Look, I will be honest with you. When I first heard about WSS Crocs, I thought someone was pulling my leg. I have spent 15 years making furniture in my shop, and the idea of wearing foam clogs while working with heavy timber seemed… well, kind of silly.
Then my buddy Marcus showed up wearing a pair. This guy builds custom dining tables that sell for thousands, and there he was in bright orange Crocs. I gave him a hard time about it for weeks.
Why I Finally Caved
Last summer I was dealing with some pretty nasty plantar fasciitis. Standing on concrete floors for 10 hours a day was killing me. My wife suggested Crocs. I rolled my eyes. She ordered them anyway from WSS.
That first day wearing them in the shop? Game changer. My feet did not hurt by lunch. By the end of the week, I was wondering why I had been so stubborn about it.
What Actually Makes Them Work in a Shop
So here is the thing – Crocs are not just about comfort, though that is the big selling point. The material they use (Croslite, they call it) does not absorb sawdust and wood chips the way leather boots do. I can just hose them off at the end of the day.
Are they going to protect your feet from a dropped table leg? No. Absolutely not. I still switch to steel toes when I am moving heavy stock or working the jointer. But for most finish work, assembly, hand tool stuff? They work great.
The WSS Difference
Now, you can buy Crocs lots of places. I have gotten them from WSS a few times now, mainly because they actually have the colors my wife picks out. She has taken over my Crocs shopping, which is fine by me. Their staff actually knew the difference between the regular clogs and the ones with better arch support.
They run sales pretty regularly too. Got my last pair for like 30 bucks during a holiday thing.
A Few Things I Learned the Hard Way
Do not leave them in your truck during summer. I made that mistake once and they shrunk up and got all warped. The heat really does a number on the foam material. Keep them somewhere cool when you are not wearing them.
Also, the ventilation holes? Great for airflow, terrible if you drop a wood screw. Ask me how I know. I now wear them with the strap forward when I am doing any kind of hardware installation.
Would I Recommend Them?
For shop work, surprisingly yes. With some caveats. They are not safety footwear, so know when to switch to proper boots. They are not great for wet conditions and can be pretty slippery on a wet floor. And honestly, some folks in the woodworking community are going to give you grief about them.
But my feet do not hurt anymore at the end of a long build day. That is worth a few jokes from my buddies.
Marcus, by the way, has been insufferably smug about being right. I am never going to hear the end of it.
