What shoes are you wearing during winter/wet weather

[One Drop]

Somewhere along the way, the consumer has become a mark.


In other videos, he mentioned $150 as the cost of a resole. An extra $100 for a new welt. Which puts the price at $250.

If you're sending in your shoes, how much is the shipping back & forth?



I don't know if a resole is worth the money, when the price of a resole is higher than the cost of the shoe. Even with a higher priced pair of shoes, you have to reconsider. Okay, so the soles are new. New soles on old shoes. Your feet are in old shoes, and still standing on worn footbeds. Maybe you took care of the uppers with cleaning and conditioning. There's no way to take care of a shoe which prevents the insole and lining from wear & tear.


I look at my old pairs of shoes. And I wonder if any of them are worth the cost of resole. Allen Edmonds, Red Wing, Alden, Danner......... they all offer a factory resole for around $150. Local cobblers offer to resole for less, but they do not do the same job as a factory resole. Then you feel like an idiot because you paid some guy $80 - $100, for sanding off the bottom of the shoe and gluing on a piece of rubber.

That's not my experience, fortunately, but then again I won't spend big money on a shoe if I didn't know I could get them resoled for a fair price. I have a cobbler who resoles my dress shoes and I only buy hiking boots and shoes that have a resole-able platform and a service partner or partner cobbler in my own country.

Last week I sent two pairs of summer hiking boots to the recommended reseller / cobbler, $30 combines shipping and $125 per pair to fully resole. The leather typically stands up to two resoles without any compromise in performance, and as I only buy leather lined models the interior doesn't degrade at all either. On a hiking boot that costs $300 - $400 it's madness not to resole, literally throwing out an expensive item before it's lives a third of its natural life.

My summer hiking shoes are another example, after wasting money on pairs I'd wear for a summer before having to trash them, I switched to a brand that not only are resoleable but that also has a platform that makes them cheaper to do so and that I can just frop them off at the store I bought them at to get them done.

My extremely expensive Russell Moccasins cost half the price of most other boots to resole because they just have to glue on a new outsole, this can be done multiple times before the boot would have to be rebuilt.

As I'm lucky enough to be able to afford more than one pair of each type of shoes or boots at a time, they last longer because they get to rest between wearing, and shoe trees extend the life of dress shoes as well, as does actually caring for them by keeping them clean and conditioned.

I know for most people the whole resoling thing is a great idea that they never actually go through with, but once you've popped your cherry and gone through the process you won't look back - the trick is not to wait intil you're midsole is destroyes before getting the sole replaced, and/or replacing the heel if if it wears before the rest of the sole, etc. It's like a car, some people keep them maintained and over the long run spend less and drive a well functioning safe car all the time, others wait until things go wrong, spend twice as much getting it repaired, and never have a car in full safe operating condition.

The only boots and shoes I've ever regretted buying are cheap ones, or expensive ones that do not have the quality to match the price (Timberland winter boots before I knew better, as an example).

I like watching cobbler videos, or at least used to until I learned what I needed to now, but there's a whole sub genre with guys resoling new boots by rebuilding the whole boot and substituting better or needlessly expensive upgrades, etc. Fantastic if you like it, but it seems to be a hobby for the customers, like car tuning where you spend the money for fun on stuff you don0t really need - I'm not criticising, just saying that this has little relation to the real world of owning and maintaining quality footwear.

 

[One Drop]

A first world problem. We have the wealth to indulge. How many cars can you drive? How many shoes can you wear? How many leather jackets can you wear? I know guys who have *** safes. And they are full of ***s. I'm personally guilty of having too much than I need. Even food. I have to clean out the refrigerator and throw things away. I'm buying a Costco size container of peanut butter, and only eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich twice a year.

