Men's S1 safety shoes buying guide

Updated: 21 October 2026

You are looking at amazon.co.uk because a warehouse, a factory, or a van round wants men's S1 safety shoes, and the titles in front of you say steel toe, non slip, or waterproof. Those words are the seller's description. S1, under BS EN ISO 20345, is a printed class for a toe cap tested to at least 200 J and 15 kN, plus a closed heel, antistatic behaviour, and energy absorption in the heel. None of the eight listings in the main comparison print S1 or EN ISO 20345. Shelf prices in that set on 20 October 2026 run from £25.49 to £39.99. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F. checked the listings and public UK guidance. We did not lab-test the shoes.

Our top picks

Badge	Product	Class stated	Toe claim	Water claim	Note	Price	Offer
Best overall	Unbranded Unbranded steel-toe trainer	Not printed	Steel, title	Not waterproof	8.4	about £25.49	View offer
Best value	LUPWEE LUPWEE UK-6799	Not printed	Steel, title	Not stated	7.5	about £30.99	View offer
Alternative	LARNMERN LARNMERN steel-toe trainer	Not printed	Steel, title	Waterproof in the title	6.3	about £38.61	View offer

Best overall

Unbranded Unbranded steel-toe trainer

8.4/10about £25.49

View offer

Best value

LUPWEE LUPWEE UK-6799

7.5/10about £30.99

View offer

Alternative

LARNMERN LARNMERN steel-toe trainer

6.3/10about £38.61

View offer

On this page

1.What S1 includes
2.What S1 does not cover
3.The mark and who pays
4.When this search is the wrong buy

What S1 includes

BS EN ISO 20345:2022+A1:2024 is the current British Standard for safety footwear. The toe-cap floor in that standard is 200 J of impact and 15 kN of compression. UK seller charts, including the HAIX class note used for this comparison, then add the S1 bundle: a closed heel, antistatic behaviour, and energy absorption in the heel. If the tongue does not show EN ISO 20345 and S1, you are holding a different product. The steps for reading that stamp are on the how to check men's S1 safety shoes page.

What S1 does not cover

Plain S1 has no puncture-resistant midsole. If nails, screws, or sharp offcuts are possible, the code needs a P, PL, or PS insert, which is the S1P family or a higher class. That decision sits on the S1 or S1P safety shoes page. HSE's construction FAQ says sites need a toecap and midsole protection. Plain S1 fails the midsole part of that sentence. S1 is the dry-floor class. Water resistance is a later step: S2, S3, S6, or S7. A title that says waterproof, as the LARNMERN listing at £38.61 does, is a word in the title. Reviews on that listing say the sole wore through and let water in.

Testsieger

Unbranded Unbranded steel-toe trainer

8.4/10about £25.49

View offer

The mark and who pays

Workplace PPE placed on the market in Great Britain is expected to carry UKCA or CE. GOV.UK's marking table allows either mark for PPE. HSE's supply page asks for a declaration of conformity and instructions in English. Stars on amazon.co.uk do not close that gap. If the job requires the footwear, the employer provides it. The PPE at Work Regulations 1992 require suitable PPE, and the employer should not charge the worker, including limb (b) workers from 6 April 2022. Spending £25.49 of your own money on an uncoded trainer does not turn the trainer into S1.

When this search is the wrong buy

Every kept listing fails the first check, because none of the captured titles print S1 or EN ISO 20345. The unbranded trainer at £25.49 has 4.5 from 1,053 reviews and no manufacturer line. LUPWEE UK-6799 at £30.99 names a model and still prints no class. Baofular K8 at £39.95 has 4.2 from 7,732 reviews, and the department line says women's while the title says men and women. Puncture or Kevlar wording on COOU and AFJYG appears in review text, not in a details field. Coded shoes exist outside this table. A Uvex 1 G2 metal-free S1 SRC listing was £119.99 on amazon.co.uk, and the HAIX CONNEXIS Safety T S1 was £149.90 on haix.co.uk. If your paper says S1P, S3, or a nail risk, leave the eight.

Common questions

What does S1 include on a men's safety shoe?

S1, on the UK charts that follow BS EN ISO 20345, means a safety toe cap tested to at least 200 J and 15 kN, a closed heel, antistatic behaviour, and energy absorption in the heel. From the 2022 edition, basic slip resistance is required and left unmarked. An extra glycerol test can be marked SR. Older shoes may still show SRA, SRB, or SRC. The code belongs on the shoe, not only in the search box you typed.

Does S1 stop a nail?

Plain S1 has no puncture-resistant midsole. Nails, screws, and sharp offcuts need a P, PL, or PS insert, which is the S1P family or higher. HSE's construction FAQ says sites need a toecap and midsole protection, so plain S1 fails that midsole part. Words such as puncture proof in a COOU or AFJYG review are not a details field and are not that code.

Who pays if the job requires the shoes?

The employer provides PPE that the risk assessment says is required, and should not charge you for it. The PPE at Work Regulations 1992 cover that duty, including limb (b) workers from 6 April 2022. Buying a £25.49 trainer yourself does not replace the assessment, and it does not make an uncoded listing into S1. If you are self-employed, the site induction still names the class you need.

Is a steel-toe title the same as S1?

A steel-toe line means the title mentions a toe cap. S1 adds the closed heel, antistatic behaviour, and heel energy absorption, and it has to be printed with the standard. None of the eight kept amazon.co.uk listings print S1 or EN ISO 20345. SUADEX's title says steel, and one review says the cap is plastic, so even the toe-cap word can be disputed.

What mark should you see, UKCA or CE?

HSE expects workplace PPE in Great Britain to be UKCA or CE marked, with a declaration of conformity and instructions in English. GOV.UK allows either mark for PPE. The eight captures in this comparison do not print those marks. A certificate only helps if it names the same model as the shoe, and a star rating is not that document.

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