A little survey.

I need a good pair of work shoes.

I wear them about 4-6 hours/day, 7 days a week.

In the past, have spent what I consider to be some serious money for
work shoes.

Have purchased variou

I took a clue from my son who religiously buys the heavy Red Wings. He is a
heavy construction superintendent who spends 8-10 hours a day on
construction sites. Super or not, he still gets into shin-deep concrete and
other grunge. He hoses them off as needed and keeps going.

With that said, he goes through a set of Red Wing boots every 4 to 6 months
but says nothing else will come close. Years ago he started with a set of
"street-hikers" that lasted about two weeks.

RonB

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 15:19:46 -0500, RonB wrote:

With that said, he goes through a set of Red Wing boots every 4 to 6 months
but says nothing else will come close.

Well, concrete is hard on anything, leather included. I very much like
my redwing safety shoes & boots.

A little survey.

I need a good pair of work shoes.

I wear them about 4-6 hours/day, 7 days a week.

In the past, have spent what I consider to be some serious money for
work shoes.

Have purchased various brands in the past such as Red Wing & Leigh.

Regardless of the brand purchased, after about 6-8 months, shoes are
beginning to show real wear.

If they last 12 months, it's a miracle.

Is this typical life for good work shoes or is it just me?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Lew

If you don't need steel toes I'd have a serious look at some Ecco brand
walking shoes. They use Goretex for waterproofing, have unbelievably long
wearing, lug type soles.

I wore one pair 5 days a week for over 3 years, granted most of that time
was indoors but I was on my feet for the better part of the day and they got
treated pretty rough at times. Got wet on a daily basis and cleaned up very
nicely. I only replaced them when a hole that had developed in the sole
allowed water to get inbetween the layers of the sole, making a real
annoying squelching sound after I walked thru standing water. The uppers
were still in fair condition after owning them for over 5 years.

They're not cheap but you can usually find them on sale somewhere, I bought
my last pair at a small store near Santa Fe. Nordstrom's also carries their
complete line.

They make a high top boot style as well as the low top walking shoe.

The xenophobic in the group probably won't like them as they're made in
Europe...

John Emmons

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
ink.net...
A little survey.

I need a good pair of work shoes.

I wear them about 4-6 hours/day, 7 days a week.

In the past, have spent what I consider to be some serious money for
work shoes.

Have purchased variou

"John Emmons" wrote in
:

If you don't need steel toes I'd have a serious look at some Ecco
brand walking shoes. They use Goretex for waterproofing, have
unbelievably long wearing, lug type soles.

I wore one pair 5 days a week for over 3 years, granted most of that
time was indoors but I was on my feet for the better part of the day
and they got treated pretty rough at times. Got wet on a daily basis
and cleaned up very nicely. I only replaced them when a hole that had
developed in the sole allowed water to get inbetween the layers of the
sole, making a real annoying squelching sound after I walked thru
standing water. The uppers were still in fair condition after owning
them for over 5 years.

They're not cheap but you can usually find them on sale somewhere, I
bought my last pair at a small store near Santa Fe. Nordstrom's also
carries their complete line.

They make a high top boot style as well as the low top walking shoe.

The xenophobic in the group probably won't like them as they're made
in Europe...

John Emmons


Eccos are made in Denmark in a lefty friendly factory, so no one should
object on moral grounds. ;-) My grandfather was also made in Denmark.

I have three pair for wear with slacks. They are as comfortable a shoe
as I have ever owned.

But work boots they are not. Redwings, Vasques, etc. for that.

Patriarch

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
ink.net...
A little survey.

I need a good pair of work shoes.

I wear them about 4-6 hours/day, 7 days a week.

In the past, have spent what I consider to be some serious money for work
shoes.

Have purchased variou

When I started working and standing on concrete day after day about 18 years
ago nothing worked for me except Rockport shoes. I now buy Rockport HIKING
water proof shoes and can wear them daily for about 4 years before they poop
out. Well I don't usually wear them on weekends but all of my shoes are
Rockport.

"Leon" wrote in message
When I started working and standing on concrete day after day about 18
years
ago nothing worked for me except Rockport shoes. I now buy Rockport
HIKING
water proof shoes and can wear them daily for about 4 years before they
poop
out. Well I don't usually wear them on weekends but all of my shoes are
Rockport.

Ditto ... but here lately, with all the walking I do on these aging dogs
they're really starting to bark, I also buy a pair of ortho inserts and put
them in immediately, _in addition_ to the Rockport's OEM inserts.

