Grass Cutting Shoes?

[Metal-Marc]

Crocs

 

[like2wheel]

I vote for the roller blades.

 

[Citation]

I don't think those are a good idea. For example, in my case it takes an hour to do the yard then an additional hour to re-shine the boots. Better to get boots you don't have to polish...

 

[Sumboodie]

My cobbler replaced the worn soles of my sandals with Vibram soles, I recently learned that Vibram soles are made by Pirelli (sp?) the tire company. The lugs on those soles grip well.

Vibram and Perelli aren't together that im aware of. Nothing on their site about it either

 

[beemerphile]

I don't think those are a good idea. For example, in my case it takes an hour to do the yard then an additional hour to re-shine the boots. Better to get boots you don't have to polish...

I have a pair of Corcoran steel toe Marauders that refuse to die. If you get the Coyote color no worries with polish. I got started with Corcoran jump boots for motorcycle use. I replaced the laces with zip ups because a loose lace through the chain is a bad way to have fun.

 

[2Rocky]

time for a redneck riding mower...

 

[Zeus36]

I don't think those are a good idea. For example, in my case it takes an hour to do the yard then an additional hour to re-shine the boots. Better to get boots you don't have to polish...

Don't shine or polish them.

 

[rmmiller]

Good to hear a positive report on that Ryobi mower. I was thinking of one myself. The new Ryobi stuff has been fairly impressive for the price.

For shoes I think it aggressively lugged work boot would be good. I haven’t looked around but I bet some of them have sticky or soles. Will wear faster, but they will be better for traction.

I’ve not been impressed at all with my keen work boots. I even bought the ones that were “assembled in the USA.“

I’ve not had any trouble with traction or quality on my Merrill stuff. Might want to give it a look at you have not already done so.

I have had the opposite experience, my Keens are three years old and still serviceable but the Merrills I had before them were garbage at just over a year.

 

[ScottsGT]

Move

 

[Viper98912]

Flip flops, what the mower misses, my toe nails cut.

Back on topic, I wear no shoes, since I sit with my feet up and drink ice-cold lemonade, because my wife is the one who cuts the grass.

 

[OGJordan]

people recommending steel toes for mowing the grass. Grab some Brooks Cascadias and call it a day.

 

[Pen & Wrench]

I have always preferred lace up work boots or hiking boots. Also, if you can find a reputable footwear store that has people that know the shoe / boot business, they can be an awesome resource and they can give you real life recommendations that work. We have such a store in my town and when I had to do some pasture fencing and had to be on my feet a lot, they recommended a pair of work boots that made it much easier to be on my feet so much.

 

[82355]

Cowboy boots.

Martin

 

[Holt]

I had a pair of addidas trail runners that worked good.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Pick up some Merrill hiking boots. Comfy and the tread will grab everything from the yard and bring it inside to your fresh, clean floor.

But really, you need some treaded boots with ankle support. Slick bottom boots wont help in your terrain.

Btw these women's 8 Durangos work fine but I have my own hilly, ankle-rolly, prickly, sandy, grassy property to maintain. I'm looking at a new Cub Cadet ZTS2.

Ditto on cross cutting on the hill.

 

[Paco Pena]

When I was a kid a buddy and I were heading off to the local exhibition/fair grounds. His Dad says he can't go until he cuts the lawn which he had been putting off. Buddy grabs the gas rotary mower and pushes it around the yard like a mad man. With the grass still being wet he pulls the mower back towards him and his foot slips under the deck. He removed the toe of his sneaker but his own toes were intact. I wear steel toes for a reason.

Paco

 

[JRC3]

 

[ChevyEFI]

I have high top Merrill hiking boots from REI. And low ankle Columbia hiking shoes from their outlet store. Those are what I recommend, but I often go more casual when mowing.

 

[Glemon]

Since it is garage journal the correct answer is of course to buy the heavy equipment needed to regrade your yard and build a proper retaining wall, the expense will be well worth it, you never know when you or your hot divorced neighbor will need to move tons of dirt. Also build a place to store the equipment, a lift for service and insulation and a mini split for comfort. The shop's footprint will also reduce mowing time. Slippery shoe and sloped lot problems solved.

 

[ddurrett896]

Casual shoes turn to gym shoes turn to grass cutting shoes

 

[niget2002]

I'd be seriously considering replacing the rest of that hill with a flower bed. I hate mowing hills.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Used baseball cleats from "Play It Again, Sports"

 

[JRC3]

^
Won't try peanut butter but willing to wear funky used shoes. LOLOL

 

[gahrajmahal]

Pick up some Merrill hiking boots. Comfy and the tread will grab everything from the yard and bring it inside to your fresh, clean floor.

