Rigger boots split opinion on every site in the country. Half the trade swears by them for the pull-on convenience, the other half has had a pair banned by a site manager who wants ankle support and laces. But if your job lets you wear riggers, the real argument is which pair actually survives a winter of mud, scaffold and diesel without the sole peeling off by March.

Two names come up again and again at the trade counter: Buckler and DeWalt. One is a specialist boot maker that does nothing but safety footwear. The other is a tool brand that puts its name on a licensed boot. This is a straight head-to-head on build, comfort, safety and price, written for people who stand in these things ten hours a day — not for a spec sheet.

Our quick verdict

Buy the Buckler Buckshot 2 if you want the boot that lasts. It is a proper piece of safety footwear from a company that only makes boots, and it shows in the outsole, the waterproofing and the SRC slip rating. You pay more up front — usually £85 to £106 — but on a boot you replace every eight to twelve months, that gap closes fast.

Buy the DeWalt Haines if you want a solid, widely-available rigger for the least money. At £50 to £73 from Screwfix or Toolstation it is genuinely good value, comes with a one-year guarantee, and you can pick a pair up on the way to a job. It is not built to the same standard as the Buckler, but for lighter wear or a second van pair it does the job.

If you are on your feet on rough ground all day, every day, the Buckler is the smarter money. If you want cheap, available and backed by a guarantee, the DeWalt wins on price.

What a rigger boot actually is — and where you can wear one

A rigger is a pull-on safety boot with no laces, a padded collar and a couple of finger loops to haul it on. The appeal is obvious: you kick them on in the morning, off at the door, and there are no laces to wear through or trip on. They got their name from oil-rig workers who needed boots they could get in and out of fast.

The catch is ankle support. Because there is nothing lacing the boot to your ankle, a rigger gives less lateral support than a laced boot, and that is exactly why a lot of principal contractors ban them on their sites — particularly on uneven ground or scaffold-heavy jobs. Before you spend anything, check your site rules. If riggers are allowed, read on. If they are not, you want a laced S3 boot instead, and both these brands make those too.

Buckler: the specialist

Buckler — trading as Buckbootz — is a British-founded company that does one thing: safety footwear. No drills, no batteries, no workwear range to prop up. The Buckshot 2 is their flagship pull-on rigger, and it is the one you will see on plant operators and groundworkers who buy their own boots and want them to last.

The headline is the outsole. It is injection-moulded rubber rated HRO, meaning heat-resistant to brief contact with hot surfaces — useful if you are anywhere near hot tarmac, welding or roofing torches. The upper is full-grain leather with a genuinely waterproof construction, not just a water-repellent coating that gives up after a month. The steel anti-penetration midsole is rated to 1100 newtons, and the toecap is a standard 200-joule steel cap. The full rating is S3 HRO WRU SRC — that SRC slip rating is the important bit, and we will come back to it.

DeWalt: the tool brand’s boot

DeWalt footwear is made under licence — the yellow-and-black name is on the boot, but it is produced by a footwear manufacturer to DeWalt’s spec, the same way most tool brands do workwear and PPE. That is not a criticism in itself; plenty of licensed boots are perfectly good. The Haines is DeWalt’s waterproof rigger, and it is one of the better-value safety riggers on the UK market.

You get a brown nubuck leather upper with a waterproof membrane, a steel toecap and a steel midsole, a PU midsole for cushioning and a rubber outsole. It is rated S3 WR SRA, and it comes with a one-year DeWalt guarantee. The big practical advantage is availability: Screwfix and Toolstation both stock it in a full size run, so if a boot fails on a Friday you can have a replacement the same day. Toolstation pricing runs from around £50 to £73 depending on size and any offer.

Head to head

Here is how the two boots line up on the specs that matter on site:

Spec	Buckler Buckshot 2 (BSH010BR)	DeWalt Haines
Type	Pull-on safety rigger	Pull-on safety rigger
Safety rating	S3 HRO WRU SRC	S3 WR SRA
Toecap	Steel (200 joule)	Steel (200 joule)
Midsole	Steel anti-penetration (1100 N)	Steel anti-penetration
Upper	Full-grain leather, 100% waterproof	Nubuck leather, waterproof membrane
Outsole	Injection-moulded rubber, HRO heat resistant	PU midsole + rubber outsole
Slip rating	SRC (ceramic + steel)	SRA (ceramic only)
Guarantee	Specialist boot maker warranty	1-year DeWalt guarantee
Typical UK price	£85–£106	£50–£73
Where to buy	Workwear dealers, Amazon UK	Screwfix, Toolstation, Amazon UK

The spec sheet tells you most of the story, but two lines deserve unpacking: the slip rating and the outsole.

