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Hinged Steel Toes

for summer comfort
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Steel toed boots can be very uncomfortable in summer months due to the heat trapped inside. Not everybody may be comfortable wearing steel-toed sandals due to lack of protection of other parts of the foot and the silly appearance. So my dedicated team of orthopedic engineers at 21st Century Quest Engineering have devised a new product for our line of safety footwear: steel-toed boots with a hinge on the toe which allows the wearer to simply snap the toes up like gull-wing doors during a break, allowing the feet to air out.
21 Quest, May 03 2011

like so http://www.howitfli.../e/e6/C5_galaxy.jpg
[21 Quest, May 03 2011]

or so http://medievalcost...es/ir80832_main.jpg
[spidermother, May 16 2011]

[link]






       Is this the toecap that snaps up, or the actual toes ? The latter sounds distinctly unpleasant.
  

       If the former, is the hinge at the front, or on the top ?
8th of 7, May 03 2011
  

       The toecap, and the hinge is at the top, although a front-hinge model could also work. Think of a C-5 cargo plane's front cargo hatch.
21 Quest, May 03 2011
  

       NOM NOM NOM
daseva, May 03 2011
  

       Brilliant, A+, excellentay, for those with stinky feet issues...uhm... [21]. +
blissmiss, May 03 2011
  

       Unfortunately, I suspect this would remove much of the strength and protection offered by the steel-caps.
A good steel-cap needs to be well-attached to the sole, otherwise a load in the wrong direction can 'roll' the cap backwards, neatly severing the toes.
A little more development, and it might become feasible. Perhaps sliding forwards?
neutrinos_shadow, May 03 2011
  

       steel toes, but avoid powerful magnets.
not_morrison_rm, May 04 2011
  

       Depending on the workplace hazards, why not use a heavy duty mesh toecap that lets air circulate? If you're worried about heavy objects and big impact, this could suit. If you're concerned with hot sparks or hazardous materials, not so much.
  

       I'm thinking a strong load-bar mesh like industrial floormesh, not wire mesh.
Custardguts, May 04 2011
  

       Good idea [+] improved by [Custardguts]
xandram, May 04 2011
  

       There is no good reason a steel garment should keep you warm. What conducts heat better than metal? The problem here is the boot part. If the steel toes were contiguous with a steel sole that extended smoothly up to the foot, heat would conduct away thru the sole and into the welcoming earth. Any person who complained that the all steel boot was uncomfortable could be offered a pair of steel-toed sandals with lots of fuzzy pink padding, and the phone number for his mommy.
bungston, May 04 2011
  

       Clip-on heatsinks?
8th of 7, May 04 2011
  

       Postable.
daseva, May 04 2011
  

       [bungston], have you been calling my mommie again? You know she's crazy, I'd advise you not to get TOO emotionally involved.
normzone, May 04 2011
  

       Could the problem of stability in use, as [ns] points out, be solved by some kind of collar at the bottom into which the edge of the toecap fits when flipped down?
gisho, May 04 2011
  

       All regulation steel toe boots have a steel plate in the sole here.
rcarty, May 04 2011
  

       Steel soles are good for working in places where foot impalement is likely (such as ground-up construction, ripping the forms off the footings leaves a lot of nails sticking up. Had a lot of close calls doing that). In other work environments, it adds unnecessary weight to the boot.
21 Quest, May 05 2011
  

       Your opinion is apparently not shared by officers of the Metropolitan Police …
8th of 7, May 05 2011
  

       The steel sole plate is (typically) just under the steel toe section but a bit longer than the top part, and is not so much for sole impalement protection; rather it creates a continuous 'loop' of steel, greatly reducing the chance of the aforementioned 'roll-over' toe-severing problem. Depends on the exact design of the steel toe, however, and there are (could be? I know stuff, but I'm no expert) other designs.
neutrinos_shadow, May 05 2011
  

       // I'm no expert //
  

       Fortunately, in the HalfBakery, a total lack of knowledge, expertise or ability is no barrier to participation …
8th of 7, May 05 2011
  

       I think a motorised flapping action (rapid of course) is required to create a flow of air around the steaming toes.
xenzag, May 05 2011
  

       I dunno. What if the protection were flipped up for comfort when it ought to have been flipped down for safety?
  

       I still have a foot without multiple unbroken bones thanks to steel toe shoes.
  

       Another college student at the summer job I had in college drove the forklift in to the loading dock irrationally (not in the straight line as the approach indicated) the load dropped on my foot.
  

       It was painful as hell. We unloading were trying to do it with speed, I made a mistake trusting the forklift driver to not drive like a moron and change direction at the last possible minute.
  

       What was worse, was he turned the power off after lowering the load.
  

       If steel toes were flip up I surely would have been hospitalized from that instead of just having to demonstrate a high pain tolerance while the lift was restarted to power the hydraulics.
Zimmy, May 16 2011
  

       I see where you're coming from. I wear steelies on dig and also get very warm feet during the summer and am also too vain to wear those ridiculous steely sandals.
  

       Unfortunately, for your idea, the whole point of the steel toecap is that it is a cap of steel protecting your toes from accidental injury in hazardous workplaces. And the thing about accidents is, they're accidental and, so, unpredictable. Take their permanent nature away and their efficacy is nullified.
  

       Flip-up steelies = no steelies for duration of toe-airing. Like designing a hard hat with a removable crown.
squeak, May 16 2011
  

       Not so much like a hard hat with removable crown as it is like a welders' mask with a flip-up visor.
21 Quest, May 16 2011
  

       But you are in control of the welding flash, where-as, by definition, you aren't in control of something accidentally falling on your foot --> Analogy Fail.
neutrinos_shadow, May 16 2011
  

       But you control when you walk back into a hazardous area after your break is over, no? Having worked in several fields where steel toes were required (aircraft maintenance, construction, concrete building formation, etc.) I can honestly say that every one had break areas available outside the hazard zones.
  

       Also, most hazardous work zones have signs at all entrances saying "hard hat required" or "steel toes required" to remind you to don whatever protective equipment is deemed necessary for the hazards in that zone.
21 Quest, May 16 2011
  

       [21 Quest];
Fair enough. I was going to mention that idiots will forget/whatever, but whatever safety systems there are, some idiot will ignore or circumvent them.
neutrinos_shadow, May 16 2011
  
      
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