I know what you mean, it's a bit different here in Europe, we tend not to buy in such bulk quantities. my mom, who lives in Canada, buys from Costco and splits the big stuff with a neighbour. The whole system is designed to get you to buy too much and waste a lot, I can't stand it, and as an ex chef I'm even more bothered by waste, so I just vacuum pack things, and I love leftovers. The only things I throw out tend to be vegetables that have no shelf life and that I sometimes buy with a bit too much optimism.

 

[One Drop]

Many of us hang out heads. Realistically, I own so many pairs of shoes that I will never wear 1 pair down to need a resole. As long as I keep rotating shoes, it won't be a problem.




I don't have anything real nice or expensive. I do have duplicates. There are some shoes, that I have multiples. I buy them when there's a sale during the end of the season. When the holidays come around, and they have a sale, I'm buying. I have brand new shoes, in the box, waiting for the original pair to be worn out. When I wear out my Iron Rangers, I have a second pair waiting to replace them. And I'm probably a decade away from wearing out the pair which I'm wearing now.

Now I understand why you don't resole stuff, LOL!

 

[One Drop]

We all have a different level of what we find acceptable. My opinions are based on the shoes I wear. 1000 Mile Boots, Red Wing, Allen Edmonds, Thorogood, Florsheim........ None of my shoes are high end or expensive. I have shoes which may list at up to $500. I buy them on sale for $100 - $300. For shoes at that price point, it makes no sense to me. Why would I spend up to $250 to resole shoes, that didn't cost that much to begin with?

All of those can be resoled for $100 - $150 and look and feel great until for the duration, so the calculation in my mind is a simple one, get a resole then trash them when they get worn out. Again, it's not the original price that changes the calculation but rather if they'll stand up to a resole. If I could buy a $500 boot for $100 I'd still resole it, unless I could buy it new again for $100.

 

[One Drop]

Hi, I remember a time when I did not understand my spouse's faible for sherlinglined winterboots... but as I grew older I changed my mind and two years ago I pulled the trigger for a last pair of Viberg hikers which were about 450,-€ and what can I say - they are worth every cent: black Latigoleather, commandosoles and coplete shrlinglined, they are build like tanks. It's a real good feeling to wear them with thin cottonsocks in bitter cold temperatures or to walk trough snow. As I am born in the Black Forrest I am great fan of hikingboots anyway...

Fleece lined footwear is amazing for winter, my favorite, felted liners come second. These are what get me through every winter, from the sole with inserts for grip on ice to the high top and cuff and fleece lining. I have other boots for office day and trips to town :

https://www.hanwag.com/de/de-de/herren/trekking/winter/alaska-winter-gtx/

 

[Fiedi]

A first world problem. We have the wealth to indulge. How many cars can you drive? How many shoes can you wear? How many leather jackets can you wear? I know guys who have *** safes. And they are full of ***s. I'm personally guilty of having too much than I need. Even food. I have to clean out the refrigerator and throw things away. I'm buying a Costco size container of peanut butter, and only eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich twice a year.

I think it's not about being guilty but to realize in what kind of luxury position one is and then even chersh it. The real art is to find the balance...

 

[One Drop]

I think it's not about being guilty but to realize in what kind of luxury position one is and then even chersh it. The real art is to find the balance...

I think almost anyone who like stuff and who spends time on forums is prone to temptation, and it's hard to deny the dopamine hit that you get when you buy stuff. I made a rule for myself that I would never order anything online without a cool-off period, and after trying this, I realised I could get the same thrill just by putting the thing I wanted in a basket, and then leave it for a day or so. 9 out of 10 times I no longer had that 'need' to pull the trigger, and I realized half the fun s the researching and comparing, etc, and not the actual buying. It's also a great way to filter stuff out that you really don't want all that much.

 

[Fifty150]

has little relation to the real world of owning and maintaining quality footwear

But it is the real world. Diversity in reality. Maybe not your real world. But very real for those who are doing it. Apparently,. customizing shoes at a cost of more than the shoes cost, is a real world hobby.

