Thread: Shoe soles ain't wot they used to be...

I threw out a pair of Australian-made hiking boots after the soles fell off the second time. The first time they were repaired free of charge by the manufacturer, the second time they wanted a large repair figure. The boots hadn't been worn very much but they were 10 years old. They were only ever used when I went camping or 4WDing (and I haven't done much of that).

The cushioning between the boot and the sole disintegrated.

My steel cap elastic-sided work boots from the same manufacturer are great.

I think that in the quest to make everything cheap most shoe makers just ship garbage..

I'm very hard on shoes.. Used to go through a pair of regular mens leather dress shoes every 6 months from the walking I do for work. The soles would wear through or they would fall apart or both - the shoe shop that I went too knew me by name

One day it was raining and my shoes had worn through and I was just fed up with it so I purchased a pair of Lloyds shoes. Now they were extremely expensive but oh so comfortable and they have lasted 4 years so far - and they look almost brand new.

$400 is a lot for shoes and I used to wonder who on earth would buy them when I walked past their store in Melbourne but they have saved me a lot compared to the 8 $100 ones I would have gone through in the same time!

Yep. It's happening to everything.
Last weekend I had a flat tyre in the Landy. The tyre fellow put in a new tube. It came pre holed, so off to the tyre man again.
This had happened before. We had had a chat back then. We had another chat on the weekend. Some Michelin tubes will be arriving soon.

Four years, you're doing well ; I can't get better than a year before the soles disintegrate even though they show no wear.

what is the going life span for a pair of volley's these days.if the sole doesnt turn hard , it seems after a few k's of walking they are holed. use to be the canvas was gone first.

Anything that contains rubber is now made so it will brake down after 5years, the same goes for rubber seals & trim in motor vehicles. When we had our businesses & supplied shoes &uniforms for the men, if they put the shoes in the cupboard until they wore out there old ones , the soles would brake up & fall off with in a couple of days of them starting to wearing them. When we sent them back for a clams the manufacturer would tell us they had to be worn straight away .

I have a claim in at the moment, for a set of steel toed work boots that are a little over 12 months old.

The sole on one of them has totally cracked in several places, and the heel has disintegrated.

The weird thing is, the outside of the heel is still fine, apart from the cracks, it is all of the middle that has gone.

I wont post pics up here, due to the claim still being in progress, but will update once I have a resolution.

I think the worst thing about all this is that its now expected. You buy them , they break , you throw them away. I think there's a fear if you go expensive, they'll just fall to bits the same as the cheap ones as the source country appears to be the same. I'd appreciate the heads up on a good brand of Wellingtons if anybody knows of one.
cheers,
D