I used to not have to do that.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 7/12/05

Swingman wrote:


Ditto ... but here lately, with all the walking I do on these aging dogs
they're really starting to bark, I also buy a pair of ortho inserts and put
them in immediately, _in addition_ to the Rockport's OEM inserts.

I used to not have to do that.


Bought my first Rockports about 5 years ago, Bought some more about a
year and a half later and again maybe 6 months ago. I still
have the first pair, I've jsut bought more when the same/similar
style was available in more colors or on sale.

THe oldest were made in the USA and have excellent arch support.
The second set were made in Indonesia and were not as good. THe
newest are made in Vietnam and have the worse arch support.

So, it may be that you have to put those inserts in because the
shoes have been changing.

--

FF

wrote in message

THe oldest were made in the USA and have excellent arch support.
The second set were made in Indonesia and were not as good. THe
newest are made in Vietnam and have the worse arch support.

So, it may be that you have to put those inserts in because the
shoes have been changing.

You're probably right ... the last pair of brown walkers (MWT), bought just
two months ago, are not as comfortable by far, and the style is being
discontinued, or so said the salesman. I don't know where they were made.

The pair before that were made in China, and I am still wearing them, AAMOF
as we speak.

I do like the looks of that Rockport style as they go well with khaki shorts
during the work week, or khaki pants and blazer for those "formal" occasions
(about as formal as I ever get these days).

Time to go to Ecco? The salesman at Nordstroms was pushing them real hard
over Rockports.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 7/12/05

"Swingman" wrote in
:


Time to go to Ecco? The salesman at Nordstroms was pushing them real
hard over Rockports.


That's where I went, when the Rocks didn't do it any longer.

A bit spendy, but a successful builder like yourself ought to be able to
scrape a bit out of the tooling budget for a couple pair. ;-)

Patriarch

wrote in message
ups.com...


Bought my first Rockports about 5 years ago, Bought some more about a
year and a half later and again maybe 6 months ago. I still
have the first pair, I've jsut bought more when the same/similar
style was available in more colors or on sale.

THe oldest were made in the USA and have excellent arch support.
The second set were made in Indonesia and were not as good. THe
newest are made in Vietnam and have the worse arch support.

So, it may be that you have to put those inserts in because the
shoes have been changing.

It may depend greatly on the style. IIRC all of my Rockport's were made in
China or from those parts and I have been wearing Rockport's exclusively
since 1987. All of the pairs that I have bought have had great arch
support. That said however 90% of my Rockport's have been an outdoors/
hiking type shoe. Oddly the shoes that did not hold up the best for me were
the Prowalkers and I have not bought a pair in probably 12 years. The soles
erased away on rough concrete after about 2 years of daily wear. I have had
3 pair of the same kind of hiking shoe starting about 10 years ago. Each
pair has slowly failed on the leather uppers. That said however 5 years of
water and mud is hard on the leather. I seriously doubt that country of
origin has anything to do with how well the shoe is going to hold up. More
likely, like anything else the standards that Rockport will allow in a
particular shoe is the culprit.

Sounds familiar. Years ago, I started wearing Georgia boots. The first pair
I bought were about the most comfortable boot I had ever worn, Were
comfortable right off and just got better with a little break in. Every year
and a half or so, I would buy a new pair (not bad life considering I work in
a machine shop). After a time, it got so a new pair would make my feet kind
of sore for the first couple of days then be fine. The last pair I bought, I
could not stand to wear for a whole day. Never did get them broken in. This
over about ten years. In that time, price never did go up, quality just went
down. It is getting increasingly difficult to find workboots that are
actually made to work in. Wearing Wolverines now. Not as good as the old
Georgia's but the best I've found recently.

wrote in message
ups.com...

THe oldest were made in the USA and have excellent arch support.
The second set were made in Indonesia and were not as good. THe
newest are made in Vietnam and have the worse arch support.

So, it may be that you have to put those inserts in because the
shoes have been changing.

--

FF

Read once that men buy two pairs of shoes per year, on average. So I'd
guess that one pair of work shoes a year is pretty good.

I've had my Red Wing Irish Setters for about 20 years now, and they are
still going strong. Of course, I only do yard work, but they've really
held up.

On the other hand, my brother, the machinist, usually buys the cheapest
comfortable boots he can get because those metal shavings slice cheap
or expensive leather just the same.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Read once that men buy two pairs of shoes per year, on average. So I'd
guess that one pair of work shoes a year is pretty good.

