Things I Love: Part 2

#2: My Caterpillar Boots

In 10 years, I’m on my second pair of Caterpillar boots. They are probably the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. They’re also some of the best looking and certainly the most durable.
I just found out today that the actual product name is the Second Shift Steel Toe. I got my first pair sometime before spring of 1998. I know I had them then because I wore them to my Junior Prom. In 1999 I wore them to my job washing cars because they were better at keeping my feet dry than Gore-Tex hiking boots. In 2000, I wore them to hike to the base of the Grand Canyon and back.
Did I mention they have a steel toe? Yes. My most comfortable pair of shoes has a steel shank and steel toe. They performed superbly on one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever made.
I’m not sure when the sole started to wear through, but when I started catching rocks inside the heel, I bought another pair. Same shoe, half a size larger. It seems like I wear them daily. Probably not, but they’re certainly not collecting dust. Think work with everything from holey work jeans to dress slacks. The two sets of speed laces up top also make them the shoe I slide on when I just need to run down stairs to check the mail.
Oh yeah, I still have the first pair I owned. They’re a bit too dirty and scuffed up for the office, but they get a good workout with any painting or heavy work I do.