this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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After buying a $70 pair of Vans at famous footwear and having them literally fall apart after using them as daily walking shoes, I’ve realized the quality of shoes overall has gone down over the last decade or so.

I don’t mind if they cost $100 or more, are there medium-light weight walking shoes that can withstand the horrors of walking on pavement? I remember checking out some Ecco shoes at the mall years ago, didn’t pull the trigger as they were almost $300 but the way the construction was described to me it sounds like those could last 5+ years.

What shoes do you have that you wear almost daily (not during the winter), and have had for almost a year but aren’t falling apart?

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[–] Flyingdutchguy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

For skate style shoes I'm a fan of Nike SB and Lakai. Anything over about $70 will generally last. My Nike Shane Premiums have walked all over Europe and are still in great condition.

I also recommend Vessi. They're waterproof, breathable, comfortable, and my wife and I wore them in all sorts of rough use cases and they are still going strong years later.

[–] stealth_cookies@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

I'm pretty hard on shoes and have settled on Onitsuka Tigers as they seem to wear out less quickly than other similar sneakers like Stan Smith's, Vans, etc.

[–] Barbacamanitu@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

My last pair of vans lasted about 3 months. I only skated in them like 2 times too.

[–] And009@reddthat.com 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Try Salomon or Salewa. They make rugged shoes.. Might be overkill for pavement though

[–] carlosfm@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Yes, Salomon mountain shoes seem to last forever

[–] halferect@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I've been wearing palladium shoes for years and they usually last at least 3 to 4 years

[–] Jtee@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sketchers all the way. Went from breaking shoes every 6-7months to 5years.

[–] oatscoop@midwest.social 1 points 1 year ago

I love sketchers, and I bought a pair of slip-ons I thought looked nice.

A few months at work later we responded to an assisted living place for 90+ year old man with cardiac issues. He was ... "crotchety", and kind of a dick. He was also wearing the exact same shoes I had bought.

I'm not sure how I feel about them now.

[–] oldfart@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Adidas ax series, not indestructible but good for 5+ years. I'm on my third pair and have been wearing these daily since ca 2008

[–] ReallyKinda@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Other things like weight, gait, the angle of your feet, and mileage can factor in too. My sister has β€œflat feet” so her shoes get sort of squished to one side and break down faster.

I bought a pair of Ahinsa shoes in their Sunbrella material (embarrassingly expensive) that have lasted about 3 years as my daily shoes (work, errands, casual weekend stuff, local hiking). They still look great! The inner lining is starting to get some holes and I’m considering asking a local shoe repair person if it can be replaced. Unfortunately the company shifted to using mostly a vegan leather material that I have not tried but am skeptical of.

For the price ($250) it would be reasonable to buy 3-4 cheaper pairs that only last a year.

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Nisolos hold up for me, my oldest are 5 or 6 years, have been resoled, look and feel better than ever. For dress and fancy casual they are good.

AFA running shoes Newtons are good but my feet are not wide - even converse hold up ok for me, the bottoms wear out eventually but the uppers don't tear.

For walking I wear Hoka - not lookers but comfortable.

[–] Scary_le_Poo@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Brooks Ghost

[–] mo_ztt@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Mephisto has always treated me pretty well in the past.

[–] starlinguk@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

I used to buy Think! shoes in the Sale, but they've started using split leather now and they're not worth it anymore.

[–] 413j0@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

They are not light, but I usually buy work boots with steel toe and sole at someplace like homecenter. The ones with thicker soles made with good rubber and real leather can last a few years.

My current ones are redline branded (just some generic brand common where I live). They cost me about half of what a set of Brahma boots would and are just starting to go bad after 2 years, something punctured the sole up to the steel liner and I think it's starting to rust inside, since sometimes I can feel it move inside the sole. An old pair failed the same way a couple of months after stepping on a nail, that boot's steel plates started to move until one got loose enough to start poking on the side of the sole, but the ones that I've used besides those pairs usually last about 3 years of daily use with some occasional care to the leather to keep their appearance until either they start to look bad or the sole starts to wear to the end of the thread

[–] rockyTron@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Have another look at Ecco's they're exactly what you're looking for. There are good models for 1-200 dollars that last for years and are great for putting city miles on. I got a pair about four years ago when I was commuting on busses and going through cheap shoes every couple months. They're still in great shape and clean up nice.