I've had my Red Wing Irish Setters for about 20 years now, and they are
still going strong. Of course, I only do yard work, but they've really
held up.

For yard work I use a 14 year old pair of Rockport pro walkers. The soles
were worn slick about 12 years ago as prowalker soles only hold up about 2
years on concrete. Any way the slick bottoms are great for yard work as
they clean easily when you happen to step on a land mine. ;~)

The Rockport hiking shoe soles seem to never wear out.

I disagree, I too am a machinist, Red Wing are the ONLY shoes I buy for the
last 6 yrs. Have two pair, alternate each day. The soles look almost new
after a couple of years.

On 22 Jul 2005 13:59:36 -0700, wrote:

Read once that men buy two pairs of shoes per year, on average. So I'd
guess that one pair of work shoes a year is pretty good.

I've had my Red Wing Irish Setters for about 20 years now, and they are
still going strong. Of course, I only do yard work, but they've really
held up.

On the other hand, my brother, the machinist, usually buys the cheapest
comfortable boots he can get because those metal shavings slice cheap
or expensive leather just the same.

Tell him to try out the bedliner stuff they spray on the toes and
heels- it works great, and it's cheap. I'm in the same environment,
and that's the stuff that does the trick.

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 19:14:04 GMT, Lew Hodgett
wrote:

I need a good pair of work shoes.

Not work boots (no toecaps) but I still have a '92 pair of Timberlands,
made in New Hamsphire. They're worn out now, but I was pretty impressed
with them. The (Chinese made ?) Timberlands I bought last year are
cheap rubbish in comparison.

Do Timberland still manufacture to their old standard ? Can I still get
a "real" pair of them? Price pretty much no object.

I'd second the Ecco recommendation too. I don't wear them myself (I get
many of my shoes hand-made - it's cheaper long term) but many of my
friends do, and most who have one pair then wear almost nothing else.

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 19:14:04 GMT, Lew Hodgett
wrote:

I need a good pair of work shoes.

Not work boots (no toecaps) but I still have a '92 pair of Timberlands,
made in New Hamsphire. They're worn out now, but I was pretty impressed
with them. The (Chinese made ?) Timberlands I bought last year are
cheap rubbish in comparison.

Do Timberland still manufacture to their old standard ? Can I still get
a "real" pair of them? Price pretty much no object.

I'd second the Ecco recommendation too. I don't wear them myself (I get
many of my shoes hand-made - it's cheaper long term) but many of my
friends do, and most who have one pair then wear almost nothing else.

I wear my Browning Featherweight Kangaroo skin bird hunting boots. I
swear they less than my running shoes. The uppers simply do not wear
out. I've hunted and worn these around the shop for ten years in these
and they've been through four sets of soles and the uppers are still in
great shape. Here's what they look like.

http://tinyurl.com/cok9r

Before you blanch at the price check the Cabela's bargain barn or some
other discount outfitter. You should be able to find them for about $120.

Allen

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 18:39:14 -0400, Allen Epps
wrote:

I wear my Browning Featherweight Kangaroo skin bird hunting boots.

I just like the idea of boots that are illegal in California. Why is
that ? Kangaroo problems?

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 18:39:14 -0400, Allen Epps
wrote:

I wear my Browning Featherweight Kangaroo skin bird hunting boots.

I just like the idea of boots that are illegal in California. Why is
that ? Kangaroo problems?

I have no idea! I don't recall that years ago when I got mine. Might
just be roo skins got caught up in some sort of typical CA ban on
something else. Any of our down under members ought to be able to verify
the things are not endangered.

Allen

Allen Epps wrote:
In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:


On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 18:39:14 -0400, Allen Epps
wrote:


I wear my Browning Featherweight Kangaroo skin bird hunting boots.

I just like the idea of boots that are illegal in California. Why is
that ? Kangaroo problems?


I have no idea! I don't recall that years ago when I got mine. Might
just be roo skins got caught up in some sort of typical CA ban on
something else. Any of our down under members ought to be able to verify
the things are not endangered.

Allen
They're not endangered, they're thriving.
Greenies and Animal lib nuts would like us all to think otherwise.
John

Allen Epps wrote:
....
... Any of our down under members ought to be able to verify
the things [kangarooss] are not endangered.

I don't know--when was the last wild one spotted in CA?

