Whether it be made of steel or a composite material, a safety toe is meant to protect your foot from impact & compressive forces on site. Look for a pair with a rating of ASTM F2413 to make sure they meet the minimum safety standard.

The outsoles of slip resistant boots will help keep you from slipping on oil or other slick surfaces onsite.

Depending on where you’re working, you’ll most likely benefit from at least some level of water resistance on your work boots, in the event of rain, snow or spray caused by work. You may even need work boots that are completely waterproof if they’ll routinely get soaked (or even submerged).

Also known as Electrical Hazard (EH) boots, a shock resistant pair are meant to resist up to a certain level of electrocution, should you step on a live wire, beam, puddle, etc. Look for the “EH” label on the pair you’re considering.

Welted boots consist of a sole that’s sewn/stitched onto the upper-portion of the boot. While some brands use glue to attach the upper to the sole (‘direct attach’), this construction is not as good of a quality and will likely fail sooner. Welted soles can also be resoled, so you have the option of getting a new sole welted onto your used boots rather than buying a new pair.

The bottom – most often rubber – of the boot making contact with the ground. The two main types used on construction work boots include a lug sole/’commando sole’ (featuring deep treads) and a flat ‘wedge’ sole that has more surface contact with the ground.

This is the removable insert that you stand on inside the boot.

There are several levels of insulation you will find in various work boot models, but they’re all meant to keep heat inside (and cold outside) your boots to a certain degree.