Non Self-Destructing Sneakers

RJM62

RJM62

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Geek on the Hill
Does anyone still make sneakers / tennies / athletic shoes that aren't design to fall apart after six months? It seems that whether I spend $20.00 for no-names or $200.00 for name-brands, they fall apart. And mind you, I'm not even tough on them. I just use them for walking around these days.

When I actually was an athlete, my athletic shoes lasted for years. Even inexpensive sneakers for "knock-around" use from PayLess used to last me a few years; and when they did need replacement, it was because the soles were worn, not because the shoes fell apart.

It's only in the past five or ten years or that it seems to me that sneakers started being designed not to make it past six months. The soles don't wear out any more. More likely the glue that holds them on fails, or the rubber (or more likely polyurethane) that they attach to crumbles into powder. They literally fall apart.

Does anyone make sneakers that don't self-destruct anymore?

Thanks.

Rich
 
I get made in the USA New Balance shoes, and I have some that are 4 years old and still kicking
 
I buy Brooks Beasts for running and they stay together. I still replace after 300 miles, but then use them as walking shoes, when I retire them from running. Brooks has been making this model for something like 20 years. It is the number one control shoe on the market (good for pronated runners). They are on the heavy side for running shoes, but get the job done.
 
I had my last pair of Nikes for 2 years wearing them everyday. Only had to get rid of them because they were too small not due to "self destructing".
 
I have the same problem and I agree, doesn't matter if you spend $20 or $200 almost all of it is poorly made. Might as well buy the cheapest ones.

Best pair of shoes I've ever had are my red wing boots... but those are a heavier work boot. I've had them for 3 or 4 years now, on the second pair of laces and they're holding up still which is better than any shoes I've ever had so I thought I'd mention them.

For daily wear I've had decent luck with these
http://www.walmart.com/ip/40646930?...3745432&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=111832090832&veh=sem

They still fall apart but I've been getting a bit over a year out of them. Since you can't buy a quality tennis shoe anyway might as well have something that's cheap I guess.
 
Not sure if you really want running shoes, or everyday comfortable shoes.

When I was a runner, I'd retire them after about a year and they'd become everyday shoes for a year, and eventually lawn mower shoes for a year, and fresh pair would be brought in as runners. I usually got Brooks and New Balance, Nike just didn't work for my ankles as well.

The last pair of "will these ever wear out" shoes I had were Merrell's: tough, comfortable, and I wore them pretty much every day until they got holes in the soles (3-4 yrs?).

http://www.merrell.com/US/en/moab-g..._color=J87323#cgid=men-footwear-shoes&start=1
 
I have three pair of New Balance I rotate regularly and they're old enough I don't recall when I bought them. Soles are getting worn but they are holding together.
 
I like Merrell, usually I buy their boots but i'll pick up a pair of shoes here shortly. Costs are about $120 so right in-between the $20 and $200 prices.
 
I'm buying New Balance about every 5 months or so. I wear the area around the balls of my feet and the very inside of the heel area out before anything else. Mostly that's from laying up on top of the airplane and holding my position on the edges of the work stands. The bummer is that I wear 6E width and have to order what ever I can find. Seems that the only colors are either black or white. Yuk....
 
I like DCs, they are skating shoes and are built like a tank, most all of them can be ordered in all black or solid colors so they don't look too bad ether.
 
I've settled on Columbia hiking boots for everyday wear and hiking. Low-top light weight hiking boots are not radically different from sneakers.

Wear like iron.

As do the Keen's I'm also partial to.
 
I do have a pair of Red Wing work shoes that are very comfortable, but they were closer to $200 and are not sneakers
 
Air Max's last a long time. Not the one's with the bubble all the way down the sole.
 
John221us said:
I do have a pair of Red Wing work shoes that are very comfortable, but they were closer to $200 and are not sneakers
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Used to be a big fan of redwing, a couple years ago I needed some good work boots and started off redwing, until I noticed they weren't the redwing I remembered.

For boots or boot like shoes I'd go Chippewa, most red wings are made in China now, the chipps are mostly US made, vibram rubber and even rebuildable.
 
Not sneakers, either, but a good pair of western boots will last forever. They're my everyday footwear.
 
I wear asics cross trainers.they hold up well for my use. Seem to hold up much longer on a treadmill,as opposed to walking outside.
 
By far the best I have ever had (and have currently) is a pair of New Balance black walking shoes. I'm going on three years of daily use and other than the inside lining starting to wear, they are holding together like a champ. Extremely comfortable too, makes a perfect cross training gym shoe. Not real cheap, about a hundred bucks, but you don't need an aftermarket insole with them either.
 
