S1 or S3 safety shoes
Updated: 21 October 2026
Your induction named a code, and the Larnmern title in the basket says steel toe, waterproof, or puncture proof. S1 or S3 safety shoes are different packages, and in this comparison only one kept title prints S1. The [main comparison](/hub/occupational-safety/larnmern-safety-shoes) lists the nine amazon.co.uk pairs, priced from £30.59 to £51.84 on 19 October 2026. This page defines the codes and then shows which listing actually states one. It does not walk a warehouse floor, and it is not the full buying checklist. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F. used the British standard’s scope, HSE construction guidance, and the class field in this file. We did not certify a shoe.
Your induction named a code, and the Larnmern title in the basket says steel toe, waterproof, or puncture proof. S1 or S3 safety shoes are different packages, and in this comparison only one kept title prints S1.
Your induction named a code, and the Larnmern title in the basket says steel toe, waterproof, or puncture proof. S1 or S3 safety shoes are different packages, and in this comparison only one kept title prints S1. The main comparison lists the nine amazon.co.uk pairs, priced from £30.59 to £51.84 on 19 October 2026. This page defines the codes and then shows which listing actually states one. It does not walk a warehouse floor, and it is not the full buying checklist. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F. used the British standard’s scope, HSE construction guidance, and the class field in this file. We did not certify a shoe.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Class stated | Puncture claim | Water claim | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  LARNMERN LARNMERN steel toe trainers, £33.99 | n/a | n/a | n/a. Reviews disagree | 8.4 | about £33.99 | View offer |
 LARNMERN PRO LARNMERN PRO S1 safety shoes | S1 | n/a | n/a | 8.8 | about £44.99 | View offer | |
| Alternative |  LARNMERN LARNMERN puncture-proof steel toe trainers | n/a | Puncture proof in the title | n/a | 8.0 | about £32.99 | View offer |
On this page
What S1 includes and what it leaves out
EN ISO 20345 safety footwear has a toecap tested to at least 200 joules and 15 kilonewtons. That toe test sits under the basic safety shoe as well as under S1 and S3, so a higher class letter is not a harder toe. S1 adds a closed heel, antistatic behaviour, and energy absorption in the heel. It is the package for a dry place where the hazard is a crush on the toes and you also want the heel and static features the class includes. It does not add a penetration-resistant midsole.
BS EN ISO 20345:2022+A1:2024 is the current British standard, and notice 0142/26 of 15 October 2026 designates EN ISO 20345:2022 and A1:2024 for the PPE Regulation as it has effect in UK law. The standard does not cover chainsaw, firefighter, or electrically insulating footwear. If the extra letters are absent, those extra risks are not covered by the marking. Choose S1 only when nothing sharp is underfoot and the floor stays dry. A mesh trainer that feels light on a hospital corridor can still be the wrong shoe the moment a nail is plausible.
What S1P and S3 add
S1P is S1 plus penetration resistance. Buyer guides put that class on dry indoor work where the floor can hide a nail or a shard, such as a warehouse that still handles broken pallets. The penetration test is a standardised nail, not a promise about every piece of glass. Marking sheets for the 2022 edition quote 1,100 newtons for a non-metal insert, with letters such as P, PL, and PS distinguishing the insert type. None of those letters is printed on the titles in this set. “Puncture proof” on a £32.99 trainer is not that mark.
S3 takes the penetration-resistant sole and adds an upper water test and a cleated outsole. That is why guides point to S3 when the job is wet or outdoor. Choose S3 when the site asks for water resistance and a cleated, penetration-resistant sole. The upper test is not a dry sock in standing water. Honeywell’s 2022 user information treats WPA as water penetration and absorption of the upper, and WR as the stronger whole-shoe claim. A title that says waterproof, without WPA or WR, has not shown either letter. Two men’s Larnmern titles say waterproof, and reviews on both report water getting in.
Which kept Larnmern title states a class
Only the LARNMERN PRO shoe at £44.99 states S1. The title also says lightweight and unisex, with UK 3 to 13, and the model number on the listing is JAEU-L90960447. It has 4.2 from 5,222 reviews. It does not say S1P, S3, waterproof, or puncture proof. Reviewers refer to a steel toe cap. The title does not. Every other class field in this comparison is unstated. The £33.99 and £38.99 trainers say steel toe. The £32.99 trainer says puncture proof. The £33.99 and £38.61 men’s pairs say waterproof. The women’s shoe at £30.59 and the £51.84 boot do not print a class at all.
