I truly wonder what you guys do to these shoes. I have year old running shoes with literally (sorry 220smudge lol) hundreds of trail miles on them that don’t fall apart. The soles are getting thin in spots but I expect that after the abuse I give them. They get wet, they get sweaty, they get covered in dirt and dust, they are worn hard and for long miles and they don’t just “fall apart” under light use.

It’s a head scratcher. Are you wearing 25 dollar walmart tenny’s?

The very premise of this thread is wrong in my opinion as well. The tennis shoes of today are wildly superior in every metric, except price, than the shoes I wore in school. They are more comfortable, fit better, provide better support, and wear longer. It’s not even close. Are you sure you guys aren’t the same guys bitching about backup cameras in cars as well? Lol

I always recommend Allen Edmond for dress shoes. Cole Haan are good as well. I haven't needed new dress shoes in 20 years though, but the AE and CH lasted 10 years and multiple resolings.

Back then, penny loafers were the most casual shoe AE offered. Just for fun, I looked at the website yesterday and I'll be darned if they don't offer sneakers and boat shoes. I'm not sure I'm ready for a pair of wing-tipped sneakers, but some of the others look nice and are on sale.

You know, I've been thinking about it and my sneakers always start to wear out in the fabric behind my heels first. I mean pretty quickly too. Matter of weeks or a few months at most. Doesn't matter the brand. Nobody else I know seems to have this problem. I'm thinking I must have some horribly misshapen feet or something.

After having heel spurs, when my shoes get worn down, I trash them. Foot doctor told me a leading cause of heel spurs are worn out shoes.

I've had good luck with Keen and Redwing.

I've been told when you get a few hundred miles on your shoes, you should replace them. Not sure how you guys are wearing shoes for years and years. I get about a year out of them and throw them out, I walk a lot and run (less than I used to due to knee pain). I'm a huge fan of New Balance stability running shoes.

For work boots I only wear Red Wing steel toe.

I'm thinking if you're wearing the same shoes for 10 years, they're probably not doing your feet much good.

I have been using mostly Merrill and Keen and the Merrill’s are coming apart with the tread coming apart from the bottom where it connects. Surprising how little I’ve worn them. Usually my shoes last for no less than 3-5 years with rotation. For boots, I won’t buy if they aren’t stitched.

10x, I hear you on stitched boots. I just threw out a 1-year old pair of Salomon Quest 4D's. Less than 250 miles - soles disintegrated on the edges and a seam blew out on the interior of one boot. Back to the 15 year old Limmers for me.

I have a pair of Frye harness boots that I've had for 15 years. They see occasional wear but are really just now due for a rebuild.

I also have a pair of Eccos that have held up well to being stood upon for 8-12 hour a day.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
I've been told when you get a few hundred miles on your shoes, you should replace them. Not sure how you guys are wearing shoes for years and years. I get about a year out of them and throw them out, I walk a lot and run (less than I used to due to knee pain). I'm a huge fan of New Balance stability running shoes.

For work boots I only wear Red Wing steel toe.

I'm thinking if you're wearing the same shoes for 10 years, they're probably not doing your feet much good.

Athletic shoes are different than dress shoes or even boots. Yes, athletic shoes wear out. The cushioning material doesn't last forever. The materials the uppers are made out of last just about as long as the soles, so you just throw them out and buy a new pair. With dress shoes and good boots, the uppers are made of materials that last longer than the soles. Getting them resoled makes them almost as good as new.

10 years is a relative as well. My Danner boots (USA, stitched) are at least 10 years old, but I only wear them three times a month now. When I first bought them and for the first two years of ownership, it was twice a week. I take care of them, they have yet to need resoling, and they support my feet and ankles well.

Back 1992, I got my first real job out of college and had to wear a suit 5-6 days a week, I bought the least expensive pair of shoes that fit well. That was a $160 pair of Cole Haan shoes. I bought the shoe trees and rubbers as well for the Wisconsin winters. About six months later, I bought a second pair. Wearing one pair every day really took a toll on them. Rotating them every other day made a huge difference. I eventually bought a few pairs of Allen Edmonds, then left public accounting and the suits behind, so Allen Edmond loafers are what I wore to the casual dress office.

When I said 10 years, it was not meant to mean 10 years of everyday use.

I stopped buying New Balance when the last pair failed to last 3 months. I also stopped buying Sperry's 3-eyed Billfish when the stopped lasting for more than 6 months. I've been sneaker and boat shoeless for over 3 years.

I rectified that on Sunday and took advantage of the sale I mentioned in my previous post. My new Allen Edmond sneakers and boat shoes will be here tomorrow, but the shoe trees are on backorder. They actually make the shoe trees themselves in Port Washington, WI. On sale, they are still expensive. On the other hand, the sneakers only have to last 9 months to be a better deal than the New Balance while the boat shoes have to last 11 months to be a better deal than the Sperrys. Both pairs are recraftable, so I expect many years of use.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
ASICS here. Barely wear them anymore but always got good life out of them.

That's all Mrs. Flash wears and she gets good life from them also.

One of the pairs I’m talking about is ASICS. I’ve had good luck with them in the past so this pair surprised me.

What he said. Shoes can last a decade easily. Running shoes and athletic shoes not so much. However, after my foot issues in the past I spent days researching all kinds of “running” stuff and I got interested in barefoot running. I found out it wasn’t for me but I also discovered that minimal cushioning natural type footbed running shoes were.

Running shoe companies love to say trash your running shoes every 6 months or couple hundred miles. Of course they say that. If you run on a minimally cushioned shoe though that advice is bull though.

Your running style rather than miles should dictate running shoe replacement. Mine still last longer than you guys are describing though. No way I would snap my fingers for shoes of yore. Nor would I trade any of my cars for my school days Datsun B210. Um, nope.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Shoe Goo. Magic stuff. I tend to buy nicer shoes. Ecco, Blundstone, Olukai, Doc Martens, Danner, etc. I have shoes in this group that are over a decade and going strong. I sent back a pair of Danners that came apart quick but I suspect I literally got a lemon there.

I had a pair of Danner boots that had very little wear, I quit wearing them for a couple of years or more and when I went to put them on one day the heavy rubber heel protectors around the outside of the heels just disintegrated in my hands.

The boots were probably around 10 years old but like I said not much actual wear. Danner would not replace them but gave me a 40 or 50 percent off coupon (dont recall for sure) for a new pair.

I have a well maintained pair of Johnstone & Murphy lace-up dress shoes that I bought in 1994. Four job interviews in those shoes, three successful. Now I’m retired, so seldom wear them, but nice to look at occasionally.

Also two pair (brown & black) of Santoni “Reed” penny loafers bought ten years ago. Still in excellent shape. So flexible, they are.

I had a pair of LL Bean boots that did the disintegration thing. I had them for 15-20 years though so I considered my money well spent.