But really, you need some treaded boots with ankle support. Slick bottom boots wont help in your terrain.

Btw these women's 8 Durangos work fine but I have my own hilly, ankle-rolly, prickly, sandy, grassy property to maintain. I'm looking at a new Cub Cadet ZTS2.

Ditto on cross cutting on the hill.

GirlinAgarage, after taking Mrs. Gahrajmahal to the hospital for a possible broken ankle (it was twisted, now ok) I looked for boots for her. I even started a thread here. Womens work boots are hard to find!

Since it is garage journal the correct answer is of course to buy the heavy equipment needed to regrade your yard and build a proper retaining wall, the expense will be well worth it, you never know when you or your hot divorced neighbor will need to move tons of dirt. Also build a place to store the equipment, a lift for service and insulation and a mini split for comfort. The shop's footprint will also reduce mowing time. Slippery shoe and sloped lot problems solved.

You know I have thought of this many times! We have a small storage unit to store the MG and off season stuff in that is walking distance from home.

I'd be seriously considering replacing the rest of that hill with a flower bed. I hate mowing hills.

Those small trees in the photo are new from last year. We have been doing this very thing now for several years and another reason I’m taking over the grass cutting job. There’s not that much to cut, but it is very broken up with flower beds.

Used baseball cleats from "Play It Again, Sports"

I really like this idea!

 

[eljay]

No one advocating steel toe shoes?

I came here to say the same thing.
I always wear my garage steel toe work shoes for mowing.
I once had a rock thrown at my foot from the mower. It was a very narrow miss and just a scrape and learned my lesson.

When I mow by the sidewalk, I always pause whenever cars drive by or people or cyclists go by. It is a pain, but I'd rather be considerate than shoot a rock at someone's car or injure soneone.

 

[rsparks64]

My last house had a very steep slope in the back and I slipped a few times. My neighbor, with a similar slope, slipped and broke his ankle. After that I bought high top work boots (lace up) with aggressive tread from RedWing. Those boots worked great. They protected my ankles and were much grippier than tennis shoes. We retired and moved and now I have a flat yard and a zero turn, but still wear work boots to protect my feet and ankles from the weedeater

 

[crazylunker]

mowing shoe reference in video

 

[dcg9381]

I would like to avoid slipping while cutting the grass and was wondering if I should buy some golf shoes, baseball cleats, soccer shoes or football cleats, or if I should put on my old roller blades and just get pulled around by the mower.

Size 12 wide and removable insert needed.

What do you all suggest?

I remember my father having a toe re-attached when I was younger due to a mower (back before all the safety features). I'd recommend a steel toe boot.

 

[Squankum]

I mow a slope, too (pushing a reel mower) and I wear these, just like I wear in the shop all of the time. From the French Foreign Legion to Israelis to all over Southeast Asia, these have been a military boot for decades, but also have been sold to hipsters here and there. I got my first pairs in the early 80's from L.L. Bean.




Made by:

The Official US Palladium Boots Online Shop

For almost a century, Palladium Boots has been about adventure and discovery. Discover the Palladium shoes collection. Join us. Put your boots on and go exploring #DareToDiscover

palladiumboots.com

Pros/why I love them:
* Overall, very light weight. Like a glorified Converse Chuck Taylor, but with great traction. The light weight lets me zip to and fro quickly all day and not have my *** so worn out.

* Cotton/canvas upper, very nice in hot weather

* ERMAGERD that is soft, grippy rubber on the bottom. It's not just the lugs, it's the compound. If I'm going to run around (OK,"run" around) on my roof with a leaf blower, these are confidence inspiring.

* Just plain comfy (for me) and no sloppy floppy, thanks to them being low boots with laces.


CONS:
* Soft rubber doesn't last all that long. Not resolable. As a kid, I used to wear these until they were paper thin and the front ball-of-foot zone had no tread blocks. Rubber was so soft it was still gripping.
* Cotton canvas starts falling apart/wearing small holes here and there, too, about the same rate as the tread.
* Prices kinda **** since the company decided they wanted to market to hipsters who considered themselves unique and artsy types. (I don't care, as I've been wearing them long before that idea.) I have found better prices on amazon here and there, shopping by various colors.
* Arch support? Maybe.. Think Converse Chuck Taylors, but with some heel. You can always slip something in there; I don't know what your "foot volume" is. (Tonight I spot a "para" option which appears to be the same with an insole.) When I was a kid, these had simple rattan (?) thin liners just for moisture transport; nowadays, not much better.
* Alas, being all furrin/Asian production, they can't grasp that there are bigger galoots beyond US 14/Euro 49.
* Treads, esp. diamond-shaped hole in heel, like to pick up certain-sized gravel and make you go clackity clack across concrete floors/drives, etc. You learn to pry them out if they're a problem. (Prying is easy, thanks to the soft rubber blocks.)
* Steel toe? Uh, no. The only thing with less protection is sandals.

