I am sharing an observation that I discovered, then confirmed with several other guys who wear boots often — firefighters, cops, and motorcycle riders. Most all agree on “comfort comparisons” of boots with smooth soles, compared with boots with “big lug” soles.

Here is the observation and results of personal comparison tests–

Boots with smooth (or fairly smooth) soles, such as all-leather soles of cowboy boots or standard nitrile (rubber) soles on many styles of motorcycle and police patrol boots are more comfortable to wear for long periods — especially by men who are older than about 45 or so. Why? It is not the boots, per se, but the guy’s feet. As a man ages, his feet become less flexible, the arches tend to fall, and the bones become more rigid. Then long plantar fascia ligament between the toes and the heel that runs along the bottom of the foot can become painful, producing a condition called plantar fasciitis. Or one can injure his Achilles tendon, along the back of the heel, by playing sports, running, or engaging in exercises without stretching first.

The point is, the older a guy gets, the less his feet can withstand the pressure of wearing boots that have less padding in the footbed (insoles), do not fit well, or — in general — have soles that contribute to the foot pressure instead of relieve it.

Well-constructed cowboy and motorcycle boots will have a metal shank built into them between the outsole and the insole (info here explains more about shanks in boot soles.) The shank distributes body weight across the sole and makes the boots feel more comfortable.

Leather-soled boots seem to be more comfortable because body weight is distributed evenly across the entire foot. The leather of the sole itself acts as additional cushioning between the bottom of the foot and the surface a guy is walking on.

Lug-soled boots, on the other hand, seem not to distribute body weight as evenly as leather-soled boots do. I put on several pairs of lug-soled boots and leaned forward, backward, and sideways to test this theory out, and it proved true. I felt more pressure on some parts of my feet when wearing lug-soled boots that I did not feel when doing the same body-twists and turns while wearing leather-soled boots.

I asked six firefighters, four cops, and three other boot-wearing friends about this, and they said they noticed the same thing. Firefighters who work in standard residential/commericial firefighting (rather than wildland firefighting) prefer smoother-soled boots. They say boots with plain, non-lug, nitrile rubber soles are more comfortable to them. Same is true with cops — that explains why more motor officers tend to prefer smoother-soled, Nitrile soles on patrol boots than lug soles.

This is not to say that lug-soled boots should be avoided. Far from the truth. Lug-soled boots are exceptional for use when operating a motorcycle, working outdoors, climbing trees or poles, fighting wildfires, and so forth. All I am saying is that lug-soled boots are not quite as comfortable to wear and stand in for long periods of time. If you will not be standing for a long time, then it doesn’t really matter.

By the way, the application of this observation is probably why boot manufacturers offer a hybrid between a smooth nitrile rubber sole and a big-lug sole — that is, many motorcycle boots are available with Vibram 430, or what I call, “mini-lug” soles. This type of sole splits the difference, and in my personal, non-scientific testing, seems to be that body weight is indeed distributed more evenly than big-lug soles, but not as evenly as smooth soles.

Again, this is by no means a scientific study. It is just relaying observations, and confirmations from some pros and friends who wear boots often.

Hmmm… who woulda thunk? I never knew for sure, until asking professionals who confirmed my suspicions.

Life is short: wear boots, and know more about what makes them comfortable to wear.