Help me find some boots that don't wear out in 6 months

October 23, 2018 4:44 AM

I often find that my shoes/boots wear out really fast at the heel. Looking for recommendations for brands/specific boots that will last a while.

It's not such a problem with sneakers but for some reason anything with a hard-ish sole grinds away fast (I wear orthotics for over-pronation and am average weight). For example I had these Teva boots last year and they barely lasted a season. My beloved Birkenstocks I have to resole or replace each summer. What brands or even specific boots are good for this problem? I'm looking for something similar in style to those Teva's - black, simple, flat/slight heel, budget <£150 (I'm in the UK). Bonus points for suggestions how to stop or reduce this from happening!

posted by hibbersk to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total)

I have this problem (I live in London and walk everywhere) and honestly, the best solution I have found was to source a good cobbler. When I am at my most responsible, I take shoes to the cobbler when they are brand new to attach some heel taps. Just the hard plastic kind, not the metal kind. Otherwise, I bring them in as soon as the heel has worn down. This has helped my shoes last much longer!

For pointy shoes, I also add toe taps, which preserve the wear of the toe caps as well.
posted by like_neon at 5:21 AM on October 23, 2018 [18 favorites]

I've had the same pair of La Canadienne boots for over a decade and they're still going. Not sure if they're available in the UK or not, but if they are, I highly recommend. Bought another pair two years ago and they are still like new.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 5:45 AM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]

Seconding Like Neon. I have a pair of Rockports still going strong after 6 years thanks to an annual cobbler visit.
posted by samthemander at 6:24 AM on October 23, 2018

I have found blundstones to be almost indestructible, and roomy enough to put my orthotics in with no issues. Lots of people where I work (law firm) wear the black chisel toe ones in the fall/winter.
posted by hepta at 6:34 AM on October 23, 2018

Seconding blundstones.
posted by thenormshow at 6:42 AM on October 23, 2018

I've had good results with a local cobbler/ shoe-repair shop (US), who was able to even patch up sneakers (old Sketchers, FWIW) that had weird little nubs on the heel, which to no surprise, wore down pretty quickly. Since then, I've taken a range of shoes to them, including kids monster feet slippers, in part because I like fixing shoes instead of chucking 'em and getting a new pair, and in part because I like supporting a local shop. And as a bonus, their work is pretty cheap - the sneaker re-heeling was around $20 (USD), which sold me on their services in general.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:23 AM on October 23, 2018

Bonus points for suggestions how to stop or reduce this from happening!

Have you thought about strengthening your feet so that you don't have to wear orthotics? It won't necessarily solve your boot issue, but it will make you more aware of how you walk and perhaps that will help with your boot problem.

I wore orthotics for many years due to plantar fasciitis. and then I went to a movement coach for one session and she taught me exercises to strengthen my feet. I now wear "barefoot" or "minimalist" shoes and haven't worn orthotics since.
posted by dobbs at 7:37 AM on October 23, 2018

Bonus points for suggestions how to stop or reduce this from happening!

I often walk a LOT for hours on all sorts of surfaces in all kinds of weather for my job and the A#1 thing that has reduced wear and tear on my boots and shoes, especially soles, is having more than one pair. I would easily go through a pair a year or even a season until I finally started alternating between at least two pairs of boots, with another pair of shoes for when boots are not necessary. 5 to 7 days a week on one pair of boots, even expensive ones, just killed the soles - 3 or 4 days per boot greatly reduced the wear and tear.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:47 AM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]

A#1 thing that has reduced wear and tear on my boots and shoes, especially soles, is having more than one pair.
Came in to say exactly that. It really makes a huge difference. Having two pairs of shoes (sometimes I simply buy two identical pairs) and alternating them, preferably daily, makes them last more than twice as long. So where before one pair would last one season, two pairs last three seasons or even longer.
posted by Ms. Next at 9:47 AM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yeah, if you're wearing those boots and Birks every single day and walking a lot, needing new soles once a year seems pretty reasonable to me. Once thing you can do with Birks and some other shoes: get heel taps when they are new. I used to work in a shop that sold a lot of Birks, and I'd get heel taps on new Birks and recommend them to others, based on the advice of our local cobbler. A good cobbler should be able to put a harder material on some soles on the heel area only. This will really slow down wear on that part of your sole. Here's an article about how useful this can be.

That wouldn't have worked on those Tevas, though, based on the article. It might be worth chatting with a cobbler about this. Bring in your shoes and show them what's going on.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:08 PM on October 23, 2018

I've had new soles/heels put on even bonded boots by a cobbler. It's crazy cheap, at least around here (like C$30) and they even polish them before giving them back.
posted by Mitheral at 12:23 PM on October 23, 2018

I wear Docs (made in the 90s though, before sold to China) and Frye boots (super pricey). It takes some time and effort to find 20 year old Docs and Frye sales but it’s worth it to me. My last pair of Frye’s I got on amazon for around $150 marked down from $350. My current Docs are actually a pair my husband bought in high school and grew out of. But I’ve loved and had to put back (wrong sizes) many pairs at various thrift stores. I think you can also purchase Docs from their classics line or something like that that are made in England still.

My winter boots are Uggs. Wait! Come back! They make ones that don’t look like slippers! They are ten-ish years old now and the soles are still amazing and the leather outside is still nice. The fluffy fleece lining is not quite so fluffy anymore but still very, very warm.

Oh and I don’t take care of my shit AT ALL so I really like stuff that lasts forever even if you treat it terribly.
posted by monkeyscouch at 5:02 PM on October 24, 2018