How long should I expect soles to last?
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I’ve got myself a pair of Solovair chelsea boots about a year ago and the soles are already pretty worn out. Water gets through the sole so I probably have to resole them if possible.
The wear has been surprisingly fast. Most of the boots I’ve had have been cheaper price point and lasted at least few years. Do I walk wrong or are the Solovair’s soles just bad? How long should the soles last?
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I’ve got myself a pair of Solovair chelsea boots about a year ago and the soles are already pretty worn out. Water gets through the sole so I probably have to resole them if possible.
The wear has been surprisingly fast. Most of the boots I’ve had have been cheaper price point and lasted at least few years. Do I walk wrong or are the Solovair’s soles just bad? How long should the soles last?
I bought a pair of keen boots about 5 years ago. I wear them daily from grocery shopping to hours long hikes with my husky.
my soles are prestine. the boot material itself I feel I should have hydrated somehow since the material is cracking on the sides near my toes, but zero issues with the soles.
not sure how or if this helps but it’s my experience with keen
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I’ve got myself a pair of Solovair chelsea boots about a year ago and the soles are already pretty worn out. Water gets through the sole so I probably have to resole them if possible.
The wear has been surprisingly fast. Most of the boots I’ve had have been cheaper price point and lasted at least few years. Do I walk wrong or are the Solovair’s soles just bad? How long should the soles last?
I used to be a big Keen guy and would buy a new pair of Targhee II’s every other year… then it became every year… the last pair wore out in 6 months. Other hikeresque people have told me Keen is crap since moving production to china - but everything is made in china. I also have friends with different brand preferences who have experienced the same degredation in quality over the years. I honestly have no clue if it’s due to regulation with the materials as some have suggested, moving to cheaper materials (the VC special) or what. Long blerb but I am desperate to find a quality brand for hiking that offers a ‘wide’ option for my sasquatch feet.
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I’ve got myself a pair of Solovair chelsea boots about a year ago and the soles are already pretty worn out. Water gets through the sole so I probably have to resole them if possible.
The wear has been surprisingly fast. Most of the boots I’ve had have been cheaper price point and lasted at least few years. Do I walk wrong or are the Solovair’s soles just bad? How long should the soles last?
Folks on r/goodyearwelt and r/nps_solovair have been saying for the past couple years that Solovair’s quality has gone downhill. It could just be a vocal minority who have had bad experiences, but that might be the explanation. Because that’s a really short amount of time for the soles to wear out on a pair of Solovairs.
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I used to be a big Keen guy and would buy a new pair of Targhee II’s every other year… then it became every year… the last pair wore out in 6 months. Other hikeresque people have told me Keen is crap since moving production to china - but everything is made in china. I also have friends with different brand preferences who have experienced the same degredation in quality over the years. I honestly have no clue if it’s due to regulation with the materials as some have suggested, moving to cheaper materials (the VC special) or what. Long blerb but I am desperate to find a quality brand for hiking that offers a ‘wide’ option for my sasquatch feet.
Keen is crap since moving production to china
A lot of people have an outdated view of the quality of stuff made in China. They think that everything is bad quality just because their $2 Aliexpress item doesn’t last forever.
Most iPhones are made in China for example. Like anywhere, there’s both good quality and bad quality products, depending on how much the company is willing to pay. Sometimes the quality is actually higher - for example, Tesla Model 3s manufactured in China have far fewer issues with panel alignment and overall fit and finish compared to the ones manufactured in the USA. These days, China has far more experience with manufacturing, and a lot of the raw components (especially for electronics) come from China anyways.
Some companies that outsource manufacturing to China also lower their standards at the same time. It’s not the manufacturing in China that’s the problem; it’s the company’s decision to cheapen their product.