Slip resistance: SRC beats SRA

This is the difference most people miss. Slip resistance is tested in two ways. SRA means the boot passed on a ceramic tile floor with a soap-and-water solution. SRB means it passed on a steel floor with glycerol — a harsher, oilier test. SRC means it passed both. The Buckler is SRC; the DeWalt is SRA.

In plain terms, the Buckler has been proven to grip on oily, greasy surfaces as well as wet smooth ones. If you are around diesel, hydraulic oil, wet steel or greasy plant, that extra rating is worth having. On a normal wet-concrete or muddy site the DeWalt’s SRA grip is fine — but it is a genuine gap, not marketing.

Build and durability

Both boots use steel toecaps and steel midsoles, so underfoot penetration protection is comparable. The difference is in the outsole and how it is joined to the boot. The Buckler’s injection-moulded rubber sole is bonded in a way that resists the classic rigger failure — the sole peeling away from the upper after a few months of flexing in cold, wet conditions. The HRO rating also means the sole shrugs off hot surfaces that would soften a cheaper compound.

The DeWalt’s PU midsole with a rubber outsole is a common and perfectly serviceable construction, but PU can break down faster under constant heavy wear and repeated wet-dry cycles. For a first-fix chippy or someone in and out of the van all day it will hold up. For a groundworker standing in slurry, the Buckler’s construction is the one built for it.

Comfort and fit

Riggers are never going to fit like a laced boot because you cannot cinch them to your foot, so both rely on a padded collar and a shaped footbed to stop your heel lifting. The DeWalt has a fleece-lined collar and a removable padded insole, which makes it comfortable straight out of the box and easy to pair with your own orthotic insole. The Buckler runs a firmer, more supportive footbed aimed at all-day standing rather than immediate softness.

Sizing tip: both brands come up close to true size, but riggers are easier to get on with a thicker sock, so if you are between sizes and wear heavy work socks, take the larger one. Try to buy from somewhere with a returns policy so you can size at home.

Price and value

On the shelf, the DeWalt wins clearly — £50 to £73 against £85 to £106 for the Buckler. That is a real gap, and if budget is the deciding factor the DeWalt is the sensible buy, especially with its one-year guarantee behind it.

But rigger boots are a consumable. If the cheaper boot lasts eight months and the dearer one lasts fourteen, the cost per month evens out — and you have swapped boots less often, which matters when a failed sole means a day in wet feet. For heavy daily site use the Buckler is arguably the better value despite the higher ticket. For lighter or occasional use, or as a backup pair in the van, the DeWalt’s lower outlay makes more sense.

Which should you buy?

Choose the Buckler Buckshot 2 if you are a groundworker, plant operator, roofer or anyone on rough or oily ground all day, and you want the boot that lasts and grips best. The SRC rating, HRO outsole and specialist build justify the extra money for hard daily wear.

Choose the DeWalt Haines if you want a dependable rigger for the least money, value the same-day availability of Screwfix and Toolstation, or need a second pair. It is a lot of boot for the price and the one-year guarantee is reassuring.

And whichever you pick, check your site allows riggers before you buy — because the best rigger boot in the world is no use if the site manager sends you home to put laces on.

FAQs

Are rigger boots allowed on all UK sites?

No. Many principal contractors ban rigger boots because the pull-on design offers less ankle support than a laced boot. Always check the site rules before wearing them — if riggers are banned you need a laced S3 boot instead.

What does S3 mean on a safety boot?

S3 is the standard for a water-resistant boot with a 200-joule toecap, an anti-penetration midsole, an energy-absorbing heel and a cleated outsole. Both boots here are S3. The extra codes — HRO, WRU, SRC, SRA — tell you about heat resistance, water uptake and slip resistance on top of that.

Is Buckler worth the extra money over DeWalt?

For heavy daily site use, yes. The Buckler’s SRC slip rating, heat-resistant HRO outsole and specialist construction are built to outlast a cheaper boot, so the higher price often works out even on cost-per-month. For lighter wear, the DeWalt’s value is hard to beat.

Which is more waterproof?

Both are waterproof when new. The Buckler’s full leather waterproof construction tends to hold up longer under constant wet conditions, while the DeWalt relies on a waterproof membrane that performs well but can be more affected by heavy daily abrasion over time.