Cobbler rates will vary. A lot of the mail order cobblers with a web presence are pricing at over $100. In my local area, where we have a high cost of living, starts their pricing at $100. The problem is that my local area shops are not performing a quality service.


My local guy, who I know, admits that they are doing "hack jobs". He gets $100 - $150 for cutting off and sanding off the worn parts of a shoe, then "grafting" on a patch. Not the kind of job where a shoe is properly deconstructed, new cork is added, and new soles are actually sewn back to the welt.


Can my local guy do things the right way? Sure. He knows how to do it. But because it would take him, or his worker, **X amount of time........ they need to get paid for that time. The Shop, as a business, needs to cover the overhead. He told me that it would cost about $350 to perform a recraft; because he has to factor in $250 to cover the labor and $100 for miscellaneous shop costs like the soles, the thread, the cork, the glue, the rent, the phone bill, the company catered luncheon....... etc. etc. A kid at McDonald's is being paid $25 an hour to flip burgers. How much is a skilled cobbler supposed to make? Recrafting a shoe is not an 8 minute video on YouTube. How many hours goes into it? They pick up the phone, order a pizza or some Chinese food, and that's the company catered luncheon. $50.

My local guy does bad work on purpose. He does it to keep the cost down for the customer. The way he explained it was: if you get a flat tire, he is the corner mechanic who is doing a patch or tire plug. He is not the nationwide chain tire shop who is selling you four brand new rims and tires.

 

[One Drop]

But it is the real world. Diversity in reality. Maybe not your real world. But very real for those who are doing it. Apparently,. customizing shoes at a cost of more than the shoes cost, is a real world hobby.

Cobbler rates will vary. A lot of the mail order cobblers with a web presence are pricing at over $100. In my local area, where we have a high cost of living, starts their pricing at $100. The problem is that my local area shops are not performing a quality service.


My local guy, who I know, admits that they are doing "hack jobs". He gets $100 - $150 for cutting off and sanding off the worn parts of a shoe, then "grafting" on a patch. Not the kind of job where a shoe is properly deconstructed, new cork is added, and new soles are actually sewn back to the welt.


Can my local guy do things the right way? Sure. He knows how to do it. But because it would take him, or his worker, **X amount of time........ they need to get paid for that time. The Shop, as a business, needs to cover the overhead. He told me that it would cost about $350 to perform a recraft; because he has to factor in $250 to cover the labor and $100 for miscellaneous shop costs like the soles, the thread, the cork, the glue, the rent, the phone bill, the company catered luncheon....... etc. etc. A kid at McDonald's is being paid $25 an hour to flip burgers. How much is a skilled cobbler supposed to make? Recrafting a shoe is not an 8 minute video on YouTube. How many hours goes into it? They pick up the phone, order a pizza or some Chinese food, and that's the company catered luncheon. $50.

My local guy does bad work on purpose. He does it to keep the cost down for the customer. The way he explained it was: if you get a flat tire, he is the corner mechanic who is doing a patch or tire plug. He is not the nationwide chain tire shop who is selling you four brand new rims and tires.

That's a pity, I feel for you. I had to look hard to find a good cobbler to start with, there are a few of those little key copy and basic shoe and bag repair chains here that do the work you describe very well, it's not necessarily bad work if it's all that's needed, replacing a heel or an outsole, which is often al you need to get another year's wear, as long as you don't wait too lonf^g before doing it (this is often the mistake most people make, and the reason those YT rebuilds are so involved, because the midsole gets worn down itself before seeking a repair, this is the difference between maintenance and repair)

Real cobblers are very rare here as well, but the resurgence of quality boots and shoes has increased demand and most cities have at least one person or shop doing good work, they are fortunately easy to find by asking at the few stores that sell real quality dress footwear brands or doing an Internet search. Like anything else that's not really mainstream or common it takes a bit of work sometimes but I do enjoy the process.

