gotta be the shoes

[ElectroGypsy]

I love nice heavy boots. When I can afford them linesman's boots. Combat boots rock too. The trick seems to be to slather them in mink oil for a day or two after you get them. This softens the leather. Boot polish helps protect them afterwards. The worst pair of boots I had lasted for a year and a half. And resoling them is very cheap compared to buying a new pair.

 

[Monterey]

Red wings. Yeah, they are about 150 bucks, and 150 bucks will last you forever. The right ones have soles sewn on and you can get them resoled. They are like zippo lighters, victorinox swiss army knives: you buy once and you are done for life. Also if you break a lace, you can go into a red wings shop and tell them and they replace the laces for free.​

If you have trouble with boots. Take them off every night. Leaving them on will destroy your feet fast. Don't sleep in your boots!​

​

- Monterey​

I don't have enough money to be buying cheap things.​

 

[bikegeek666]

only boots are going to last you a super long time. but since you won't go that route, just gotta go skate shoes. i gotta say i've had good experiences with the old style vans someone else earlier said were shit, and i haven't worn enough newer style skate shoes to have input but the pair i have now is holding up well aside from my dog having chewed the insoles. but i also switch between them, my boots, and my clip-in bike shoes a lot.

 

[ElectroGypsy]

only boots are going to last you a super long time. but since you won't go that route, just gotta go skate shoes. i gotta say i've had good experiences with the old style vans someone else earlier said were shit, and i haven't worn enough newer style skate shoes to have input but the pair i have now is holding up well aside from my dog having chewed the insoles. but i also switch between them, my boots, and my clip-in bike shoes a lot.

Well if the boot route will not work, Jika-tabi are great for walking,climbing, and damn near anything but motorbikes. They also have a steel toed version.

 

[Monterey]

Oh, one more thing. If you decide to get boots, go with steel toes. I know, I know, they wreck your toes and give you ingrown toenails. Here is the way around it: get a half size too large and double sock it. It will save your toes, toenails, and you will get a lot less blisters. Speaking of blisters. If you feel one coming on, just rub bar soap or liquid soap if you have to where the sock touches your forming blister. It lubricates it, and if the blister does pop while you are walking, the soap begins washing it without you having to do anything. I carry a decent amount of socks. To wash them, go to a bathroom, turn them inside out on your hands and act like you are washing your hands. If there is an air dryer in the bathroom: BONUS!

- Monterey

No feet: no travel!

 

[Nikki]

i have the worst shoe luck

 

[ElectroGypsy]

If you can afford, gore-tex running shoes is the way to go. They go about 130$. I can walk deep in the water during canadian winter, with wool socks, and be good. Needless to say they are worth the money. I only had one pair, wish I could get another one but it's expensive.

I still stand by my combat boots for daily wear. And for anything else my lineman's boots rock. Waterproof to mid calf, and I have worn them in -22F (Granted there were three pairs of socks).

 

[bardamu]

chain sporting good retailers are great resources for free shoes. Just put em on an stuff your old shoes in the box off the new shoes and walk out with yer 200$ hiking shoe or whatever.

 

[bryanpaul]

chain sporting good retailers are great resources for free shoes. Just put em on an stuff your old shoes in the box off the new shoes and walk out with yer 200$ hiking shoe or whatever.

just be sure to check thoroughly for a beep beep device

 

[bardamu]

just be sure to check thoroughly for a beep beep device

Most of those stores have no pursue policies or security that only comes in once a week (new folks who worked at quite a few of these places) Even if yer really unlucky you still got brand spanking new kicks to make a quick getaway in.

 

[dprogram]

I always wear through the soles of skate shoes really quick (Around the heel mostly.)

It's the way you walk. If your heels are wearing out then that means you are dragging your heel and not walking correctly. Pick up your feet you lazy ass! j/k Seriously though if you walk right your shoes will last much longer...pretty simple unless you're dragging your knuckles too.