Thanks. I have some ideas now.

I'm leaning toward the lightweight hiking boots that some posters mentioned. They're probably more suitable to my mission because I do tend to run off into the woods from time to time. Plus I may get the railroad photo contact back, which involves some hiking to get to some of the locations.

Rich
 
John221us said:
I do have a pair of Red Wing work shoes that are very comfortable, but they were closer to $200 and are not sneakers
Click to expand...
I've got a set of red wing boots and they are bout 20 months old. Sole is coming apart and the cobbler said he cannot repair them.

They were $160. I thought buying quality meant longevity.


Back to throw aways I guess. I could get 6-9 months out of a set for $35.
 
I'll second the cowboy boot thing, but I'm also amazingly on the fourth or fifth year with a couple of pairs of different types of Sketchers.

Maybe it's the marketing to the youthful skateboarding crowd type... Shoes take a beating on a skateboard.

They seem to have all sorts of variety in what they make also. One pair is black "work" lace up shoes. Feel slightly "tougher" than typical ones but not beefy like steel toes. The other pair is casual.

And then there is the return from the dead of Levi'e branded boat shoes in raisin color. Those are awesome and they don't appear to have screwed them up with cheap materials when they decided to make them again.

Ordered all through Zappos. Could be a supply chain quality level thing too.
 
SkyHog said:
Cowboy boots last forever. I prefer Arait
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I love my Ariat boots....I by no means take care of them, I simply wear them and they take care of me. They are the best motorcycle boots out there, hands down. Even though it's way beyond time to have them re-soled they still are holding up just fine.
 
Planned obsolescence?

On the other hand, my podiatrist friend tells me that you should replace your shoes every 6 months.
 
Ariat: Chinese Junk. Conjured-up brand, heavily marketed. Never, ever, in all time, made a boot in the USA.

They cannot hold a candle to a good pair of boots, like Lucchese.
 
SCCutler said:
Ariat: Chinese Junk. Conjured-up brand, heavily marketed. Never, ever, in all time, made a boot in the USA.

They cannot hold a candle to a good pair of boots, like Lucchese.
Click to expand...

I hear ya, but they can.

The real made in USA leather boots need maintenance. Leather treatments/waterproofing, and leather soles need re-done after days and days of working in rocks.

The Ariats have hard rubber soles meant for cheap Chinese hiking boots and they're a lot thicker.

I beat the holy hell out of the Ariats including dousing them in leaking hydraulic fluid on the tractor and all sorts of other nasty things. I can do it because they're CHEAP and I don't care. And they still hold up.

I save the nice made in the US cowboy boots for dress up and going to town.

That's the market niche Ariat fills for me. They also tend to be stocked better at stores (of course because of profit margin) and I can find EE sizes. Finding wide sizes in cowboy boots at a retail outlet anywhere I assume outside of Texas is a huge PITA and you end up having to custom order.

And with the custom order comes the "Oh, these feel "ok" enough that I won't send them back because that's a hassle," and I end up wearing boots that are too narrow for my wide feet.

So yeah. Ariat. I wear them. Wish someone made something similar here. That nearly truck tire tread on the bottom of the work boots that still doesn't scuff floors is brilliant.

Can't beat them for the price, unfortunately. I've been completely trashing a pair here for three years and they show no signs of problems. Discolored from hydraulic fluid is all. One is darker brown than the other. Ha.
 
I started buying Teva hiking shoes. They fit me well, and they wear very well. I go through a pair Rockports or other shoes in a year or two, I wear out the soles. My first pair of Tevas, which I think have been through 3 seasons, have been wearing very, very well.
 
I buy sneakers/tennis/athletic/whatever shoes from Costco. They hold up as long as I care to wear them. Second year they get downgraded to lawn mowing and garage work, third year they get downgraded to fly fishing and stomping in the creeks and beaver ponds and still hold together but look like crap.

My daily footwear is also cowboy boots and has been since about 18 months old, growing up in South Dakota. Ariat and Lucchese don't fit my foot for some reason, but Dan Post, Justin and Tony Lama all fit well. I usually have a dress pair with leather soles and an every day pair with rubber/neoprene soles and usually get 3 or 4 retread (heel and sole) out of a pair before they're too worn out to wear (the interior insoles wear out completely).
 
SCCutler said:
Ariat: Chinese Junk. Conjured-up brand, heavily marketed. Never, ever, in all time, made a boot in the USA.

They cannot hold a candle to a good pair of boots, like Lucchese.
Click to expand...
I dunno Spike - my Ariats have outlived my last pair of Justins. Granted, we're talking 5 years (and counting) vs. 4 years, so either way, they last forever, and they're my daily wearers.