I'm not surprised the well known Internet cobblers are expensive, they are in very high demand and attract the hobbyists and such. I'm glad they can earn a good living from the work they do and the popularising of wearing good repairable shoes and boots, but you're paying a celebrity premium with them, IMO.

My cobbler is an hour away, I bring him a few pairs to work on every few years as needed, and the hiking boot and shoe resoles are at accredited outlets who do very fast very reasonable work due to the volume and similar nature of the repairs. Most people here just throw those out and buy new, which is a pity, but since they are literally built to last at least one resole and have an easily replaced platform that allows them to do the work relatively cheaply (La Sportiva) it's a no brainer for me. I actually stopped wearing Scarpas and switched to La Sportiva for this sole reason (pun intended), and I really respect and try to reward companies that make the effort towards sustainability :

https://www.lasportiva.com/en/resolers

I did not mean to negate the reality of people spending big on huge rebuilds, often on new boots, all I was saying is that this is as far from the normal reality of resoling Goodyear welted shoes and boots to get the use that they were built for and the lifespan they are capable of. As I said, it's more akin to car tuning, an expensive hobby far removed from the subject or ordinary car maintenance as these huge upgrade / rebuilds are to the subject of ordinary leather shoe maintenance.

I'll stop now, I think I've flogged this dead horse enough to get a few pairs of Cordovan leather boots out of it.

 

[Fiedi]

But it is the real world. Diversity in reality. Maybe not your real world. But very real for those who are doing it. Apparently,. customizing shoes at a cost of more than the shoes cost, is a real world hobby.

Cobbler rates will vary. A lot of the mail order cobblers with a web presence are pricing at over $100. In my local area, where we have a high cost of living, starts their pricing at $100. The problem is that my local area shops are not performing a quality service.


My local guy, who I know, admits that they are doing "hack jobs". He gets $100 - $150 for cutting off and sanding off the worn parts of a shoe, then "grafting" on a patch. Not the kind of job where a shoe is properly deconstructed, new cork is added, and new soles are actually sewn back to the welt.


Can my local guy do things the right way? Sure. He knows how to do it. But because it would take him, or his worker, **X amount of time........ they need to get paid for that time. The Shop, as a business, needs to cover the overhead. He told me that it would cost about $350 to perform a recraft; because he has to factor in $250 to cover the labor and $100 for miscellaneous shop costs like the soles, the thread, the cork, the glue, the rent, the phone bill, the company catered luncheon....... etc. etc. A kid at McDonald's is being paid $25 an hour to flip burgers. How much is a skilled cobbler supposed to make? Recrafting a shoe is not an 8 minute video on YouTube. How many hours goes into it? They pick up the phone, order a pizza or some Chinese food, and that's the company catered luncheon. $50.

My local guy does bad work on purpose. He does it to keep the cost down for the customer. The way he explained it was: if you get a flat tire, he is the corner mechanic who is doing a patch or tire plug. He is not the nationwide chain tire shop who is selling you four brand new rims and tires.

Yes, things we lost in the fire... Another circumstance is the long waitingtime you will have for qualityrepairs, e.g. the really good cobbler "Schuhgott" in Köln Germany delivers a complete resoling as done on my redwing beckmans, shown in another forum, for about 150,-€ but with a waitingtime of several month - and there are other cobblers with even longer repairtimes... not that I am on the point to say I cannot wait as I think good things need time to be done but I bet many are not willing to wait this long for a repair they think to be even expensive. I often think if I buy things my spouse once called luxustrash at the so called hidden costs which are not so easy to inprice for the seller especially those ecological or social costs which are "never" paid by the customer and then I think The price it costs I have to pay as the "real" price I had to pay was even higher or to say it better is higher as we more and more can see by all the unwanted devellopements in different fields all across our world - as I said before the real art is to keep the balance

 

[One Drop]

