hours, preferably at an elevated ambient temperature (100 – 120 F) to drive off any volatile chemicals.

Decontamination effectiveness is significantly affected by the chemical's volatility and water solubility. Chemicals that are volatile will evaporate. But chemicals that don't evaporate, such as oily chemicals, will tend to stay in the leather and contaminate the rubber matrix.

The general decontamination procedures won't be that effective for chemicals that have permeated the material matrix that are also water-insoluble and of low volatility. Even given apparent decontamination of the PPE, there are no standards for how much chemical must be removed and what residual levels of chemical remaining in the boots is considered acceptable.

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