LaCrosse Footwear Polar and Trailblazer Work Boots

What went wrong

The notice saysThe protective toe cap on the boots may not provide sufficient impact and compression protection. This could result in crushing, bruising, or other injury to the wearer’s foot.

Safety-toe and metatarsal-guard boots are sold to meet impact and compression ratings. When a recall says the protection may fail, it means the boot may not hold up to the force the label promises. Employers who require protective footwear generally expect it to meet the rating printed in the boot, so check with your safety officer about a replacement.

How to tell if your pair is affected

Product description in the noticeThe Polar and Trailblazer style boots were sold in black or brown with the company name "LaCrosse" written on the side of the boot. The boots have the style name "Polar" or "Trailblazer" and one of the following style numbers on the inside of the tongue of the boot: 693100, 00693100, and 466000. Only these style numbers are included in this recall.

The notice gives no style numbers or barcodes, so you match on what it does give: the brand and style (Polar and Trailblazer Work Boots), the sale period (June 2002 to July 2004), where it was sold (see “Sold at” above) and the “made in” label (China). If a detail does not line up, the recall contact below can confirm.

What the notice tells you to do

RemedyConsumers should stop using the boots immediately and contact LaCrosse to receive a store credit toward the purchase of a new pair of boots.

Recall contact, as printed in the notice: For more information, call LaCrosse Footwear at (800) 890-3505 between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, send an email to [email protected], or write to LaCrosse Footwear Recall Department, 18550 N.E. Riverside Parkway, Portland, OR 97230, Attention: Polar/Trailblazer Protective Toe Recall. Consumers also can visit the LaCrosse website at www.lacrossefootwear.com

The recall is 22 years old, and the last pairs were sold about 22 years ago. The notice gives a phone number, an email address and a website for the firm; contact details that old may no longer work, while the CPSC notice stays online as the record of the recall.

How this recall compares

• With about 8,400 units, this is the 46th largest of the 95 footwear recalls in our archive that give a U.S. unit count. The median recall in the archive covers about 7,200 units, so this one is above typical size.
• 11 other footwear recalls in the archive cite the same kind of hazard (impact and crush), 4 of them in adult / unisex footwear. The earliest in this group dates from 2004.
• The notice puts the sales window at about 26 months (June 2002 to July 2004), against a median of 7 months across recalls that state one. The recall came 3 months after the last sale date.
• The notice gives a price of $67 to $110. For work and safety boots in the archive the typical stated price is about $110, so this pair sat near the middle of its group.
• No incidents were reported before this recall. That is true of 36 of the 95 detailed notices in the archive: firms often recall after their own testing or a supplier finding, not after injuries.

Year, part, store and origin

• 2004 brought 7 footwear recalls in our archive, covering about 1,995,400 units in all. This was the 5th of the year by date and the 7th largest by units.
• The notice names the steel toe cap as the part that fails. 2 other footwear recalls in the archive name the same part in their hazard statement; the most recent is Georgia Boot steel-toed work shoes (2014).
• Made in China. 61 of the 91 notices in the archive that name a country list China (67%).
• At the stated price, the 8,400 units come to roughly $740,000 of retail sales.

Comparisons use the 103 footwear recalls in our archive, read from the CPSC recall database on October 20, 2026. See data and methods.