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[–] Lifecoach5000@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Camper is my favorite.

[–] resketreke@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

New Balance are pretty durable in my experience.

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Try Oboz. They're light hiking shoes. Got my last pair before the pandemic for $140. They're not waterproof anymore but still holding up well.

[–] Today@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I have hokas and brooks that have both held up well with daily wear.

[–] wnose@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you get welted shoes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9xSnu69Qtg) where the sole is mated to the upper - so if the sole wears out, then you can bring it to the cobbler to get a new sole. And they don't have to be expensive either - look for used shoes on ebay.

[–] danhakimi@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

By walking shoes, do you mean sneakers? I never had this problem, but my New Balances and Onitsuka Tigers fared better than my Chuck Taylors... I'd recommend looking for chunky rubber soles as opposed to thin ones like

If you're open to boots and loafers and things, it's a whole other ball game. Look at brands like Meermin, which are well-made and resoleable, but you're worried about comfort, right? So let's focus on sneakers.

[–] Chaphasilor@feddit.nl 1 points 1 year ago

Have the same experience with my Vans. They're not even three months old, and already have holes in the top canvas...

[–] Tomcat@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

I highly highly recommend Redbacks. Super comfy, and each one pair of mine has lasted ~7-8 years. They're pretty tough!

[–] Aarlog@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I've been wearing Reebok Walk Ultra 7's for ~8 months and I haven't had any major complaints so far. The outsoles are wearing down as I expected them to, but they're wearing down slower than I expected, tbh, especially for how soft they are and how often I use them. And as someone with quite big feet, seeing a big, established footwear brand like Reebok make a good shoe I can actually wear (and not look completely like an off-brand New Balance) is nice.

I've also owned a pair of Airwalks with gum soles that held up quite well for walking around. In my experience, athletic and skate shoes with harder outsoles tend to last MUCH longer than a typical sneaker, and that pair of AWs had harder outsoles than any other shoe I've owned. That pair was made before the brand went out of business a few years back though so YMMV on their current lineup, though it seems they still have a handful of gum sole shoes available.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago

The Peter Storm ones I got from Go Outdoors have lasted me a year so far, and I walk about an hour most days. Not bad for about Β£50 or whatever it was I paid for them. I was a bit dubious but they've lasted just as well as the Β£130 ones I had before.

My Scarpa ones were decent a few years back, but I bought another pair and some of the heel padding wore away almost immediately and blistered my feet every time I used them.

[–] HelixDab@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

I have a pair of Bellville MiniMils that I wear every single day; I had the last pair for about three years, and I'm at about a year and a half on this pair. I work and hike in them (although I want to get nicer hiking boots, something like the VivoBarefoot Tracker). They are minimalist boots though, so if you don't already like and wear minimalist shoes, you're not going to like these.

[–] 1draw4u@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)
[–] Ew0 2 points 1 year ago

Tbh feel like Docs have gone down in quality over the past few years, a pair of them wore out for me in 2 years when I was a Chef. Granted I was on my feet all the time!

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[–] nickapos@nickapos.social.oncrete.gr 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

@hungry_freaks_daddy@lemm.ee I got some Nike air force that I purchased almost 5 years ago and have used to go to work. They seem a little worn out but are still fairly ok.
I have also purchased several pairs of second hand running shoes, they are all fine and I use them to literally run hundreds of miles.
So far so good with shoes in my experience.

[–] hungry_freaks_daddy@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Come to think of it my supervisor has those and I remember him saying they were several years old. They look almost new.

@hungry_freaks_daddy@lemm.ee yeah, some models are really durable. I have now purchased several more air force, they come in all sort of styles and can be used both for work (in some cases) and leisure

[–] imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Adidas Sambas. I've worn multiple pairs for close to a decade apiece. The soles eventually wear down but it takes several years. Haven't seen any signs of decreased quality on my newer ones.

Plus they've got that classic, timeless look. Imo

[–] oldfart@lemm.ee -1 points 1 year ago

Adidas ax series, not indestructible but good for 5+ years. I'm on my third pair and have been wearing these daily since ca 2008

[–] festus@lemmy.ca -1 points 1 year ago

Your shoes last a full year? I wear through the soles so fast I need to replace them about every 3 months (I find no difference in expensive or cheap shoes for this problem so I just buy the cheapest ones I can get).

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