No shoes are truly BIFL if you wear them regularly, but these come close
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Redwing customer service sucks, their warranty is bullshit, and their Goodyear welt falls apart in just over a year. I will never purchase another pair of redwing boots and I am far from alone.
I’ve tried them twice. They never broke in and got comfortable.
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It may look like a beat-up old pair of hiking boots, but in fact it’s a pair of beat-up old hiking boots with new soles, lining, heel-counters, shanks, hardware, laces and one hell of a cleaning and reconditioning job.
Around 4 years ago I bought this pair of Danner Lights. They were worn fairly close to daily, and have some hard miles on them hiking and backpacking.
Sent them in to Danner for their recrafting service. 4-6 weeks and a couple days for shipping later I just got them back.
They’re just the tiniest bit snug because of the new lining, but otherwise these are unmistakably my boots that have broken in to fit my feet, but the soles still have treads on them.
Also, Danner customer service was great to deal with. When I shipped my boots out to them, I got the notification that they had been delivered, but after a day or two I hadn’t gotten the email from Danner to confirm they received it. I wasn’t exactly worried, I figured it would probably take them a couple days to open the box and get my boots checked in, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give them a call anyway.
After a reasonable number of rings, my call was answered by an actual human.
And one with no heavy accent, who didn’t mumble into the phone, and had no attitude problem, and most astoundingly, actually worked for Danner at their office.
But so I asked if there was any way he could confirm that my boots had been delivered to the right place. He took my tracking info, looked it up, and was able to tell me that yes, they had them, because he knew the guy who signed for them.
And then he gave me a direct number to the recrafting department in case I needed to follow up with them any further (I didn’t feel any need for that, but after recently going through hell trying to get in touch with anyone at the local delivery hub for a company that was supposed to deliver some new appliances for me with no luck to figure out what the hell was going on with repeated delivery delays, I really appreciated that)
It’s kind of sad that I’m so used to automated menus, outsourced call centers, and customer service reps who clearly want to be doing anything else but helping me (not that I blame them, I don’t want to work either) that that’s all it takes to make a customer service experience feel great.
If I have any complaints at all about my experience, it’s that the white stitching around the soles was replaced with brown. I thought the white looked pretty sharp, but these are hiking boots they’re just going to get dirty anyway.
But anyway, I’m really happy with my experience, and I’m looking forward to hopefully another 4+ years with these boots.
I can’t remember if I heard it here but I have heard (and feel, anecdotally) that cycling between wearing two different pairs of shoes leads them to lasting longer than if you wore one pair until they fell apart then a second pair until they fell apart.
I don’t know how that could possibly work unless giving shoes a “break” rather than wearing every day extends their life somehow.
My evidence: I have had a separate pair of running shoes and walking shoes for a few years now.
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but in fact it’s a pair of beat-up old hiking boots with new soles, lining, heel-counters, shanks, hardware, laces and one hell of a cleaning and reconditioning job.
Wouldn’t be cheaper to buy new boots?
Cheaper for who?
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Redwing customer service sucks, their warranty is bullshit, and their Goodyear welt falls apart in just over a year. I will never purchase another pair of redwing boots and I am far from alone.
Damn that is quite a split in experience. I don’t know who to believe!
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I definitely have been considering resoleable shoes but really seems like that is only do able for heavy duty shoes which I really dont have much cause to wear.
seems like that is only do able for heavy duty shoes
Huh? Goodyear welting is just a construction method. You can apply it to any shoe style like loafers or chukkas. See e.g. Crockett & Jones “Harvard” or the less expensive https://berwickshoes.com/gb/9628-k5-superbuck-snuff.html
The only problem with Goodyear welted shoes it’s that the sole is very stiff. You can try Blake stitched instead.
But yeah in general you’ll need to change the shoe style you wear to more traditional. Goral has some more casual blake stitched styles too: https://www.goral-shoes.co.uk/collections/mens
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Damn that is quite a split in experience. I don’t know who to believe!
Perhaps the company has changed in recent years. Remember, when people talk about how long their product has lasted, they bought it years ago.
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Cheaper for who?
I don’t know… Maybe the one who spent money changing soles, lining, heel-counters, shanks, hardware, laces and paid for a cleaning and reconditioning job?
