High quality shoes

If you want to get shoes that last longer I commiserate. Just don't try to fool yourself that the cost times rate of shoes wearing out is going to be cheaper over a given time with them, because that is unlikely.

You probably need to be a little more specific about what you mean by wears out. The EVA separating is not necessarily a worn out situation. Use barge to fix them first. Protect vulnerable seams on the outside proactively with shoe goo. If you take care of them well enough that you reach the point where the tread starts wearing thin, retread them before they wear into the mid sole – you could get a few hundred more miles.

All shoes are disposable to some extent. Even $2000 handmade leather hiking boots will need periodic refurbishment to make them last a lifetime.

If you find a method to save money in the long run by spending more per pair let me know. Personally my own pet peeve is not being able to ever buy a model I love (and took so long to find) because every couple of pairs I wear out the model will disappear. After going through this cycle of obsolescence many time I am sorely tempted to hoard the ones I like when I find them.

Not gonna happen Morgan. Wish it weren't so. Wish there were more choices in a size 15 too. People are talking up the Brooks Cascadia 9 here lately. I don't know. I got about 200 miles out of a pair of Cascadia 5s before the midsole collapsed and soles were worn flat.

Over a hundred for sneakers is just criminal considering what the manufacturers are paying for them.

Oh BTW I have not found that Vibram soles have any advantage over any other soles. My Leadvilles are worn flat, but the uppers are in fine shape.

Yeah, I would love to see someone make a minimalist shoe with a cordura nylon upper and a stitched on sole that could be sent back to the manufacturer for resoling. But that isn't going to happen.

Buy all of your shoes on sale. Pay attention to when shoe companies are starting to restart their shoe lines and get the old models. Search ebay for lightly used shoes. That's what I do.

"I am sorely tempted to hoard the ones I like when I find them"

I just read the book "Born to Run". In it, it explains that shoe companies actually discontinue models of popular shoes in order to entice fans of the particular shoe to get in the habit of buying 2 or 3 pair of them. Its a method of doubling or tripling sales. Frustrating for the consumer, but pretty clever.

I don't think the shoe you want exists. A few of the Patagonia shoes have sewn on soles which I know for a fact can be resoled. Not a lot of great technical options there though.

If not EVA for cushioning than what do you propose? Polyurethane foam? Nothing? It's hard to find shoes that don't use EVA in the midsole…

Hi Morgan

You heading refers to 'High quality shoes', but your posting refers to 'shoes that last'. Have you considered that 'shoes that last' may not be 'hgih quality', just built like a brick?

> Zero Drop
This is almost a fashion item. It may not represent 'quality'.

> Wide,foot shaped toe box
Choose your last. Some have wide feet, others have narrow feet. Nothing to do with quality. Note that only the really big brands offer a range of shoe widths; the rest just offer 'average', which is usually D. Pity many of us are not 'average'.

> Tough outsole and upper material
Sure, a good requirement. May add weight.

> No EVA, that stuff is garbage
Easy to say (and I don't agree with you), but what do you suggest as a light-weight alternative to EVA? You may be asking for something which does not exist.

> Available in a size 15 (that's the hard one)
Ah well, now you are asking – but that has NOTHING to do with quality.

Cheers

"Have you considered that 'shoes that last' may not be 'hgih quality', just built like a brick?"

Roger come on, we all know what he means.

Shoes. like gasoline. Consumable.

http://www.softstarshoes.com/adult-shoes/runamoc.html

You could try these, wouldn't be exactly fast drying but super comfy. The could probably make you a double layer leather wrapped toe box.

I have to pair I wear at work, Tech Support nerd on my feet most of the day. The only thing I don't like is I have to watch my step around the puddles in the boys campus bathrooms.

Roger, I don't think that Morgan was listing those requirements as indicating the quality of a shoe. He was saying that he want's a quality shoe that also has those features.

@ Derek

I tried those patagonia shoes. They were pretty good, but the sole was made of natural latex rubber, and I wore thru it pretty quick.
I called Patagonia, they didn't have anyone to resole those shoes yet. They do now, but don't sell replacement midsoles, which being made of EVA get all flattened, and I always end up with a depression under the ball of my foot. Replacing the outsole through patagonia's partner mtn sole is 80 bucks, kinda a lot for a 100 dollar shoe and you still have a worn out midsole.

@ Roger
Zero drop is more than fashion for me. If I wear shoes with heel rise my knees hurt, if they are flat they don't. I've been wearing a size 15 since I was 15 so I'm familiar with having to scrounge and horde shoes. The only shoes that come in widths are classic new balances with high heels. Wearing high heels in the mountains doesn't make sense to me. My alternative to EVA is make the outsole a little thicker and ditch the EVA entirely, I don't need cushion. but even "barefoot" shoes stick a layer of EVA in the midsole that is the first to wear out.

I suspected that no one would have a solution. Cheap, short lived shoes are the american way.

These seem pretty good though and I bet they would last 3 times longer than modern running shoes

Are those the Russel shoes? I've been wondering how minimal they actually are.

They are.
I don't think they are crazy minimal, but I'm ok with some rubber between me and the ground, just not a bunch of squishy foam. They are just a lot of coin to shell out sight unseen.

"@Roger
Zero drop is more than fashion for me. If I wear shoes with heel rise my knees hurt, if they are flat they don't. "

Have you considered or tried conditioning your legs and strengthening your muscles to be more robust to this? Would probably open up your shoe options tremendously.

"Wearing high heels in the mountains doesn't make sense to me."

Seems like the mountains (uneven footing etc) would be the one place where this would be the least noticeable.

As for shoes with no midsole, I sometimes (rarely as they're somewhat specialized) wear some inov-8 bare grip 200 shoes. Those have no midsole (zero drop too I believe). You could crumple them up and put them in your pocket. They offer very little protection underfoot. I would imagine shoes with no midsole that have soles stiff enough to protect your feet would be too stiff and heavy to be very useful. Could be wrong though.