Question for LEO's/Corrections.

[chipperi]

I took my psych test today and have a physical friday, so it looks as if I am being hired as a Corrections Officer for XXXXXX County. A regional jail with a roughly 600 inmate capacity, and all in a multi story building. I am a big guy that suffers from frequent foot pain. Can any LEO's ,Corrections, or security,give me some suggestions on black tactical boots preferably 6" or shorter, that can take the pounding of a 12 hr shift on concrete and stairs, all without leaving me crippled at the end of the day. I am also going to post this as a poll with some of the brands I am looking at.

[Pain103]

Ridge airtac boots are the most comfortable out of the box. The problem is after a few months you can start getting a squeak from the air cushion. They are decently priced. But The Danner Arcadia boots are good and will last forever and can be resoled. But they are pricey! I would just start out with ridge airtacs until you decide if you need to spend the money and know you will need the boots for the job that you will remain at for a good period of time.

[Guest tdoccrossvilletn]

[quote name="chipperi" post="1031221" timestamp="1378964418"] I took my psych test today and have a physical friday, so it looks as if I am being hired as a Corrections Officer for XXXXXX County. A regional jail with a roughly 600 inmate capacity, and all in a multi story building. I am a big guy that suffers from frequent foot pain. Can any LEO's ,Corrections, or security,give me some suggestions on black tactical boots preferably 6" or shorter, that can take the pounding of a 12 hr shift on concrete and stairs, all without leaving me crippled at the end of the day. I am also going to post this as a poll with some of the brands I am looking at.[/quote] Rocky alpha force is what myself and allot of the guys and gals I work with wear. They are the most comfortable duty boots I've tried abs have the thickest insoles of any I've tried. On a side note most County jails only pay about 8.50 an hour with no insurance or any types of benefits. If you'd rather work corrections but make better money you could work for TN Department of Corrections. We have decent pay, with excellent benefits. I can steer you to where to apply if your interested. We are always hiring. Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy. Edited September 12, 2013 by tdoccrossvilletn

[Patton]

You probably see more Bates' than anything being worn by seasoned officers. To be honest it may depend on the model more than the manufacturer. I do not have foot troubles but some of the most comfortable boots I have worn are some $25 Academy brand, immitation leather zip side boots and add an extra pair of insoles. They don't last very long, about 25% less time than some others but that is probably part of the reason they are so comfortable.

[UncleJak]

When I had to wear laced boots I wore bates. When I went into high end security, my dress changed and I wear ariat western boots now. Ariats are so comfy; I don't think I could go back to bates now.

sent barefoot from the hills of Tennessee

[chipperi]

 

On a side note most County jails only pay about 8.50 an hour with no insurance or any types of benefits. If you'd rather work corrections but make better money you could work for TN Department of Corrections. We have decent pay, with excellent benefits. I can steer you to where to apply if your interested. We are always hiring.

 

I thought about TDOC but  am sure my wife wouldnt appreciate me having to go to the academy 6hrs away for 6 weeks, the nearest state facility to me is Northeast Correctional which is a maximum security facility. I will be starting out in the $12 per hour range with health insurance and state retirement. But I do thank you for the offer.

[pitt2magic]

I have been wearing Bates for years.  I do have and like Danner boots as well but I spent 2 long weeks in the Hell pit of lower Louisiana after hurricanes Ike and Gustov doing disaster recovery for HHS.  16-20 hour days in the heat and muck and they held up fine and my feet survived just fine in my Bates.

Edited September 12, 2013 by pitt2magic

[Guest tdoccrossvilletn]

I thought about TDOC but am sure my wife wouldnt appreciate me having to go to the academy 6hrs away for 6 weeks, the nearest state facility to me is Northeast Correctional which is a maximum security facility. I will be starting out in the $12 per hour range with health insurance and state retirement. But I do thank you for the offer.

We don't go to the academy anymore. We do the training at Bledsoe. Morgan County is supposedly going to start training with us.

Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy.

[Dustbuster]

There's a company called spira that makes an awesome shoe, it has metal springs in the heels and front. TSA and other folks that stand on hard floors will swear by em. I've worn mine as needed.they make a huge difference. I've worn bates and rocky boots bates in the past as well as redwing and Ariat all great comfy boots but spira is my choice if I know ill be flat footing all day on concrete.
HTH


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[Guest tdoccrossvilletn]

[quote name="Dustbuster" post="1031423" timestamp="1379006964"] There's a company called spira that makes an awesome shoe, it has metal springs in the heels and front. TSA and other folks that stand on hard floors will swear by em. I've worn mine as needed.they make a huge difference. I've worn bates and rocky boots bates in the past as well as redwing and Ariat all great comfy boots but spira is my choice if I know ill be flat footing all day on concrete. HTH[/quote] Metal springs? They'd never make it through shake down (metal detector/x ray machine) where I work. I recommend non steel shank boots. Edited September 12, 2013 by tdoccrossvilletn

[Andyshowfan]

We are issued UnderArmour "speedfreeks" I'm a newly hired reserve so don't have much to compare with, but they are very comfy.

