Timberland Wedge 6 Inch Work Boot
Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot
The Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot (style number 53009214)is a good example of an ever-popular boot design that’s as functional as it ever was. The moc-toe work boot has been around since the early 1950s. When I was working the trades weekends and summers through high school and college, all the older guys I worked with wore them (it was all guys back then). They are what I believed a working man wore on his feet.
Now of course work shoes and boots come in a wide variety of shapes and designs, and they incorporate safety features that weren’t available back then. Many of these new designs borrow features and technology from hiking boots. But traditional boots certainly haven’t been obsoleted and an awful lot of trades people prefer them. The moc-toe boot is probably chief among these traditional designs in popularity.
“Moc-toe” of course refers to the moccasin-type toe box, consisting of a top piece at the top of the toes, sewn to a front and side section that resembles a wall around them. The seam can actually be made by sewing two pieces of leather together in a U-shaped seam around the toe box or by creating the seam with a single piece of leather. The pros and cons of each are pretty minor. The Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot uses the two-piece method.
Advantages of moc-toe boots
It’s pretty obvious that moc-toe designs provide more volume in the toe box than round-toe boots, so your feet and toes have more room. This is advantageous in a few ways. Your toes are more comfortable. Your toes can splay out as nature intended them to. And because feet will invariably swell when you’re on them all day, there’s room in the toe box for that expansion. Moc-toe boots can be more flexible in the toe box (but not all are), making them more comfortable when, to choose one example, you’re kneeling and bending the boots at the toe.
Moc-toe boots are usually associated with wedge soles, and the Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot incorporates them (although other sole types are often paired with moc-toe boots). Wedge soles are lightweight, flat (distributes your weight evenly — important on hard surfaces), flexible, non-squeaky (quiet), and don’t have aggressive lug patterns on the bottom. This last is a particular advantage when you’re working inside a finished home (or office or plant) because you’re not tracking in mud and dirt. (Of course this advantage comes at the expense of traction — but not slip-resistance.)
Timberland’s moc-toe lineup
Timberland, as we all know, is a major work boot vendor. Earlier this year I looked at their Timberland PRO Radius Composite Toe Work Sneaker, and I really liked it! Because I had a particular application in mind for a particular kind of boot (see below) I wanted to look at a good match in the Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot.
The Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot is one of several moc-toe models in their catalog (of course Timberland make many more types of work boots, including their iconic yellow round-toe models). Timberland moc-toe boots are available in a variety of heights, with various safety features, and with differing materials. Whatever your job, there’s a moc-toe boot for you!
I asked to look at this particular model – soft toe, no insulation – because I had in mind two kinds of jobs: jobsite supervisory/professional, and mostly interior trade work. Both of these applications will benefit from the non-tracking sole since they both involve going from finished spaces to outside environments frequently. This particular model isn’t waterproof (other Timberland models are), but I didn’t really care one way or the other for what I had in mind.
Specs
- Full-grain leather
- Soft toe
- Electrical hazard protection. Meets SD static-dissipative ASTM F2412-18a, ASTM F2413-18, ASTM F2892-18 and CAN/CSA-Z195-14 safety standards.
- Steel shank
- Padded top
- Breathable, moisture-wicking lining with antimicrobial treatment
- Goodyear welt construction for a durable mechanical bond and re-soling capability
- Heat-, oil-, slip-, and abrasion-resistant, non-marking rubber outsole; tested to ASTM F2913-2019 Non-Slip Standard
- Available in men’s sizing, and rust color
- Open-cell PU foot bed
- EVA midsole.
- About 1.5 pounds each
- $115 (on sale now) at Zappos ($130 normally)
The boot upper is a single layer of leather. I measured the tongue to be about 2mm thick, with the rest of the upper, which I didn’t have the right calipers to measure, feeling noticeably thicker.
While the collar is padded I was glad to see that it wasn’t black (which I think looks ugly) – it was the color of the rest of the boot.
On the feet
The Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot is comfortable! Because it’s not insulated and the upper is a single thickness of leather it really doesn’t need breaking in. The flat wedge sole does indeed feel more solid under your feet – after all the sole can only bear weight where it’s in contact with the ground. Having done my bit on concrete factory floors I imagine that this would be a real advantage in that application. And yes, there’s plenty of room for your pinkies to spread out and make themselves at home.
Some on line reviews say that this boot runs large, but that wasn’t my experience. It was true to size length-wise, if maybe a bit wider than others width-wise (but I have such narrow feet that it’s hard for me to say). It has a pull-on loop at the back of the collar, which is to be expected on a real work boot (but is sadly missing on some), and a generous one at that.
It was easy to walk in out of the box, and it did flex well when I knelt. The sole was protective; I walked a few miles in the woods with these boots and roots and stones weren’t felt much. When standing on single ladder rungs, I didn’t even feel them. Overall, these were very comfortable boots that provided lots of foot protection but didn’t feel heavy or constricting. I think this was a consequence of a) the inherent advantages of a moc-toe boot, b) this particular Timberland model, and c) the way Timberland makes these boots.
It’s easy to see why well-made moc-toe boots are the quintessential work boot.
Conclusion
The Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot was a very good fit for the applications I had in mind (jobsite supervisory/professional, and mostly interior trade work). If my application was exterior work then I’d have gone for a waterproof model. If I had to have a safety toe then I’d have ordered a safety toe moc-toe boot from Timberland. But for basic protection coupled with all-day comfort on a jobsite or factory floor, this model fits the bill.
Additionally I was glad to add a moc-toe boot to my work boot selection because sometimes you just know you’re going to be on your feet all day, and the extra toe box room is a real comfort advantage then.
The only interior trades work I might hesitate to use these boots for would be painting, and then only in a finished and furnished office or home. In those applications I’m just paranoid about my feet knocking over a paint tray or bucket and I prefer narrower shoes like the Timberland Radius’ I reviewed earlier (see above). But other than that personal preference (you might not be as clumsy!) I’d recommend that you give the Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot a try.
