How to Choose Safety Boots: S1, S1P, S3 and Toe Caps Explained

Safety boots protect your feet from falling objects, nails, slippery floors and heavy machinery. The right pair depends on your job, so it helps to know what the markings on the boot mean before you buy.

What the standard tests

Safety footwear is tested to the standard EN ISO 20345. The toe cap must survive a 200 joule impact, which is like a 20 kg weight dropped from about a metre. The letters on the boot tell you what else it offers:

• SB: the basic safety boot with a toe cap.
• S1: adds a closed heel area, anti-static properties and shock absorption in the heel.
• S1P: S1 plus a steel or textile plate in the sole that resists nails and sharp objects.
• S2: S1 plus water resistance of the upper.
• S3: S2 plus the anti-nail plate and a cleated sole for grip. This is the usual choice for building sites.

Rubber and PVC gumboots with toe caps (marked S4 or S5) suit wet jobs such as dairies, food plants and washing areas.

Steel or composite toe cap?

Steel caps are thinner and usually cheaper. Composite caps (plastic or fibre) are lighter, do not conduct cold or electricity, and do not set off metal detectors, which suits electricians and airport work. Both meet the same impact test.

Choose by job

• Construction and heavy industry: S3 with a steel or composite toe cap.
• Warehouses and workshops: S1P, lighter and cooler to wear.
• Wet floors, food and farms: rubber or PVC safety gumboots.
• Welding: high boots with covered laces so sparks cannot get in.

Getting the size right

Try boots on in the afternoon when your feet are slightly bigger, wearing the socks you work in. You should have about a centimetre of room in front of your toes and your heel should not lift when you walk.

Look after them and replace them on time

Clean and dry them after use. Replace boots when the sole is worn smooth, the toe cap shows through, the upper is split, or after a heavy impact, even if they look fine.

Browse safety boots and shoes from sellers across Kenya, and look for the EN ISO 20345 mark on the boot itself.

This guide is general information. It does not replace a risk assessment of your own workplace, and you should always follow the maker’s instructions for the product you buy.