drivers, what boots do you wear, recommend?

S

serenity now

Guest
don't need boots here * can't find shoes that give me decent life on the sole
 
S

serenity now

Guest
hate to buy some comfortable shoes and later find out that the non-slip soles were not tested on wet diamond plate :angry:
 

barnyard

KTM rider
I am sending 2 pair back to Whites for resoling. 1 pair is 6 years old, the other 5. I think that is excellent life for a summer shoe.
 

sortaisle

Livin the cardboard dream
White's Boots...Made in good ol' Spokane Wa. Nicks Boots are also pretty good. One of the brothers of the White's Boots family. Made the same way and have the same warranties and sole replacement. I don't have the dough to spend on them for right now...maybe a few paychecks into fulltime driving I'll hit em up...right now I have a pair of Danner boots that I've had for almost 6 years, Nike MZ-Z for summer and I just bought a pair on black Nike ACG black boots. Gonna give those a go. Of course I'll probably just pack a pair Adidas Sambas in my back pack once I'm on my resis. Those are sooooo cozy after a while...
 

ibleedbrown

Well-Known Member
someone else mentioned white's boots, i don't see how those would be comfortable with all the walking drivers do. right now i'm wearing the bates boots around the house to break them in, the top of shoe seems to be rubbing the side of my leg above the ankle and chaffing my skin already, has anyone else had a problem w that? i heard rockports are super comfortable, i might try and invest in those eventually.
 

ibleedbrown

Well-Known Member
i'm going to return those bates boots and get these, i dont want integrad giving me a hard time about wrong footwear. these are cheap enough that i can get a better pair once integrads over.

Roebucks Work Boot Black: Step Up to the Task with Sears
 

balland chain

Well-Known Member
I have been wearing Vasque boots made by the Red Wing company for 15 years, given that we are pounding the pavement for long days, the vibram sole and support these boots have really help your knees while giving you good ankle support. They are pricey, about 190, but with these. you can send them off and have new sole' put on when there is not much traction left. I will wear nothing else. They do come in brown as well so that helps with the uniform police...
 

barnyard

KTM rider
A bunch of years ago, I theorized that buying 2 pair of expensive American made shoes for summer work, I would spend less rebuilding them over the long run than my coworkers that pay $100ish every Spring and throw them out in the Fall. Typically, I switch to summer shoes in late March/early April and put them away in November sometime.

So, at the time I spent $229 a pair for 2 pairs of Whites Centennial Walkers. I had them made with a very tough Vibram sole, as the soles wear very, very quickly jumping in and out of the truck. I change them every other day, so they have a chance to completely dry out.

Whites are made in Spokane and famous for their packers, fire fighting and line boots. They advertise a 'completely rebuildable boot.' We stopped there when we took our daughter to college and the person that I spoke to, only referred to resoling the walkers, not rebuilding. He said that it was $75 for resoling. Seemed fine, but I was a bit concerned, the heel counters are showing wear and the toe boxes are plenty scuffed. Plus there is a cut on one side of the toe box of 1 pair from the 1st month or so that I owned them (that really irritated me when that happened. Buy a $200 pair of shoes and almost cut them open before they were broke in. Grrrrrrrr). The cut did not go through the leather, maybe half way through.

Anyways, I sent them in and got a call today. It will cost $130 per pair to have them rebuilt. I asked what they were rebuilding and the woman that called said that the sole and all the leather except the part that I lace up will be replaced. (Insert shocked, jaw drop smiley here.) She said that the insoles were deteriorated and needed to be replaced, so they recommended a full rebuild.

So, I have worn these for about 7 years for $460 and for another $300 (have to add shipping) I could get another 6-7 years out of them.

In the end, I am spending a little less than my coworkers that are buying chinese shoes every year. I get the smug satisfaction of knowing that I am supporting American craftsmen, plus I do not have to go shopping nearly as often, which I hate with a passion.

I would say this is a good example of American quality beating the imports in the long run.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
A bunch of years ago, I theorized that buying 2 pair of expensive American made shoes for summer work, I would spend less rebuilding them over the long run than my coworkers that pay $100ish every Spring and throw them out in the Fall. Typically, I switch to summer shoes in late March/early April and put them away in November sometime.

So, at the time I spent $229 a pair for 2 pairs of Whites Centennial Walkers. I had them made with a very tough Vibram sole, as the soles wear very, very quickly jumping in and out of the truck. I change them every other day, so they have a chance to completely dry out.

Whites are made in Spokane and famous for their packers, fire fighting and line boots. They advertise a 'completely rebuildable boot.' We stopped there when we took our daughter to college and the person that I spoke to, only referred to resoling the walkers, not rebuilding. He said that it was $75 for resoling. Seemed fine, but I was a bit concerned, the heel counters are showing wear and the toe boxes are plenty scuffed. Plus there is a cut on one side of the toe box of 1 pair from the 1st month or so that I owned them (that really irritated me when that happened. Buy a $200 pair of shoes and almost cut them open before they were broke in. Grrrrrrrr). The cut did not go through the leather, maybe half way through.

Anyways, I sent them in and got a call today. It will cost $130 per pair to have them rebuilt. I asked what they were rebuilding and the woman that called said that the sole and all the leather except the part that I lace up will be replaced. (Insert shocked, jaw drop smiley here.) She said that the insoles were deteriorated and needed to be replaced, so they recommended a full rebuild.

So, I have worn these for about 7 years for $460 and for another $300 (have to add shipping) I could get another 6-7 years out of them.

In the end, I am spending a little less than my coworkers that are buying chinese shoes every year. I get the smug satisfaction of knowing that I am supporting American craftsmen, plus I do not have to go shopping nearly as often, which I hate with a passion.

I would say this is a good example of American quality beating the imports in the long run.

So how do you write these off on your taxes? Do you write off the full amount in the first year or do you depreciate them over the course of 6-7 years?

I finally threw out my Timberlands, which I bought for $100, after 2 years of use. I also bought a new pair of New Balance 608's for $50 which will last one season, if I am lucky. I would be hard pressed to justify spending $700 or more for workboots.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
I would be hard pressed to justify spending $700 or more for workboots.

I am spending $760 for 2 pair of shoes that so far, I have used 7 years and I am sure that I will get 5-6 more years of service.

Do you really not know how do to math???

Even if they only last 3 more years, I will be only spending $70 per year, averaged out. It will get even cheaper if they can rebuilt when the soles wear out again (the Whites rebuilder says he has rebuilt several pairs of boots 3 times.)

When I typed that all out, I figured that some people would not get it. I did not expect you to be the 1st.
 

TooTechie

Geek in Brown
I am currently wearing black Sketchers work shoes. They they are more comfortable than sneakers and have slip resistant soles. Only like $45. The first pair of standard black work boots I bought gave me blisters and the first pair of ankle high black generic work shoes I bought had the tread wear off in a week and the soles started to come unglued week 2. Sketchers are comfy made well and still going strong.
 

ibleedbrown

Well-Known Member
i see some of you wear low tops, i would think you guys would need some ankle support? i have some nike air force ones low tops i have been working w in the sort aisle. they are much more comfortable than boots, i know i would never get away with wearing those in integrad. i'm sure they would be fine once i'm actually driving but i think i would prefer a mid or high top considering all the walking. do you guys think a low top or high top makes a difference as far as comfort is concerned?
 
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