Steel toed work boots are almost never allowed to have a steel toe anymore. It is always plastic which is just as strong but it shatters when it breaks so they don't have to uncrush that once they get whatever fell on your toes off.

There are some rare exceptions for specific jobs, see OSHA (or your country equivalent) for the exact rules that apply to you.

▲

Clent 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This isn't remotely true. Steel is absolutely still allowed. The steel toe is designed to collapse without crushing the toe. When that happens, the boot needs to be replaced.

There are composites which are fiber based but those aren't labelled as steel toes, they aren't designed to shatter and it's not plastic.

▲

bluGill 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Osha allows steel where plastic (fiber is a plastic) has issues. However they have complex rules and none of the industries I work with will allow steel.

	▲	tredre3 an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I've been wearing them all my life all over North America. Very few industries require metal-free footwear. Composite toes (since we're getting carried away with various terms, that's the actual term and fabrication method, which is fiber mesh and epoxy) still have downsides. Those don't apply if you're a white collar guy and just need them because of regulations. But if you're an actual worker that relies on them to save your toes, CT has much worse puncture resistance than ST. So it's trivial to puncture with a framing nail gun or cut through it if you rest a board on your toe, for example. They also shatter when something heavy falls on them. If the thing bounces and you're quick enough to pull your foot, then great. If not, the second bounce will be shattering your toes and your boot will be filled with fleshy composite soup that is impossible to save. A steel toe in that situation will just bend and odds are good that your foot will be salvageable.

▲

dpark an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Tungsten also shatters. It doesn’t crush. That’s actually how a tungsten ring that’s stuck is removed. You break it with a vice.