No, wait! Off course it’s cheaper for you! Wouldn’t be cheaper for you to buy new boots instead of writing stupid comments?
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I can’t remember if I heard it here but I have heard (and feel, anecdotally) that cycling between wearing two different pairs of shoes leads them to lasting longer than if you wore one pair until they fell apart then a second pair until they fell apart.
I don’t know how that could possibly work unless giving shoes a “break” rather than wearing every day extends their life somehow.
My evidence: I have had a separate pair of running shoes and walking shoes for a few years now.
AFAIK, it is the leather ageing faster, linked to bacteria growth due to humidity. Cycling between 2, ideally 3 pairs, allows the shoe to dry and kill the bacteria in between.
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but in fact it’s a pair of beat-up old hiking boots with new soles, lining, heel-counters, shanks, hardware, laces and one hell of a cleaning and reconditioning job.
Wouldn’t be cheaper to buy new boots?
I don’t know this brand, but good quality, Goodyear welt leather boots can cost hundreds of dollars. This service, might have cost a couple hundred and still be worth it.
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I’ve tried them twice. They never broke in and got comfortable.
Same issue. I don’t really care how long they last if I can’t wear them
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Yeah, unfortunately options are a little limited as far as what most people would want as an everyday shoe. Most of the recraftable shoes out there are either boots or what most people would probably consider to be sort of a dress shoe.
There’s still some options out there, Allen Edmonds has some recraftable sneaker-type shoes, though they may not be everyone’s cup of tea (they’re certainly not mine)
People gotta get punker and accept the glory of the work boot as an everyday shoe
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but in fact it’s a pair of beat-up old hiking boots with new soles, lining, heel-counters, shanks, hardware, laces and one hell of a cleaning and reconditioning job.
Wouldn’t be cheaper to buy new boots?
Don’t go judging a man’s actions before walking a mile in his shoes!
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I’ve tried them twice. They never broke in and got comfortable.
I find them pretty comfortable once broken on, but they don’t have long left after that
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I definitely have been considering resoleable shoes but really seems like that is only do able for heavy duty shoes which I really dont have much cause to wear.
Chacos (sturdy sandals) are able to be rebuilt Ship of Theseus style. A resole is half the price of a new pair, but you can swap out straps or hardware as desired. I need to send mine in.
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I can’t remember if I heard it here but I have heard (and feel, anecdotally) that cycling between wearing two different pairs of shoes leads them to lasting longer than if you wore one pair until they fell apart then a second pair until they fell apart.
I don’t know how that could possibly work unless giving shoes a “break” rather than wearing every day extends their life somehow.
My evidence: I have had a separate pair of running shoes and walking shoes for a few years now.
In addition to the leather stuff the other commenter mentioned, foam gets compressed during usage (especially running shoes with a lot of foam). It can take several days for the foam to recover. If you run in the same shoes every day, you aren’t getting the full benefit of the foam, and you are basically beating it while it’s already down.
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I definitely have been considering resoleable shoes but really seems like that is only do able for heavy duty shoes which I really dont have much cause to wear.
Solovair make boots in the UK which are basically Dr Martens but still hand made. They are fairly light boots which can be resold and come in various styles.
I’ve had 2 pairs for a few years now and they are wearing beautifully. I’ve not had to re-sole them yet but it should be easily doable.
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I’ve tried them twice. They never broke in and got comfortable.
Break-in was rough, took about a month of regular wear
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It may look like a beat-up old pair of hiking boots, but in fact it’s a pair of beat-up old hiking boots with new soles, lining, heel-counters, shanks, hardware, laces and one hell of a cleaning and reconditioning job.
Around 4 years ago I bought this pair of Danner Lights. They were worn fairly close to daily, and have some hard miles on them hiking and backpacking.
Sent them in to Danner for their recrafting service. 4-6 weeks and a couple days for shipping later I just got them back.
They’re just the tiniest bit snug because of the new lining, but otherwise these are unmistakably my boots that have broken in to fit my feet, but the soles still have treads on them.
Also, Danner customer service was great to deal with. When I shipped my boots out to them, I got the notification that they had been delivered, but after a day or two I hadn’t gotten the email from Danner to confirm they received it. I wasn’t exactly worried, I figured it would probably take them a couple days to open the box and get my boots checked in, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give them a call anyway.
