Thorogood 7990 Side Zip EH Safety Boots

My employer generously offered most of the employees $50 toward the purchase of a pair of EH (electrical hazard) rated safety shoes. These are what I ended up with. I wanted some boots for ankle support. I didn't find any I especially liked here in town so I got these off of eBay.

The title of the listing was:

THOROGOOD MEN 13 W Non-Metallic Safety Toe Side Zip Trooper Boots 7990 EH SR PR

I don't know where the seller got this description as they no longer seem to be on the Thorogood web site, so they are likely a discontinued item.

Brand: Thorogood


SKU: 804-7990

Color: Black

Safety Composite Toe

PR - Puncture Resistant Sole

EH- Electrical Shock Resistant

Material: Upper: Leather and 1000 Denier Nylon

Construction: Goodyear Storm Welt Lining: Dri-Lex® Aerospacer® Insole: Single Denisty Polyurethane Removable Footbed/Special EVA Cushion Flex Midsole: Shock Absorbing EVA Shank: Composite Outsole: GEN EX™ Dual Density Rubber Lug Special Features: Heavy Duty YKK Side Zipper with Velcro Closure. Flexible L-Protection® Puncture-Resisting Insole Material. ASTM F 2413-05 M/I/75/C/75; Tested For and Meets CAN/CSA-Z195 18. Meets or Exceeds CAL/OSHA

THOROGOOD #7990 COMPOSITE SAFETY TOE, EH SHOCK ZONE REMOVABLE INSOLE, SOLE IS SR SLIP RESISTANT AND OIL RESISTANT, PR PUNCTURE RESISTANT, ELECTRIC SHOCK REISTANT, SIDE ZIPPER BOOTS. WOW. NEW FIRST QUALITY MEN SIZE 13 W

Non Metallic safety toe shoes, This non metallic safety cap is molded from a special non metallic material. It is lighter than steel and will not conduct heat or cold. It does not activate metal detectors and is non magnetic and static free. The material makes the toe cap non conductive and its patented design dissipates impact. Resistant to corrosion, abrasion and chemicals make non metallic the new standard. Meets ANSI standards. This boot is tested for and meets the can/csa - 2195-m92 electric shock resistance standard which means it withstands an application of 18,000 volts at 60 Hz for 1 minute with no leakage current in excess of 1.0 milliamperes under dry condition, this is improved over the American standard of eh, This quality pair of boots meet the standards established by the American National Standards institute. ASTM F 2413-5 M 1/75 C/75. Boot is slip resistant with a static coefficient of fraction of greater then 0.5 when tested according to astm f 489 using the James static coefficient of fraction machine. PR Puncture resistant sole resisting through the sole area and the heel area at a force load of less then 1212n (272 lbf) according to astm f 2412 standard test method for foot protection. l-protection unique textile insole material is puncture resisting.

TAB LOCKING YKK SIDE ZIPPER SYSTEM ALLOWS FOR A SECURE AND COMFORTABLE CLOSURE SYSTEM. THEY ARE MADE WITH GOODYEAR WELT, WELT CONSTRUCTION, THE SOLE IS STITCHED TO THE REST OF THE BOOT AT THE WELT, WELT CONSTRUCTION HAS SET THE STANDARD FOR STABILITY AND STRENGTH. STITCH DOWN CONSTRUCTION HELPS SEAL THE BOOT, GIVE MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY, AND USES FEWER NAILS. THOROGOOD WELT CONSTRUCTION BOOTS ARE ONE NOTCH ABOVE THE REST. HANDCRAFTED. USING ONLY THE HIGHEST QUALITY MATERIALS. These new Thorogood boots are first quality, no defects. THE WORKMANSHIP IN FANTASTIC SOFT REMOVABLE PU INSOLE. LIKE WALKING ON A PILLOW. THESE THOROGOOD SAFETY TOE BOOTS WERE DESIGNED SPECIALLY WITH COMFORT IN MIND, ALL THE COMFORT, SPECIAL FEATURES AND QUALITY MATERIALS FOUND IN THOROGOOD BOOTS. FULLY LINED. ) ( THE LINING IS NICE AND SOFT.) REMOVABLE COMFORT INSOLE THAT HELP KEEP COOL AND DRY ALL DAY. HELP CHANNEL THE ENERGY CAUSED BY WALKING AND THE ARCH IS CURVED TO ADD EXTRA COMFORT. DISSIPATES SHOCK, KEEPING YOUR FEET FROM TIRING AS THE WORKDAY WEARS ON. SAFETY TOES HAVE BEEN ENGINEERED FOR FIT AND COMFORT. PAPAL GLADLY ACCEPTED. will not ship to Po box. WILL SHIP WORLDWIDE.

That's pretty much what they are. $89.99 shipped. Seller PAPASHOELOW. The transaction went though without a hitch. Can't really ask for much more than that from an eBay seller.

They seem like decent boots. I never had a pair of side zip boots before. I have kind of gotten used to the quick lace boots I wear hiking and walking and wanted a pair like that but they don't seem to be available in safety shoes. So, the side zip style seemed like the next best choice. They showed up a few days after I bought them.

I wore them for about ten days including my morning walks with Wilma just to break them in. They are heavy, but comfy. My feet sweat in them. They don't seem to breath well if at all. It has been in the 90s most of the time lately, so my feet would probably sweat in just about any boot. They do appear to be water proof. No way to judge how warm they might be in the winter, but they appear to have no insulation at all, and with the heavy gauge nylon fabric that is part of the uppers, it seems unlikely they would be real warm. I will have to wait until it gets cooler to see. It took a couple of tries to get the laces the right tightness so I could get the boots back on without retying them, but still have decent ankle support. I think they will work out just fine as work boots. I don't have to wear them real often. Don't go many places that require safety shoes.

They came with some adhesive tags over the original tags. it appears the original tags were obliterated with a permanent marker before the new tags were applied. The adhesive tag on the right boot only lasted a few days before coming off.

The one on the left boot fared a little better, but will also come off as the boot is worn.

Laced up they look like just normal boots. At first I thought the red on the laces was paint or something.

Turns out the red on the laces spells out the brand name.You can see some of the heavy nylon webbing the sides are made of.

The side zippers seem sturdy, and there is a Velcro type keeper at the top to hold the zipper pull in place. The side zip feature works OK, but I wonder how sturdy they will be over time.

One feature that is not present and would have been nice is a loop at the back for help in pulling the boots on. It is not all that easy to grab on to the boot without a loop.