Should I buy boots here or in Chile?

May 22, 2007 5:17 PM

Can I buy work boots in Chile at a reasonable price - and immediately after arriving?

I'm planning a trip to Santiago Chile in October, where for two weeks I would be helping to build a children's outreach center. Apparently steel-toed work boots are absolutely required on the job site, and I don't have any. It makes sense to me to buy some now and break them in by wearing them sometimes at my current job...but maybe it would make more sense to just buy some when I get there. I wouldn't even mind leaving them there with someone who has similarly-sized feet, if they weren't too terribly expensive. So;

How do work boot prices in Chile compare with here?
Will I be able to get somewhere to buy boots, given limited time and transportation? (I'll be in Maipu, if that helps.)
Would I really have problems wearing working in non-broken-in boots for (?)8-10 hours a day for two weeks?
What else do I need to know?

Thanks!

posted by attercoppe to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

It seems like you're asking for a lot of difficulty for very little potential gain. Do you want the pressure of HAVING to find boots with limited time and transportation? Is your Spanish very good?

Having done construction work (LOTS of Habitat for Humanity), I can tell you I'd prefer not to have uncomfortable boots. And unless you can find good boots, they will probably be uncomfortable.
posted by JMOZ at 5:53 PM on May 22, 2007

You can probably find good quality security boots from US$100 (maybe less, probably more). Maipú is actually in Santiago, so it wouldn't be a problem to find where to buy boots.
posted by Memo at 6:14 PM on May 22, 2007

Best answer: There's like 3 malls in Maipú, you won't have a problem. You can buy CAT steel-toed boots for the vicinity of USD$100. You can also buy actual work boots. They probably won't be cheaper here than anyplace else, so it makes sense to buy them now, break them in, etc.
posted by signal at 8:44 AM on May 23, 2007