chainsaw boots

[tj240]

this might be in the wrong section but i need some help. my son is off to ranger school in wanakeena ny and needs steel toe boots with the mettarsul guard we can get them separate, but since he cuts with me anyway we are looking for the whole deal found some but one problem he has a size 14 foot. we only found one pair. any ideas would be great thank you members. weve checked most of the popular websites. thanks again

[beenthere]

Where have you found them separate?

[tj240]

most websites have the steel toed boots then you buy a strap on metatarsal guard. you can get the met guards at northernsafety.com

[clww]

Ranger school?

[jwilly3879]

Here's a link to the school. A lot of people from our area have gone there and are now working in forestry and related jobs.

http://www.esf.edu/rangerschool/

[Woodboogah]

I would stay away from Swede pro.  Bought a pair to try.  Lasted 8 months. Not of continuous use either.

[clww]

Gee, I thought the only real Ranger School was at Ft. Benning.

[John Mc]

Do they require the metatarsal guards for crush protection, or are they mainly concerned about protection from chainsaw cuts? 

I was never a big fan of the metatarsal guards - mostly because I worked for many years in a steel wire mill, and the guards were great at snagging stray wire and tripping you up. I can't shale the aversion now, when working in the woods.  I do have boots with steel toes and kevlar (or something) protecting metatarsal and shin area that I wear in the woods, but that protection is in the boot - nothing to snag.

Did you alredy check Bailey's under [urlhttp://www.baileysonline.com/Footwear/Chainsaw-Cut-Protection/]Footwear - Chainsaw & Cut Protection[/url] ?

[luvmexfood]

Odd, sizes/needs in boots or clothing are hard to find. Go out and try and find some paints with a 28" inseam. Hard to do. My shoes are usually 8.5 or 9 depending on brand. Kicker is while not totally flatfooted darn near. Anything with much arch support feels like walking on shoes with a mostly wore out cake of soap in your shoe.

Refuse to mail order shoes. Want something I can try on and walk around in and see how they feel.

[John Mc]

Refuse to mail order shoes. Want something I can try on and walk around in and see how they feel.

That works great... if someone in your area carries your size.

[tj240]

the met guard is for saw protection, they dont use them much but thats what they want. found some ,thanks for the info

[HiTech]

The Ranger School. I can remember when I was a kid, they taught the students to file cross cut saws and sharpen axes. Guess that is a lost art. My parents built a camp about a 1/4 mile away from the Ranger School. Back in those days the students were not allowed to have a car. They either walked or hitch hiked. My parents would always stop to give them a ride. They wore their green and white school jackets. It was a rough course, lot crammed in to a short period. I use to hunt grouse and rabbit on the land they owned and once in awhile deer. You can no longer do that as it is considered a campus and by law no guns are allowed. I believe they have around 2,000 acres for a campus. I can see their reasoning for this as the students are out in the forest a lot and do not need some trigger happy fool filling the air with lead. I am not sure if there was a road to Wanakena when the school was built. For a long while it only had train access. The Rich Lumber Company built a hotel in Wanakena and logged the area. They even built the "Footbridge" to get their workers across the river. That footbridge was destroyed by an ice jam last winter and they are trying to get funding/donations to repair it. If you like the Wilderness it is truly a magnificent area with a history of logging/lumbering. 

[luvmexfood]

Refuse to mail order shoes. Want something I can try on and walk around in and see how they feel.

That's my problem. No one around here has a good selection.
That works great... if someone in your area carries your size.

[tj240]

the land ranger school is was donated by the rich lumber co. really nice school, small and intense but nice. the kind of school that only wants the people that know what they want.

[Andries]

I've had good luck with Red Wing boots, they even make one with a metatarsal guard.
My son also has boots the size of a small canoe, and Red Wing was able to supply no problem.
If the Ranger school allows non-metallic toe caps, buying boots that have synthetic (nylon?) toe caps and shanks will give you son a lot less weight to haul around each day.
Red Wing aren't the cheapest boot out there, but for fit and durability they are worth every dollar - Canadian or American.