We propose a new approach to assessing comfort of use of protective footwear with a textile liner. All-rubber footwear with wool liner and cotton/polyamide socks were evaluated in a study involving 30 firefighters. The study was designed to comprehensively assess comfort of use of textiles in the footwear using certain known and new research tools at the same time, that is, measurement of the microclimate inside the footwear (temperature and humidity), weight gain of the footwear, socks, and liner (weighing method), measurement of blood flows in the lower extremities (impedance plethysmography), as well as evaluation of user comfort (questionnaire survey). The influence of the above-mentioned parameters on the comfort of use was analyzed statistically. Following a walk, the temperature in the foot regions was found to increase by 10%, while relative humidity of the air in the plantar region rose by 50%, and the textiles absorbed 28 g/1.5 h of sweat produced by the foot. Due to the unfavorable conditions inside the footwear and as a result of physical exercise, total blood flow in the lower extremities rose significantly (by 33%). The structure and type of the fiber used in the socks and liner influenced the subjective sensations of the subjects. We found very high correlations between the subjective sensations of temperature inside the footwear and the objective measurements of temperature and humidity, blood flow, and liner weight gain. This study is the first step towards a better understanding of the influence of various parameters on the comfort of use of a textile liner and socks in protective footwear.

The study material consisted of two models of protective firefighter footwear. The tests were conducted on subjects in a laboratory using an ergometric treadmill. The parameters of footwear microclimate were continuously recorded using T/RH sensors. For the leather footwear, the highest foot temperature was recorded in the 50th minute of the experiment (35.8°C in the dorsal region and 37.3°C in the plantar region) and for the polymer footwear in the 60th minute of the experiment (35.4°C in the dorsal region and 37.0°C in the plantar region). In the leather footwear, the temperature of the air surrounding the feet rose from 31.0°C to 35.4°C, and then declined, but did not return to the initial level during the rest period. In turn, in the polymer footwear, the temperature rose from 29.0 to 34.7°C, and then decreased to 33.7°C following the rest period. The highest relative air humidity was recorded in the polymer footwear (96.6%), while in the leather footwear it amounted to 91%. Testing the dynamics of the microclimate during footwear use provides complete information about changes in the temperature of the skin of the foot and the temperature and relative humidity of the footwear microclimate

The aim of this study was to characterize modified basalt fabrics as semi-finished articles for application in personal protective equipment (PPE), i.e. protective gloves. Resistance to the thermal properties for three fabrics made of basalt fibers differed in the aspect of mass per square meter and thickness as well as for the aluminized modifications presented. The modifications were obtained by gluing aluminum foil to the fabric with two kinds of glue. The results of the measurements are presented in the form of tables and figures. The study focused on the elaboration of the optimal textile modification designed for use in protective gloves against thermal and mechanical risks. According to the specifications of related European standards, only one way of proposed modification meets the requirements and can be successfully used for manufacturing the final product.