lightest work boots - ALTAI® Footwear

The Rise of the ‘Blue Collar’

altaidev on August 24, 2017

It may be surprising, but a resurgence in what are sometimes referred to as ‘blue collar’ jobs could be coming back stronger than you may have expected.

With higher education costs continuing to rise, more younger groups are choosing pursuits like on-site training or job-specific certifications. While college is still a main goal for many, others are beginning to hedge their bets on starting a skill-based career with hands-on experience. There are a litany of available ‘blue collar’ jobs that seek experiential knowledge, over a general degree.

Coinciding with this trend, there also is a shortage of skilled and semiskilled workers for these types of roles. Carpentry occupations, for example, are expected to grow 24% by 2022; and many other similar occupations will likely rise as well. Some 600 or more of these kinds of occupations will see significant growth and demand in the next few decades.

That being said, we are proud to see a potential future where ‘blue collar’ jobs gain interest and respect from a new generation that can take up labor roles for many other generations to come. Power to the labor workers of the world; society runs on the fruits of your labor.

The History of Footwear for Labor

altaidev on August 22, 2017

If you’ve ever worked a tough job, 10 or more hours on your feet, hauling, grinding, or patrolling away, you can appreciate what difference your favorite pair of work boots make. It’s quite the wonder, then, to take a look back at where footwear for laborers started and its evolution through the ages.

Around the 16th century, sabots were the common “protective” footwear for steel workers and the like, all the way up through the Industrial Revolution. The word sabotage originated from the known act of workers’ throwing a sabot into factory machinery, in order to shut down production.

However, as you can imagine, wooden sabots were protective only to a degree and mobility was gravely compromised. Leather boots came out on the rise but without any real protective qualities, protective toe components became the compromise to satisfy performance capability and safety.

Seeing how far work footwear has come over the years, we are proud to be part of the newest generation of footwear innovators. From space-age material SuperFabric® to world-reknown Vibram® soles, we will continue to outfit the hardest working people with the hardest working boots.

Hard-Working Boots Just Got Smarter: The ALTAI™ Difference

altaidev on June 8, 2017

Your old work boots. You’ve put them through the ringer, day in and day out. But if your job is anything short of a desk job, you know how quickly that relationship ends. The typical work boot lasts anywhere from 7-8 months; we decided to push those limits and, once again, future material SuperFabric® was key in extending the durability of a reliable work boot.

Used in a variety of applications, SuperFabric® is the solution for many industrial-grade wear and tear problems. Many Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) companies incorporate the guard plated textile for some of the highest safety standards. Our boot engineers thought, “Hey, hard-working feet deserve that kind of durability out of one pair of boots, too.”

After 500 miles of training through rain, snow, hot weather, these pair have really shown their Born To Outperform™ roots. Many of our customers still have their original pair of MF Tactical boots from our early days! We’re proud to be give you exactly what we aimed to: a super-rugged, work boot that works as hard as you do and can also throw down in any tough situation.