Mine always had that wonderful tire-store rubbery smell from the soles. Gawd, I could spray that as air-freshener…
The only time I ever had any discomfort was the place… how do I describe it?… where the toe-part of the laces goes, and the 2 sides meet, sometimes the “tongue”(??) would fold inwards and poke the top of my foot right smack in the middle. I’d have to pull that tongue hard to stretch it when tightening up the laces to keep that from happening.
Once it wore and got flexible, it wasn’t a problem, but the first week or two could be Hell.
When I was a subway rat and took the trains to school, work, etc., I remember quite a few times in my long leather duster, those boots, and the thud-thud-thud of a slow-walk down a half-full train that was waiting in the station, and all the head-turns as a result.
These Meindl’s got almost daily use for 8 years now, and they keep going. Before these I had the Dr Martens version and those were crap, completely gone in two years.
I use North face Chilkat v1 (similar to these) best boots I’ve owned, lasted me many years now on dog walks every day in wet fields, never had even a dribble of water come in and they are quite warm too.
Redbacks all day long when at work. Current pair I’ve had for almost 5 years and still going strong. Easy on, easy off, non slip soles and water proof(after I sprayed them with water proofing spray).
I work in an auto repair shop and on my feet 10+ hours a day on concrete. Walking around 4 miles a day going back and forth from the shop to the office through all the dirt, grease, oil, etc and these are the best I’ve ever had. I change the insoles out every 5-6 months with these and really like them.
I’m on my second pair of Danner Mountain lights. The first pair lasted 15 years, and I got them resoled probably 7 or 8 times before the leather finally gave out. I took good care of them, but I also wore them in an environment where they got wet and covered cleaning chemicals almost every day. I was very pleased with their performance.
I’ll only use my new(er) pair for hiking, so I expect them to last a long, long time.
I work in an office now, so I picked up a pair of Danner Romeos. I’ve only had them a few months, but I’ve loved them so far. Any time I’m not working, I’m probably wearing Chaco sandals whether it’s 10 degrees or 100 outside.
You mean these Romeos? I’ve had a pair for a number of years now, unfortunately with that last I fit between sizes so they were never all that comfy. Otherwise a great little shoe.
Naw, tan “cowboy” duster. Too open at the top, but kept the wind off ya down below. Needed a thick hoodie underneath when it got really cold’n’windy, though. Short of wearing ski-bibs, that kept your legs warm in cold’n’windy weather, too, more than even the thickest down jacket which left ’em exposed.
Was never into the whole school-shooter look. :laughing:
I know I still got my cowboy boots, though. Big Thing back in high-school, imagine they still fit fine. Not the sissy-fairy kind with the embroidery and pointy toes and tapered heels, but the regular High Plains Drifter type. Those had a nice resounding satisfying thud, too. Pretty comfy, I used to almost live in them.
Still remember, one of the “cool” kids took to wearing his pants inside the boots, trying to set a trend. We normal (well, relatively speaking) kids would snicker and say he looked like he was gonna go work in the sewer or something.
Those are the ones! They had them on sale for ~$75 last November, and I thought that was reasonable. Luckily, they seem to fit me really well. They hurt a little the first day, but since then they have been great. They’re nice enough I can get away with wearing them at work, but rugged enough that they keep my feet dry slogging through mud too.
I’ve had a pair of RedWings for a number of years. I don’t wear them every day, probably a day a week. First work boots I’ve had that are comfortable to wear all day and so I’d buy again although they look to have plenty of life in them…
Composite rather than steel toe protection, so they don’t weigh too much. Waterproof …at least enough for my needs.