After a reasonable number of rings, my call was answered by an actual human.
And one with no heavy accent, who didn’t mumble into the phone, and had no attitude problem, and most astoundingly, actually worked for Danner at their office.
But so I asked if there was any way he could confirm that my boots had been delivered to the right place. He took my tracking info, looked it up, and was able to tell me that yes, they had them, because he knew the guy who signed for them.
And then he gave me a direct number to the recrafting department in case I needed to follow up with them any further (I didn’t feel any need for that, but after recently going through hell trying to get in touch with anyone at the local delivery hub for a company that was supposed to deliver some new appliances for me with no luck to figure out what the hell was going on with repeated delivery delays, I really appreciated that)
It’s kind of sad that I’m so used to automated menus, outsourced call centers, and customer service reps who clearly want to be doing anything else but helping me (not that I blame them, I don’t want to work either) that that’s all it takes to make a customer service experience feel great.
If I have any complaints at all about my experience, it’s that the white stitching around the soles was replaced with brown. I thought the white looked pretty sharp, but these are hiking boots they’re just going to get dirty anyway.
But anyway, I’m really happy with my experience, and I’m looking forward to hopefully another 4+ years with these boots.
A lot of old army surplus boots and shoes are Goodyear-welted or in the case of Italian mountain boots, have a Norwegian double stitch. They cost nothing when compared to dress boots, you can find NOS boots for 25 to 100€ and they last a very long time: you can hope for 4-5 resoles if you let them dry after every wear.
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It may look like a beat-up old pair of hiking boots, but in fact it’s a pair of beat-up old hiking boots with new soles, lining, heel-counters, shanks, hardware, laces and one hell of a cleaning and reconditioning job.
Around 4 years ago I bought this pair of Danner Lights. They were worn fairly close to daily, and have some hard miles on them hiking and backpacking.
Sent them in to Danner for their recrafting service. 4-6 weeks and a couple days for shipping later I just got them back.
They’re just the tiniest bit snug because of the new lining, but otherwise these are unmistakably my boots that have broken in to fit my feet, but the soles still have treads on them.
Also, Danner customer service was great to deal with. When I shipped my boots out to them, I got the notification that they had been delivered, but after a day or two I hadn’t gotten the email from Danner to confirm they received it. I wasn’t exactly worried, I figured it would probably take them a couple days to open the box and get my boots checked in, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give them a call anyway.
After a reasonable number of rings, my call was answered by an actual human.
And one with no heavy accent, who didn’t mumble into the phone, and had no attitude problem, and most astoundingly, actually worked for Danner at their office.
But so I asked if there was any way he could confirm that my boots had been delivered to the right place. He took my tracking info, looked it up, and was able to tell me that yes, they had them, because he knew the guy who signed for them.
And then he gave me a direct number to the recrafting department in case I needed to follow up with them any further (I didn’t feel any need for that, but after recently going through hell trying to get in touch with anyone at the local delivery hub for a company that was supposed to deliver some new appliances for me with no luck to figure out what the hell was going on with repeated delivery delays, I really appreciated that)
It’s kind of sad that I’m so used to automated menus, outsourced call centers, and customer service reps who clearly want to be doing anything else but helping me (not that I blame them, I don’t want to work either) that that’s all it takes to make a customer service experience feel great.
If I have any complaints at all about my experience, it’s that the white stitching around the soles was replaced with brown. I thought the white looked pretty sharp, but these are hiking boots they’re just going to get dirty anyway.
But anyway, I’m really happy with my experience, and I’m looking forward to hopefully another 4+ years with these boots.
I learned the key is to avoid real leather. Even if you get $400 italian boots, that shit can’t take literally daily wear. It needs to rest.
The good faux leathers (using the material used in luxary yachts and car upholstery) lasts decades.
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I can’t remember if I heard it here but I have heard (and feel, anecdotally) that cycling between wearing two different pairs of shoes leads them to lasting longer than if you wore one pair until they fell apart then a second pair until they fell apart.
I don’t know how that could possibly work unless giving shoes a “break” rather than wearing every day extends their life somehow.
My evidence: I have had a separate pair of running shoes and walking shoes for a few years now.
That’s only a requirement for leather.
I live out of a backpack, so I can only own one pair of boots. I switched to synthetic, and my boots last decades instead of years.
