For “office shoes” I prefer Van Bommel. Very expensive but (well kept: litterally) last a lifetime.
Outdoors shoes have always been Meindl. Though it’s a bit of a lottery. A good one (Borneo) can give you up to 10 comfy years. Just needs new heels every now and then. But a crappy one can litterally fall apart at the seams in 2 years.
Their CS department is torture. Their script list is rather short. “Impossible”. “Not here”. “Can’t be”. When you return them a really crappy shoe under warranty, you’ll never see it again. “Did not receive it”.
Shoes I really hate are Scarpa. Out of the box they look, feel and handle like a dream. The second day they start to itch, the third day they start to hurt. You might think: that’s what breaking-in is all about. They won’t stop hurting. So I put on my old Meindl’s and try again after the blisters are healed. Same thing happens. From A to E in 3 days.
Now the good part: on good shoes the soles are multy layered. The rubber with the profile and the leather are not directly connected. Scarpa has solved the costly issue of “in between parts”. They were able to manufacture a firm sole with good profile plus a thick spongy part on top in one piece. Guess what: that did not last long. The production marks on the soles were even still visible when it tore apart. Warranty? Uh-oh.
Rant over. Still prefer Meindl’s, even when you occasionally come across a crappy one. Only gripe with Meindl is that you have to keep up a good pace or your feet will get very cold in winter.