A Guide to Anti-Slip Shoes

If your employer has asked you to come to work with slip-resistant, non-slip, or anti-slip footwear, you might be wondering: What are anti-slip shoes, exactly? The simple answer is that they’re shoes designed to help improve traction on wet, oily, smooth, or otherwise slippery surfaces.

Non-slip shoes are critical safety equipment in many workplaces. Timberland’s slip-resistant work footwear features dozens of models that can equip you for any job that may include slippery surfaces.

What Are Anti-Slip Shoes?

Simply put, anti-slip shoes are footwear designed to help keep you steady on slick surfaces. These shoes are all made to improve grip on wet, oily, icy, or slippery floors. If that sounds like your workplace, it is worth understanding what these shoes can do for you.

Two important engineering factors make slip-resistant shoes what they are:

1. Outsole materials: Shoes with extra grip are usually made from rubber that provides a rough grip on any surface. Timberland slip-resistant shoes generally have grippy EVA outsoles, or they’re made with Timberland PRO® rubber.

2. Tread shapes and patterns: For a shoe to be slip-resistant, it has to dig into the floor with a tread pattern that grips, whether or not the floor is oily, wet or icy. A flat surface on the bottom of your foot is a major slip risk.

What Are Non-Slip Shoes Essential For?

Non-slip shoes are especially useful in jobs where slick surfaces are common. Here are a few industries where this footwear can make a major difference:

• Hospitality: From front of house to back of house, messy kitchens, busy bars, and spill-ridden service floors are hazardous. Timberland’s special collection of hospitality footwear and gear can help service workers stay steady through long, fast-paced shifts.

• Medicine: Doctors’ offices, hospitals, and other healthcare settings often require footwear that supports confident movement on smooth or wet floors. Those who are familiar with the spills inherent in medical work will understand what we mean.

• Manufacturing: Factories and other manufacturing facilities can have slippery floors, especially due to product spills. 

• Agriculture: Farming is muddy, wet, slippery work. And chores need to be done, no matter what the weather. So slip-resistant technology is a must. You can shop a farm-tough lineup of agricultural footwear and apparel from Timberland PRO®.

Which Timberland Shoes and Boots Offer Extra Grip?

If you need traction-focused footwear, Timberland PRO® offers tough, comfortable, and long-lasting styles built for a variety of industries. Here are a few examples of models designed with traction in mind:

• Men's Timberland PRO® Helix HD Pull-On Composite Toe Waterproof Work Boot: These great-looking work shoes with dependable grip are farm-ready, made with premium Timberland® waterproof leather.

• Women's TiTAN™ EV Met Guard 6" Composite Toe Work Boot: Equipped with a super-safe met guard that protects your entire foot, this premium leather boot is made for all-day, indoor-outdoor work. Its rubber outsole has deep, grippy grooves and a Ladder Lock™ heel for climbing. Shop all of our women’s workwear for models that are built for the hardest-working women out there.

• Women's Timberland PRO® Powertrain Sport Alloy Toe Work Sneaker: This lightweight, athletic work shoe is made for tough environments, with electrical hazard protection, a steel toe, and a proprietary polyurethane outsole for excellent grip. 

• Men's Timberland PRO® Intercept Athletic Steel-Toe Work Sneaker: Perfect for fast-paced environments, this lightweight work shoe features Timberland PRO® 24/7 Comfort System™ technology. Their honeycomb EVA outsoles help you move with confidence as quickly as you need to.

What Are Anti-Slip Shoes Going to Do for You?

Footwear with traction can help you move more confidently when the floor gets slick. Whether you work in a kitchen, on a farm, in a manufacturing facility, or in another environment where traction matters, the right footwear can help support comfort, durability, and workplace safety.

Take a look at our best sellers to see which products America’s workers rely on the most from Timberland, and find the anti-slip shoes that are right for you.