I got tired of my normal athletic shoes going bad from the stress of daily use on the job, so I went looking under the search term "durable work shoes." (Looking via Duck and Swisscows and Qwant, mind you, not via Amazon's own search fields, which, inexplicably, continue to be left as almost 100% useless.)
Inevitably, nothing that was classified as a.) a shoe and b.) "durable" was available without a steel toe, so I relented and bought these. For the record: The heaviest thing I'm likely to drop on my feet is a disk of Lanthanum/Telluride alloy (or maybe Silicon/Germanium,) that's roughly the size, shape and weight of a U.S. Nickel, so I'm not really in need of steel-toed shoes. But if you want "durable," apparently you have to get the Medieval Class toe box, so I just bought them.
I don't know if it's just the steel toe or a combination of that and the heavier-duty rubber and upper material, but these shoes are seriously heavy. Not a big problem if you like the added exercise, but it would be great if shoe manufacturers would offer a version of the exact same work shoe with all of the exact same materials, but without the mëtal hardware. But I knew that going in so...
These are excellent shoes despite the weight. I have wide feet and they're available in EE width (if they hadn't been I simply would not have bought them, because "you can't be cool if your feet are uptight," as the old Hush Puppies ad used to say.) They're built like tanks but are perfectly comfortable nonetheless, and I'm on my feet roughly 80% of every nine-hour workday.
I got my normal size and width, and even with a pair of podiatrist-prescribed orthotic inserts and Odor-Eater pads, they fit perfectly. When I put them on in the morning the toe areas do feel tight, but the inserts settle within minutes and they're a perfect fit thereafter. So be aware that if you do not use any kind of insert these might be a little roomy. The laces are also heavy-duty and the eyelets for them allow you to tighten them without messing with the loop-by-loop finger-pull thing - but neither do they let loose too easily - all of which I like lots.
Given the excellent price, durability and fit, I'm really happy that I picked these. Time will tell how well they'll hold up, but I've been wearing them on the job for two months and they still look and feel brand-new. I'm on hands and knees and crawling into the guts of systems and lab equipment frequently, and though the inevitable dirt is there, I don't even see so much as a scuff on the outer surfaces, anywhere. Good shoes, if seriously heavy in the weight class.
MikeWashMO
SSgt. B