Edited September 12, 2013 by Andyshowfan

[Dustbuster]

Metal springs? They'd never make it through shake down (metal detector/x ray machine) where I work. I recommend non steel shank boots.

I hear ya best check w the guys that run the checkpoint to see what they say. I doc guy actually turned me on to spira..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[TN-popo]

I'm pretty picky about my footwear...

Blauer has a new line of boots out (Clash) with a pretty neat lacing system they call BOA.  Comes in 6" and 8" heights / medium and wide.

 

I've been wearing a pair of the 6" for almost a month now and they're one of the most comfortable pairs of duty boots I've ever had.

Pricing is pretty good, too.

 

Also, Original SWAT.  Very comfy boots.

Edited September 13, 2013 by TN-popo

[chipperi]

 

We don't go to the academy anymore. We do the training at Bledsoe. Morgan County is supposedly going to start training with us.

no academy anymore?? Wow do they do like the regional jails and travel county to county teaching the TCI Basic course?

[Guest tdoccrossvilletn]

[quote name="chipperi" post="1031527" timestamp="1379018870"] no academy anymore?? Wow do they do like the regional jails and travel county to county teaching the TCI Basic course?[/quote] From what I understand every other prison has to go. But Bledsoe and Morgan county don't. The tca instructors come to us. They teach at the old Taft Youth center Facility. On a side note North East isn't all max. They have some medium and minimum security from what I understand. They have a life skills class that we don't have that several of our inmates in the therapeutic community have joined and will be shipped out to shortly on the chain bus. I think that right now until they can get it entirely up here at Bledsoe the new hires alternate. One class goes one doesn't. I know for in service we used to have to go back to Tullahoma every year for one week. Now we just do it at Bledsoe. We even requalify at the institutional firing range. Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy. Edited September 12, 2013 by tdoccrossvilletn

[Guest Broomhead]

Bates with the side-zip all the way. They are inexpensive, comfy, and besides the insoles, will last a couple years. They also take a good shine when polished. They are very lightweight yet rugged. Plus they have a plastic shank inside so they won't set off metal detectors. I'm not in security anymore, but I still buy Bates to wear during the winter and anytime I wear pants/jeans.

[chipperi]

Gonna run out to Mahoney's and try on the brands they carry, I know they carry Bates and Danners. Was watching some YouTube Videos earlier....I am not looking to getting pepper sprayed during training. :cry: 

[Dolomite_supafly]

I have used all kinds of boots and the two brands that I have found to be the msot comfortable have been HiTek and Original Swat. But with the most comfortable comes a low service life. Most Original Swat boots never lasted me more than 9 months. The HiTeks were about the same.

 

Merrills are comfortable and last a decent amount of time.

[TripleDigitRide]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but COs make between $8.50 - $12.00 an hour? It's no wonder we're always hearing about them getting busted for bringing in contraband. Seems awfully low for what appears to be a fairly dangerous job. I'm not a fan of unions, but there could be a need for one in that profession.

 

By the way, I've had good luck with Bates. I wear them more for motorcycle riding than I do for work.

Edited September 13, 2013 by TripleDigitRide

[chipperi]

Johnson City and Kingsport were hiring up to 14.00 an hour but they havent gotten back to me yet.

[Guest Skyline034]

If you have some extra cash go with the Danner Acadia boots. Made in the USA and can be re-soled....best use of uniform allowance in the world. Only downside is they range from $230-$270 a pair, but I think they really are that comfortable and I don't have to come outta pocket.

[Guest tdoccrossvilletn]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but COs make between $8.50 - $12.00 an hour? It's no wonder we're always hearing about them getting busted for bringing in contraband. Seems awfully low for what appears to be a fairly dangerous job. I'm not a fan of unions, but there could be a need for one in that profession.

By the way, I've had good luck with Bates. I wear them more for motorcycle riding than I do for work.

With my recent raise I'm making over 13.00 an hour. It is what it is. TN had gone step raises. Supposedly from what I'm hearing within two-three years time we should be at state trooper pay.

Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy.

[Guest tdoccrossvilletn]

Johnson City and Kingsport were hiring up to 14.00 an hour but they havent gotten back to me yet.

That's strange as I've heard even Knox County corrections officers only make about 10.00 an hour.

Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy.

[RichardR]

The most comfortable boots I've ever worn are Altima Exospeed II's they are so light weight & coushiny that you hardly even know you are wearing duty/work boots, the trade off for the comfort is that they wear out quick, I only got about a year of service out of my pair, but my feet loved every minute of it.

Unfortunately I had to switch over to zip-ups, so I'm wearing a pair of Rocky Tacticals which are actually pretty good, not quite as comfy as the Altima Exospeed II's but better than average work/duty boot comfort, the build quality & durability/longevity is also really decent on these especially for the money.

[East_TN_Patriot]

I tried Bates and Rocky boots, but always went back to my Magnums.  Just like wearing really high-top sneakers because they are lightweight and flexible.  They would always last me about a year and a half before I needed to replace them.