A definition is useless if the shoe does not carry it. If your paper says S1, the £44.99 listing is the one in this set that uses the word, and you still check the tongue label when it arrives, because this file has no photograph of a UKCA mark or a certificate number. If your paper says S1P or S3, none of these titles states it. Stars do not fill the gap. The boot’s UK reviews mention waterproofing and a puncture-resistant sole, and there are 11 reviews in total. That is not an S3 mark. How those codes land on a warehouse floor versus a site is on the warehouse trainers page.
When a contractor’s S3 rule beats the Amazon title
The law does not say every UK site must be S3. HSE’s construction FAQ expects protective footwear on a construction site, including a toecap and midsole protection against nails, supplied by the employer. That is toecap plus midsole, which is the S1P idea, not an automatic S3 sentence. The same FAQ is not a product test of these shoes. Who pays is the 2022 PPE duty: the employer provides it when the assessment still needs it. The older CE wording on some HSE construction pages is not a reason to ignore the designated 2022 standard.
A contractor can set a higher rule. Morgan Sindall’s visual standard, for example, asks for EN ISO 20345 S3 or S5 on its sites. That is one company’s standard, not HSE’s rule for every job. If your induction card says S3, the Amazon title loses. A steel-toe trainer at £33.99 does not become S3 because it is comfortable, and a waterproof title does not become S3 because it uses the word. Leave the set and take the labelled boot the site named. The wider order of checks, including price and who pays, is the buying guide.
Common questions
What is the difference between S1 and S3?
S1 is a safety shoe with the basic toecap plus a closed heel, antistatic behaviour, and energy absorption in the heel. It does not include a penetration-resistant midsole or a water-resistant cleated sole. S3 includes penetration resistance, an upper water test, and a cleated outsole, which is why it is the class guides associate with wet or outdoor work. The toecap test, at least 200 joules and 15 kilonewtons, is shared. S3 is not a harder toe. It is a larger package. This set prints S1 once and does not print S3.
Where does S1P sit?
S1P is S1 plus a penetration-resistant midsole. Guides place it on dry indoor work where nails or shards are still possible, such as logistics floors that are not a muddy site. It does not add the S3 upper water test or the cleated outsole. No listing in this comparison prints S1P. The £32.99 title says puncture proof without that code. If your paper says S1P, S1 on the £44.99 shoe is not enough, and a puncture-proof sentence is not a substitute.
Does every safety class have the same toe test?
The basic safety toecap, and the S classes built on it, use the same toecap level in this standard: at least 200 joules and 15 kilonewtons. Moving from S1 to S3 does not raise that number. It adds the midsole, the upper water performance, and the cleated sole. A title that only says steel toe has not even stated S1. Do not read a higher price, such as the £51.84 boot, as a higher joule rating. The file does not state one.
Which Larnmern listing in this set says S1?
The LARNMERN PRO unisex shoe at £44.99, model JAEU-L90960447, with UK 3 to 13 in the title and 4.2 from 5,222 reviews. It says S1 and does not say S1P or S3. The other eight listings have no class in this comparison’s file. Reviewers on the S1 shoe mention a steel toe and also hot uppers and fast sole wear. The printed class is the reason to shortlist it when the paper says S1. It is not a reason to wear it where the paper says S3.
Is a waterproof title an S3 shoe?
No. S3 is a class mark that includes penetration resistance, an upper water test, and a cleated outsole. A waterproof word in a product title is not that mark. The £33.99 and £38.61 men’s trainers say waterproof, and reviews on both include water ingress. WPA and WR are the letters used for water performance in the marking system, and these titles do not print them. If the site asks for S3, a waterproof trainer title is the wrong document.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 19 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file. The price bands are this set, not a market average.
- HSE: PPE overview (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE: PPE regulations 2022 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE: INDG225, slips and footwear supplied as PPE (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE: L25, foot hazards and inspection (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- BSI: BS EN ISO 20345:2022+A1:2024 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: designated standards notice 0142/26 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Honeywell: 2022 user information on P, PL, PS, WPA and WR (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Ironstep: safety ratings guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- amazon.co.uk listing B0CCDHVVJ1 (retrieved 19 October 2026)