Yes, things we lost in the fire... Another circumstance is the long waitingtime you will have for qualityrepairs, e.g. the really good cobbler "Schuhgott" in Köln Germany delivers a complete resoling as done on my redwing beckmans, shown in another forum, for about 150,-€ but with a waitingtime of several month - and there are other cobblers with even longer repairtimes... not that I am on the point to say I cannot wait as I think good things need time to be done but I bet many are not willing to wait this long for a repair they think to be even expensive. I often think if I buy things my spouse once called luxustrash at the so called hidden costs which are not so easy to inprice for the seller especially those ecological or social costs which are "never" paid by the customer and then I think The price it costs I have to pay as the "real" price I had to pay was even higher or to say it better is higher as we more and more can see by all the unwanted devellopements in different fields all across our world - as I said before the real art is to keep the balance

I consider myself lucky to be able to afford enough pairs of shoes to be able to be without a pair for a little while, like with all things, the poorer you are the more expensive life is, I know this from many years experience of never having much money to spare. You can't buy in bulk, you can't afford good things that last, etc. Now that I can I'm happy to be able to support artisans and the work they do, most of them do it for love of the craft as much as for the money, because it's hard work and even with high prices they are not becoming millionaires, that's for sure!

I looked at the Schuhgott site (thanks for the heads up, I'm always looking for good repair options), they are posting an expected 4-5 weeks for Red Wing repairs, and 2-4 weeks for climbing boot resoles (at only €60, which is very fair for Vibram soles), this seems perfectly reasonable and doable for most people if they do truly respect their posted delays.

€150 seems to me to be a perfectly reasonable price for resoling Red Wings, especially given the long break-in times and the durability of their leathers, and how good they look as they wear in, and given their selling price of €360 - 400. Most people here just wear them into the ground and then throw them out, but after walking on thin rounded outsoles and trashed insoles for the last half of their lifespan. They would have got 50% more wear by having done the maintenance in time, and have had more support and comfort all along.

 

[Fiedi]

I consider myself lucky to be able to afford enough pairs of shoes to be able to be without a pair for a little while, like with all things, the poorer you are the more expensive life is, I know this from many years experience of never having much money to spare. You can't buy in bulk, you can't afford good things that last, etc. Now that I can I'm happy to be able to support artisans and the work they do, most of them do it for love of the craft as much as for the money, because it's hard work and even with high prices they are not becoming millionaires, that's for sure!

I looked at the Schuhgott site (thanks for the heads up, I'm always looking for good repair options), they are posting an expected 4-5 weeks for Red Wing repairs, and 2-4 weeks for climbing boot resoles (at only €60, which is very fair for Vibram soles), this seems perfectly reasonable and doable for most people if they do truly respect their posted delays.

€150 seems to me to be a perfectly reasonable price for resoling Red Wings, especially given the long break-in times and the durability of their leathers, and how good they look as they wear in, and given their selling price of €360 - 400. Most people here just wear them into the ground and then throw them out, but after walking on thin rounded outsoles and trashed insoles for the last half of their lifespan. They would have got 50% more wear by having done the maintenance in time, and have had more support and comfort all along.

Hi, I have not been a wile on the homepage of "Schuhgott" as his real high quality repairs will last for a long time. What I really consider to be very cool was, that I send this cobbler together with my Beckmans the soles I wanted to have put on and "Schuhgott" fixed it perfect without any debate

 

[Goel]

I have some Nick's 365 stitchdown boots for nasty weather, the nice thing is that when the Sierra sole wears down it can be scraped off and a new one can be glued on the existing EVA foam bed, allowing multiple patch job resoles before a proper recraft. I've been moving towards softer, grippier soles on all my footwear so eventually, all will be pretty good in slippery conditions...

 

[Fifty150]

redwing beckmans

Nick's 365 stitchdown boots

The factory recraft is a selling point. It's in the back of my mind. If I buy these shoes, will the factory repair them? Just in case I want them fixed. If the manufacturer offers the service of rebuilding the shoes to factory specifications, then that is a plus.