That being said, you, in sneakers on spikey aeration sandals, moving from lawn to concrete drive and back again, could be a recipe for *** busting. These shoes are the opposite, in that they give agility and feel and traction/stiction.

 

[gahrajmahal]

They have the Paladium boot in brown canvas like your photo for $50 on sale. No wide widths though, so for me not worth the probable hassle. Thanks though for the lengthy review. It’s exactly what I was hoping for with this thread. Actual experience and recommendations.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Crazylunker, I finally took the time to watch the basic dad video and it was hilarious! Especially the grass cutting shoes. It is totally me and I have been in the acceptance phase for many years. Thanks for posting this, got to show it to Mrs gahrajmahal

 

[Squankum]

They have the Paladium boot in brown canvas like your photo for $50 on sale. No wide widths though, so for me not worth the probable hassle. Thanks though for the lengthy review. It’s exactly what I was hoping for with this thread. Actual experience and recommendations.

You might want to consider it! My feet run a bit wide. My other favorite boots are very comfy but in the 'wear your *** out" weight zone. In fact, I wear an old pair just to hike up and down a hill for a daily workout. My size in these L.L. Bean boots is 14EE.



And I have no width problems with the Palladiums. Let's just say they're not designed by Italian pre-verts who think feet are pointy and toes should be crushed.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

^
Won't try peanut butter but willing to wear funky used shoes. LOLOL

They smell the same more or less!

But of course spray the inside of the cleats with Lysol or similar,

 

[gahrajmahal]

Used baseball cleats from "Play It Again, Sports"

Dan in Pasadena for the win! I went to Play-it-again Sports. For those of you that don’t have this chain of stores, it is a store that buys used sports equipment or will consign your sporting equipment if you want more than they want to offer. Consignments last for one month.

I walked in the store and said I wanted grippy shoes for grass. A women poked her head from behind a shelf and asked, “are you cutting grass?”, if so you want baseball cleats. Then she took me to their selection. It filled a whole wall. The size 12’s were on the top shelf. I got down a few new looking pairs. Since they don’t seem to have wide widths they were too tight for me. I did see a newer looking pair marked size 13, so I gave them a try. $19.95 and they were pretty good.

After getting them home and before trying them I had visions of me skidding down the steep driveway throwing sparks. Mrs. Gahragmahal said she wanted to see that! But they are ok on the blacktop. Walking behind the mower in the grass was really good. Pulling the mower back towards you, even on a steep part, you can feel the cleats digging in. I even hit them pretty hard with the string trimmer and the plastic toes protected me from feeling it.

So there you have it, from Dan and myself. If you are mowing on a slope get yourself some baseball cleats. You will like them!

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Ahhh, thanks for posting this. Glad one of my nutty ideas actually worked for someone!

 

[James E]

Whatever you wear, just get a heavy lug sole and heavy leather or canvas. They might not prevent injury as well as steel toes but they might slow down or deflect the mower blade enough to save you a trip to the hospital.

I don’t mow in tennis shoes or flip flops. Too many hills in my yard.

 

[blunn]

White New Balance of course

 

[Crabman]

The baseball cleats will work as will golf shoes.

The newer (last 20 years?) golf shoes with plastic cleats are good.

I used "turf cleats" for many years in the same type situation. Grippy, but not so grippy as to hold your foot and break your ankle if you slip the wrong way like the steel cleats. I had some from playing softball beyond a reasonable age...

Good luck staying safe!

 

[Joe Reed]

Golf shoes are designed for a lot of walking. Find some with the replaceable plastic spikes. They'll grip the turf better that the spikeless shoes...and still be comfortable when you're walking on hard surfaces.

 

[AreBeeBee]

I mow about half an acre and use a gas-powered mower that I push. Mowing shoes are old NB cross-trainers (?) with a sole that grips well enough for the job. There's part of the yard that slopes, but in that area I do "contour mowing," to coin a term, so the push effort by me is pretty much level.

I've worn steel-toed work shoes decades ago (summer job) but not since, and I certainly wouldn't for mowing the yard. Aim for comfortable footgear that has a sole rough and knobby enough to grip the slope. Also consider the idea of mowing along the contour lines. (Or plant the slopes in pachysandra.)