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
wrote:

I wear my Browning Featherweight Kangaroo skin bird hunting boots.

I just like the idea of boots that are illegal in California. Why is
that ? Kangaroo problems?

Just a guess, but the leather may have been tanned using chemicals that
cause cancer in California. Or the lining is made from baby seals.

Lew Hodgett wrote:
A little survey.

I need a good pair of work shoes.

I wear them about 4-6 hours/day, 7 days a week.

In the past, have spent what I consider to be some serious money for
work shoes.

Have purchased variou
G'day all,
I wear Blundstone, laughing side boots all the time for work. The
current pair I've had for 4 or five years and they haven't been treated
kind. Wear em shooting, gardening, and of course down the shed.
If memory serves me correct (It Rarely does) they cost about $75.00.
RM Williams are my "Sunday Go To Meeting" boots and I've had those for
10 yrs or more, laughing sides with a leather sole. A bit of Dubbin
every now and then and they never want to wear out.
Both brands are old Aussie Co's and are ....
wait
for
it
Sit
down.
STILL MADE IN OZ.

Have a good one
John

John B wrote in news:52iEe.59311$oJ.44148
@news-server.bigpond.net.au:

G'day all,
I wear Blundstone, laughing side boots all the time for work. The
current pair I've had for 4 or five years and they haven't been treated
kind. Wear em shooting, gardening, and of course down the shed.
If memory serves me correct (It Rarely does) they cost about $75.00.
RM Williams are my "Sunday Go To Meeting" boots and I've had those for
10 yrs or more, laughing sides with a leather sole. A bit of Dubbin
every now and then and they never want to wear out.
Both brands are old Aussie Co's and are ....
wait
for
it
Sit
down.
STILL MADE IN OZ.

Have a good one
John


Translation, please: Laughing side boots?

Patriarch

Patriarch wrote:
John B wrote in news:52iEe.59311$oJ.44148
@news-server.bigpond.net.au:


G'day all,
I wear Blundstone, laughing side boots all the time for work. The
current pair I've had for 4 or five years and they haven't been treated
kind. Wear em shooting, gardening, and of course down the shed.
If memory serves me correct (It Rarely does) they cost about $75.00.
RM Williams are my "Sunday Go To Meeting" boots and I've had those for
10 yrs or more, laughing sides with a leather sole. A bit of Dubbin
every now and then and they never want to wear out.
Both brands are old Aussie Co's and are ....
wait
for
it
Sit
down.
STILL MADE IN OZ.

Have a good one
John



Translation, please: Laughing side boots?

Patriarch

Laughing Side = Elastic side gussets. For the slack amongst us who just
want to pull 'em on and get going. No laces to worry about.
John

Greetings!
I wear "White's" Smoke Jumpers (The "Lace to Toe" style).

http://www.whitesboots.com

I wear them firefighting, Backpacking, and, in general, constantly!
It's been 5 years so far, and they're still going strong. They're a
little on the expensive side, but (imho) well worth it.

Hal

Lew Hodgett wrote:
A little survey.

I need a good pair of work shoes.

I wear them about 4-6 hours/day, 7 days a week.

In the past, have spent what I consider to be some serious money for
work shoes.

Have purchased variou

Combat boots, jungle boots have lasted the longest for me. I
have tried Redwing, Rockports, Caterpiller and none of them
last very long. Combat boots outlast everything else by a
factor of 3-5 times.

For a comfortable steel toed work shoe that is not expensive
and lasts a while, I have a pair of Stanley workboots that
impressed me. Bought them at Payless shoe store for about 40
bucks.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 19:14:04 GMT, Lew Hodgett
wrote:

A little survey.

I need a good pair of work shoes.

I wear them about 4-6 hours/day, 7 days a week.

In the past, have spent what I consider to be some serious money for
work shoes.

Have purchased variou

Looks a little truncated, but I get the idea. I've got Wolverine
steel toes, and they work great for me working 10 hour shifts on
concrete floors 5-6 days a week. They're comfy, and tough as nails.
The spray-on toe stuff (similar to the lining in truck beds) is useful
if you're in an area where they're likely to get beat up a bit but
it's not exactly pretty- most places that sell them will apply it for
you at the time of purchase for ten bucks or so. I think I paid $150
for them, but there are different styles- highly recommended in any
case.

I have had two pairs of Eccos with Dr. Schols inserts over the last
eight years. They are tough and have great traction on dirt and ice.
They have prevented foot pain that used to be chronic.