Q: Need some boot purchasing advice

The Junk Drawer is for those Off Topical discussions where we can ask questions of the community that we feel might have the ability to help out.

Moderator: Harold_V

diyer
Posts: 350
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 4:32 pm

Re: Q: Need some boot purchasing advice

Post by diyer »

steamin10 wrote:Choose wisely. Unless I can fit them out on my feet, I would be wary of Amazon and any other best guess fit.


I always seem to have a problem with mail order footwear, almost for certain if it is a brand or even a model I am not familiar with. I purchased some Vasques from some Redwing boot seller, as I recall in one of the mountain states Utah or Idaho. I ordered the correct size and the guy told me I had to break them in. They never broke in. Today, I am still the same size and they are extremely uncomfortable, too narrow and too short. $300 waste. Then around the same time period I bought some Danners and they didnt fit right out of the box. Couldnt even get my foot in them. Danner told me the boot last ran narrow and was being discontinued. Ok, so they said they would send me another model with a wider last. I did the exchange thing. I paid more for the second pair and they told me they were first quality and when I got them I couldnt even get my foot in them -- way too tight. I gave up and got very busy and kept using some old Vasque Sundowners, better than nothing. I never forgot the name of the Danner employee, it was Kathy (maybe with a C) or Herter. The reason why I never forgot is that I later discovered that the boots she sent me were factory seconds, Their seconds have like a ticket punch cut on the tongue. She specifically guaranteed I was getting a first quality. I still have them and another $300 for a new boot I cant fit into.
"When you have both a secret government and an open government -- you have a secret government."
User avatar
SteveHGraham
Posts: 7788
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Q: Need some boot purchasing advice

Post by SteveHGraham »

Amazon returns are really easy now. They send a bag you can reseal.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
spro
Posts: 8016
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:04 pm
Location: mid atlantic

Re: Q: Need some boot purchasing advice

Post by spro »

I have many sets of boots. Some are too clunky but they are near impenetrable for certain times. If we really do stuff, we have at least 4 sets of boots. I used to do stuff and have more than needed now. On a whim, I bought an old set of LL Bean "hunter" boots of the size which actually fit. What I'm getting to, is that foot ware should fit your feet like your best shoes. Those did but not the type one would use continually on hard surfaces.
There is much info above towards the better all-around booting situation. I have galoshes which serve for the infrequent ones.
sudeva
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:30 am
Location: NY

Re: Q: Need some boot purchasing advice

Post by sudeva »

Red Wings are solid. Their main brand is made in USA, and the Irish Setter line (ditto the Vasque work/hiking line, I believe) is import. If you know what you're looking for and have a few styles and your right size in those styles, you might have a shot at getting the factory store in Minnesota to ship you a pair from their basement outlet blemish stock. The prices are 40% off retail on up. I saw some really great pairs there that were $250+ originally for as little as $90.
Post Reply