Safety shoes for women’s feet
Too wide, too big, too uncomfortable – safety shoes for men are generally not suitable for women. Even unisex models often fail to meet the needs of women’s feet and often become stumbling blocks instead of giving reliable protection. At the same time, more and more women are opting for jobs in supposedly male-dominated sectors such as construction work or artisan trades. ELTEN is focusing more and more on the needs of women’s feet and is constantly expanding its selection of special safety shoes for women, paying attention not only to safety but also comfort and design.
Women’s feet are different from men’s feet
Contrary to the market for leisure footwear, for a long time there was only a very restricted selection of safety shoes for women, who often had to search far and wide until they found suitable shoes. For a lack of alternatives, many women reached for men’s models in their size, or at best, men’s shoes in a smaller size labelled as a “women’s model”. This meant that female workers went about their work in uncomfortable and poor-fitting shoes. This resulted in the shoes rubbing and caused blisters or pressure points, reason enough for many female workers to give up trying to protect their feet.
With regard to foot protection, wearing men’s shoes in a smaller size is no solution as foot shape differs too much between the genders. Women’s feet have totally different proportions. One main problem is that the bigger feet grow – and this applies to both men and women – the narrower they become, above all at the heel. Let’s take size 42 as an example: For women, this is a relatively large size and feet would be accordingly narrow – for men, however, this is an average size and the feet are thus comparatively wider. This means that shoe size 42 is not the same for men as it is for women. Further differences between female and male feet in the same size concern the ball length/girth and the instep circumference, as well as the angular position of the big and small toe.
The right protection for women’s feet
It is obvious that women’s feet need special protection. ELTEN recognised this need a long time ago, found solutions and has since then introduced a whole series of safety shoes that are tailored precisely to the anatomy of women’s feet. The wearers of these women’s ranges can rely on maximum safety, comfort and fresh designs.
NOVA
A few years ago, ELTEN developed the first “real” safety shoes for women, collaborating with scientists of the University clinic of Tübingen to determine the anatomic differences between men’s and women’s feet. These findings made it possible to produce perfectly fitting safety shoes for women and laid the foundation for the Nova series. The Nova collection includes models in all protection classes, such as the IMPULSE Lady BOA® aqua Low or the MILA aqua Low. The fashionable Nova series stands out for its outstanding comfort and attractive features. In addition, all models offer highly reliable protection.
BUSINESS
In addition to the protective properties of safety shoes, it is increasingly important that they look the part – especially models for women. This applies in particular for women in managerial positions. The ELTEN Business series combines elegance and protection and definitely makes a good impression. With comfortable women’s models such as OFFICER Lady or NIKOLA , the wearer will cut a fine figure at any meeting or business lunch in addition to safely walking through the business premises or warehouse.
TREKKING LADY
Modern safety shoes for women offer a wealth of details to ensure that female employees are well-equipped for tough everyday business operations. Features such as a sole with a 5-layered tread ensures comfort and safety by supporting the natural rolling movement of the foot. Tapered tread ribs ensure a particularly good grip on uneven floors, increased stability and good slip resistance. ELTEN uses this sole concept in the models of its Trekking Lady, LENA blue Mid or LOTTE aqua Low series.
WELLMAXX
Of course, women should not miss out on ELTEN’s popular WELLMAXX range either. With the MADDIE grey Low, even women with narrower feet can enjoy maximum cushioning. This is made possible by the high-tech material Infinergy® from BASF in the outsole. The material consists of many small, compressed, air-filled foam beads that change shape when you step on them and immediately return to their original shape. In doing so, they return a large proportion of the energy expended while walking to the wearer, providing a springy, lightweight walking sensation throughout the working day.
WELLMAXX Trainers Lady (XXTL)
Recently on the market: Our WELLMAXX Trainers Lady models such as the HANNAH XXTL black-red Low ESD S3 or the IMPULSE Lady XXTL blue low ESD S1P. They come with the sporty TRAINERS outsole and impress above all with their ergonomic outsole profile with a sohlenker made of Infinergy® from BASF, which ensures excellent resilience. In addition, they score with low weight, high elasticity as well as oil and fuel resistance. In this way, they offer wearers full-surface cushioning when working or standing, protect the joints and allow the feet to tire much more slowly.
And you know what? Our women’s series WELLMAXX Trainers Lady (XXTL) was awarded the Plus X Award, the innovation prize for brand quality, in the categories High Quality, Design, Functionality and Ergonomics in 2021!