(From what I have researched) You can still get Docs made in England...they are thicker leather and hand sewn but cost about 50 pounds more which is like $75 USD more I think. Plus you have to pay for international shipping.

And my crappy made in china docs still lasted over 10 years of daily wear of walking, working, and whatnot.

 

[iSTEVEi]

Yeah haha, heel dragging hasn't been a problem as long as I've been wearing boots.

As for Docs made in England, They do still make them but in considerably less number than their asian counterparts.
My made in Thailand pair are holding up quite nicely though.

 

[urbanflow]

well if you cant wear boots and sneaks fall apart and you want something durable you are SOL. stop complaining and go snag a pair of middle grounds hiking boots for 100 bucks. i just copped a pair of merrels with vibram soles that kick ass.

if you're going to do nothing but complain just go barefoot. eventually your feet will harden but, you gotta look out for nails, glass and other things like that. seriously though, barefeet are the best shoes. they dont fall apart, dont wear, light weight and water proof. what more could you ask for?

 

[skitter]

Oh jeez, I just realized this thread is OLD. sorry.

I know it's been said and said again but you aren't really going to find a tough, cheap show without thrifting some boots (which you will not wear?) or replacing your shoes every few weeks (20 dollar chinese made wal-mart kicks or a couple dollars for serviceable shoes in a thrift store). Slap some duct tape on those badboys if you can't make it in time, who cares what they look like.
I would seriously evaluating the way that you walk... even active folks shouldn't be going through a pair of shoes every two weeks. As a young girl I walked on the balls of my feet habitually, causing every pair of shoes I owned to break straight across the shoe in that spot from creasing and bending. I don't have that problem now but I do still tend to have poor walking form so my last pair of boots were worn smooth on the outsides from trudging around in the same pair for a year.

 

[daveycrockett]

nothing to do with the way i walk, just ran through another pair of cons one month, sonafa . hate wet feet. holes right through the ball of the friggin shoe. i just wear the shit out of everything. i want to write a letter to converse maybe they can make me a reinforced shoe?

 

[Kate Westcoast]

Sweaty feet and the crusty sock blues...whats a gal to do...but i love my blunstones

 

[daveycrockett]

just got a pair of lugz workboots last week they are DONE and my feet are fucked. its gotta be the shoes.

 

[schmutz]

I picked up a pair of birks at the free box in Mendocino. Best pair of shoes I ever had. They were obviously old when I got them and they still hadn't fallen apart when I passed them on to someone else a year later

 

[Charlie]

Find some nice walking shoes. You can get lucky if you look in a thrift store in a town full of old people. Old people love new balance. I found a pair of slightly used new balance running shoes for 0.25 that weren't flashy, breathed so nice, and encouraged me to run and jump often. Those shoes fell apart eventually and I went shopping for some shoes, tried finding something cheap, yeah right, finally settled on a brand new pair of new balance running shoes that were $120 and I haggled to $118 with some free smart wool socks

I'm a walking/hiking machine, I can walk 20 miles in a day and hardy notice. My new pair of New Balance lasted me a year and a half and finally blew out the sides after skateboarding in them and then taking a long trip with lots of constant walking. With shoes, you get what you pay for, and they're designed strictly for what they're designed for. Skateboard shoes for skateboarding, nothing shoes (chuck taylors) for nothing, cheap boots for cheap workers, $300 danners for badass mountain men kick logs covered in poison ivy then wash legs off in river, performance running/walking shoes for lots of intense walking/running. barefoot shoes for barefoot walking, climbing shoes for climbing, you really don't want to walk in work boots, you don't want to work in running shoes, you don't want to skate in either and you don't want to do either with skate shoes.

Be picky when it comes to your feet, it's worth it. Used shoes will last a couple months, New shoes will last at least a year, maybe more.

 

[daveycrockett]

yeah ive been working in boots for the past three months my feet are FUCKEDDDD i know what im talking bout back to cons as shitty as they are