Chinese, perhaps, but not junk!
 
denverpilot said:
I hear ya, but they can.

The real made in USA leather boots need maintenance. Leather treatments/waterproofing, and leather soles need re-done after days and days of working in rocks.

The Ariats have hard rubber soles meant for cheap Chinese hiking boots and they're a lot thicker.

I beat the holy hell out of the Ariats including dousing them in leaking hydraulic fluid on the tractor and all sorts of other nasty things. I can do it because they're CHEAP and I don't care. And they still hold up.

I save the nice made in the US cowboy boots for dress up and going to town.

That's the market niche Ariat fills for me. They also tend to be stocked better at stores (of course because of profit margin) and I can find EE sizes. Finding wide sizes in cowboy boots at a retail outlet anywhere I assume outside of Texas is a huge PITA and you end up having to custom order.

And with the custom order comes the "Oh, these feel "ok" enough that I won't send them back because that's a hassle," and I end up wearing boots that are too narrow for my wide feet.

So yeah. Ariat. I wear them. Wish someone made something similar here. That nearly truck tire tread on the bottom of the work boots that still doesn't scuff floors is brilliant.

Can't beat them for the price, unfortunately. I've been completely trashing a pair here for three years and they show no signs of problems. Discolored from hydraulic fluid is all. One is darker brown than the other. Ha.
Click to expand...

If you're looking for a decent place in Colorado to get Cowboy Boots, aside from the obvious (and over-priced) Boot Barn, check out Big R, or any of the small-town feed stores. They're usually pretty good about having a decent selection at an ok price, including my 12 wides.
 
garyb said:
Planned obsolescence?

On the other hand, my podiatrist friend tells me that you should replace your shoes every 6 months.
Click to expand...

I've heard that, and I think it's ridiculous. I keep my shoes until they either fall apart or the soles wear through.
 
By the way, I totally forgot to mention this about boots, for @RJM62 - believe it or not, after a very short break in period (like, a full day of wear), they are VERY comfortable. More comfortable than shoes, IMHO.
 
Perhaps I was precipitate in my characterization of Ariats as "junk," but their marketing is laughable - as if they are a part of the old west, tradition, etc.

In any event, I buy boots to last decades, and have several pair that have done so (new soles and heels, of course). I admit, however, to having a pair of cheap Chinese boots, very comfortable "springy" soles, so I get it.

It's just that, to my way of thinking, Ariat western boots are simply not enough cheaper to justify. My $0.02.
 
SCCutler said:
Perhaps I was precipitate in my characterization of Ariats as "junk," but their marketing is laughable - as if they are a part of the old west, tradition, etc.
Click to expand...

I can't imagine any other style of marketing campaign for a cowboy boot being successful though. They can't really advertise "From all the Chinese Water Buffalo Herders, to all the best of your ropers and wranglers, consider Ariat boots!"

Marketing is marketing :)
 
SkyHog said:
I can't imagine any other style of marketing campaign for a cowboy boot being successful though. They can't really advertise "From all the Chinese Water Buffalo Herders, to all the best of your ropers and wranglers, consider Ariat boots!"

Marketing is marketing :)
Click to expand...

It might work if they used Kwai Chang Caine as their spokesman. :D

Rich
 
SkyHog said:
If you're looking for a decent place in Colorado to get Cowboy Boots, aside from the obvious (and over-priced) Boot Barn, check out Big R, or any of the small-town feed stores. They're usually pretty good about having a decent selection at an ok price, including my 12 wides.
Click to expand...

Agreed, or Murdoch's once in a while... it's kinda hit or miss on wide sizes everywhere though, and I hate "hit or miss" when I'm *forced* to go shopping...

Shopping is a near-emergency scenario that requires a solid infil and extraction plan and must not take longer than a few minutes. :)

But shoes tend to be one of those things that if you order them online, they're more of a hassle if they don't fit, than simply trying the stupid things on at a store.

Sheplers was good, but they got bought out by Boot Barn, and I'm already ready to kill someone at Boot Barn for their "unsubscribe" stuff not working on their spam engine... good lord they send a lot of crap for a single purchase.

They're at "Harbor Freight" levels of spam, seriously, after one purchase months and months ago.
 
I've worn hightop Converse Chuck Taylors almost my whole life. Love em - they're the most comfortable footwear ever. I wear them until they start falling apart, then go buy new ones for $20 at a Converse outlet store not far from me. I actually don't mind it when they start getting ratty looking. Makes them look lived in.
 
I have a pair of Patagonia hiking shoes - they look really nice and I've had them about 3 years now.
 
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