How many people do you know that have stood on a nail or something sharp? At the very least it’s a painful experience and at worst, it can drive contamination into the foot.This is the very reason that a flexible, puncture-resistant midsole is a must in any work boot used where the risk of “sharps” may occur.

A Puncture Resistant (PR) midsole is a Steel or Woven Fabric midsole that runs the full length of the shoe. It is designed to protect from sharp objects penetrating the foot if stepped on. Puncture Resistance is just that however - Resistance; as opposed to Puncture Proof. Sharp objects may still penetrate the PR midsole if there is enough compression on the object beneath the shoe (jumping from a high spot and landing on a nail, for example).

PR midsoles are manufactured from either Steel or a Woven Fabric. The two primary materials used for protective midsoles are Steel, and Aramid (woven fabrics with high tenacity; eg. Kevlar®, or Twaron®) The midsoles are embedded during the manufacturing process, between the insole and outsole of the puncture resistant boots. The standard that regulates puncture resistance specifies that the protective midsole of puncture resistant boots cannot be removed without damaging or destroying the boot. This means that effective puncture resistance cannot consistently be attained through means of a removable insert.When you use composite instead of a steel midsole, the weight of the safety shoe or safety boot can be reduced, while remaining a similar level (but a bit less) of protection.

Is the test for Composite midsoles the same as for Steel?

They are both tested using a nail with the same force of 1100N. The tip of the nail must not penetrate through the test piece at all. Both types of midsole also undergo 1 million flexes to ensure they do not show signs of cracking, delaminating or disintegrating.