The Ryng by Brunt Workwear: A Wearable, Light Work Boot
The Ryng by Brunt Workwear is a work boot for people who hate work boots. As anyone who has to wear them daily knows, work boots can be uncomfortable, cramped, stiff, and heavy — all of which leads to exhaustion at the end of the day. That’s the last thing that folks with hard, physically demanding jobs need. The Ryng boot is light by work boot standards, boasts a quick break-in period, and sports a toe box that feels spacious enough to accommodate wiggling toes and extra-thick socks.
Versatility, Grip, and Warmth
I tested The Ryng boot for a period of 2 weeks, mostly using it while splitting and chopping wood — an application that demanded stable footing and a good grip. The Ryng’s multi-directional tread pattern is moderately aggressive, but the rubber is fairly soft. The result? The work boots gave me a stable platform for swinging heavy things and gripped the loose soil and wood-chip-strewn surface around my chopping block with ease.
My testing conditions were somewhat cold (somewhere between 32 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the day). Those are temperatures that don’t mix well with steel-toed boots. That’s why I liked The Ryng’s composite construction toe. My piggies never felt cold in these boots — at least not as cold as they would have felt if steel was there.
Another point in favor of The Ryng’s versatility is its adjustable width. You can remove an insert beneath the insole to take the boot to a relaxed fit. I utilized this feature when I wanted to add a little additional warmth via extra thick socks or boot socks and a liner. It worked like a charm. I suspect people with wide feet will enjoy this feature as well.
The Ryng by Brunt Workwear: Comfort, Safety, Lightness
I’ve mentioned the composite-material toe in terms of its comfort, but how does it stack up in terms of safety? Pretty well. As an experiment, I gave The Ryng a few whacks in the toe with my sledgehammer (I wasn’t wearing them) to see if I could crush the toe box. No luck. So the composite material seems to hold up as well as a steel toe would, at least in my little slapdash testing.
A few other comfort features are present in the boot that aren’t really unique to Brunt — a padded collar around the ankle, midfoot shank, and thick foam midsole.
But where The Ryng stands out is in material choice. Many work boots are made of leather, and indeed Brunt offers several leather choices on their website. But The Ryng’s upper is made of a textile material. This stuff seems durable enough, is waterproof (at least to the extent that it will repel snow and puddles), and is certainly more breathable than leather.
Brunt boasts of The Ryng’s “ultra-lightweight” qualities (each boot weighs around 1.57 lbs). A quick comparison with other leading mid-duty work boots shows that weight data is shockingly hard to come by, though Danner’s Steel Yard 6’’ Steel Toe weighs about 2.25 lbs. My guess is that companies that don’t provide weight data have relatively heavy work boots.
If you already own a pair of work boots, toss them on the scale and see if they weigh more than 1.57 lbs each. If they do, consider upgrading to The Ryng boot. As an expert in footwear, I can tell you that the less weight you have swinging around on the end of the pendulum that is your leg, the less exhausted you will feel at the end of the day.
Finishing Touches
The Ryng’s all-black styling continued to look good through my testing period, even covered with dust and pine sap. I had no qualms in spraying them off and then wearing them casually around town. One final touch that I liked — the upper two lace hooks can function in a pass-through or wrap-around capacity, depending on your preference.
It’s that kind of attention to detail that catches my eye, and a final reason I would recommend The Ryng by Brunt Workwear ($135) to anyone who needs a comfortable, relatively lightweight boot that maximizes protection while minimizing fatigue.
