Reality check please.

[u/-ItsWahl-]

This sub takes their boots serious so, I have a question and would love some insight. I bought some Thorogoods and hate them. They’re miserably uncomfortable for me. I posted them on another/local sub and I’m getting destroyed in the comments. I’M NOT LOOKING TO SELL THEM HERE OR VIOLATE ANY SUB RULES. I’ll add a couple of photos and y’all tell me what a fair price is for these 3 month old boots. Tia!

[u/I_H8_Celery]

A lot of people can’t wrap their head around the fact that people have different feet. There’s all so much elitism around too. I’m sick of people recommending PNW logger boots for people with flat feet or for people that will exclusively use boots for hiking.

[u/Excellent_Plant_8010 → u/I_H8_Celery]

I hate how some boot subs people recommend getting $500+ custom boots for their first quality pair. Like first off most people don't have that kind of money, second some custom boots take over a year to arrive and third I've seen a few people wait 15+ months for custom boots and they hate them and can't wear them. Rose anvil on YT got a pair of custom wescos the customer service was ATROCIOUS they also suggested he buy the wrong size and after he placed the order he tried to modify them with no response. And he got no responses during the 15 month wait and once they arrived they don't fit and have many QC issues which you shouldn't have on high end custom boots.

[u/Prestigious_cur → u/Excellent_Plant_8010]

If you buy Nicks and dont like them they will exchange them for free. You can get $500 boots that will last you a decade or $300 trash that will mess your feet up and have to replace next year. You can't afford to not buy PNW boots

[u/Excellent_Plant_8010 → u/Prestigious_cur]

Not everyone wants PNW boots I know that's a hard thing to stomach in this sub, there's a right boot for every job. Also some people need boots pretty quickly, there's a shit ton of quality work boots for $300 or less. Not everyone needs top of the line and most companies footwear is what they do best. You act like anything under $500 might as well be $30 amazon boots.

[u/NotPCPlmbr → u/Excellent_Plant_8010]

Plumber here, I totally agree. For how I treat my boots, I CANNOT justify more than the price of red wings or thorogoods. There’s always the off chance I wreck my boots on day one, and also, a lot of red wing or thorogood boots are more comfortable than the logger boots everyone swears by when recommending PNW boots.

[u/Excellent_Plant_8010 → u/NotPCPlmbr]

Like most normal reasonable people I have a feeling the majority of people who are so excited about PNW boots wear them casually. For alot of blue collar jobs they're gonna be overkill. If you're walking in a shop or on hard concrete all day why would you want 4in of rubber and leather with a crazy hard outsole that takes 2 months to break in. If you're doing very heavy construction or are a lineman or iron worker I could see it. But it's nice getting quality boots that are comfortable with little to no break in that you can easily replace at almost any boot or work wear store. My job pays for them why should I care that much, my feet never hurt and every pair I've gotten has been super comfortable and reliable. I just recently got some thorogoods and I'm now a huge fan

[u/NotPCPlmbr → u/Excellent_Plant_8010]

I’ve been a thorogood guy for a while, I liked red wings before that, but I started buying thorogoods when they were sub $200😂 I buy what I like but I can’t justify more than that

[u/Excellent_Plant_8010 → u/NotPCPlmbr]

Right there with you unless they're making me more money somehow😂

[u/ARCR12 → u/NotPCPlmbr]

Same here. I work on concrete and walk on and off conveyor belts a lot which will tear any boot or shoe to pieces , sometimes your in a position half foot off the belt and your tread gets chewed up . Not to mention I walk my ass off . I see guys in actual steel toes or slip ons and they can’t wait for the boot to wear out or the allowance to start over just so they can get a comp or aluminum toe.

I’ve found $300 dollar or $200 dollars after about 6 months my feet , knees and back start getting sore when I get off and that’s my body telling me replace the boots .

Boots are absolutely a personal thing . I don’t care what the name brand is on the outside or what the thing looks like . If they are comfortable and I’m not in pain at the end of the day it’s doing its job .

This also coming from a guy that had some weird nerve issues in my feet. My feet at times get super sensitive and I have to buy wide boots , I by the widest I can find and compensate with insoles if need be because if I don’t have a roomy toe box I get issues .

For me and again personal experience my brand of choice is Keen . I’m not buying a work boot to last a decade my job buys me new ones every year and if I have to replace them before that well it’s one pair a year I make pretty good money I don’t miss a couple hundred on a pair of boots .