disappointing lifespan for shoes

Ask questions and share your experiences with hiking & backpacking gear, and share trail recipes and gadget tips. Please see classifieds forum for buying/selling stuff.
User avatar
arlohike
Posts: 237
Joined: April 28th, 2014, 8:28 pm

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by arlohike » January 30th, 2018, 8:01 pm

arlohike wrote:Are you saying it's dirt inside, rather than tears in the lining, that causes them to leak? In that case I'll give mine a good cleaning and see if that makes a difference.
I tested this theory, but they were just as leaky after a good cleaning. And once they were clean, I could see a lot more wear. The uppers are torn in four places on the right shoe and the upper is starting to separate from the sole. Dang.
retired jerry wrote:I wear GTX boots. Maybe they last me 500 miles. I like the waterproofness although it isn't perfect.
I searched for "GTX boots" and found several different brands. Is that the same as Gore-Tex?

Anyway, after all this feedback, I'm leaning toward the "buy a cheap pair every year" approach. Hopefully the Columbia shoes I ordered will fit.
TrailCheck (iOS / Android)
Elevation Tracker (iOS / Apple Watch)

User avatar
jalepeno
Posts: 150
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: far north Forest Park

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by jalepeno » January 30th, 2018, 8:02 pm

I have gotten two years so far out of a pair of Salomon Qwest 4D GTX boots.
They are very light, supportive and waterproof.
I use them for everything up until needing crampons.

pcg
Posts: 372
Joined: May 31st, 2011, 7:46 pm
Location: Chehalem Mountain

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by pcg » January 30th, 2018, 8:24 pm

Someone mentioned Columbia Outdry. My anecdotal experience... I bought a lightweight pair of hiking shoes that I mainly used for walking around in the rain and in the wet grass around my house, not hiking, just everyday use. They worked great for about six weeks. No visible wear, but they are no longer waterproof.

oops.. accidentally deleted my remarks about Goretex...
I seam seal the seams on my Lowa and Zamberlan boots to protect the stitching from abrasion. If I don't do this then inevitably some of the stitching will fail, which allows "dirt to get inside" the liner that protects the fragile Goretex. The dirt will then wear holes in the Goretex liner and the boot is no longer waterproof. This is not dirt inside the boot, it's dirt that works its way between the liners that protect the Goretex.
Last edited by pcg on January 30th, 2018, 10:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14396
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by retired jerry » January 30th, 2018, 9:02 pm

yeah, GTX short for Goretex

I've had GTX boots that leaked before any outer visible damage, the Goretex liner must have ripped inside or something

User avatar
arlohike
Posts: 237
Joined: April 28th, 2014, 8:28 pm

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by arlohike » February 3rd, 2019, 7:24 pm

The Columbia "PeakFreak XCRSN II XCEL Low OutDry" (ridiculous name) shoes I ordered for $70 a year ago fit fine and served me well, until I finally got some significant leaking today. My records show 387 miles on these shoes, so it's nothing to crow about, but definitely a better value than the previous two brands I was using. Oops -- but I got that pair on clearance and the regular price is $110, so that doesn't exactly validate the "buy a cheap pair every year" approach.

I do have a backup pair, so I guess I'll wear those while looking for another sale.
TrailCheck (iOS / Android)
Elevation Tracker (iOS / Apple Watch)

User avatar
5th
Posts: 121
Joined: April 27th, 2015, 9:11 am
Location: Eugene

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by 5th » February 4th, 2019, 1:11 am

I'm considering using mink oil to waterproof my leather Lowas just like I did with my Red Wings back in the day. There's no visible damage, just dampness starting to get in to my socks (no, not sweat) when I'm in wet weather for a while. I've never noticed any advantage to membranes over mink oil, honestly. But then my feet don't sweat much.

I actually miss my old hiking Red Wings.

Chazz
Posts: 321
Joined: May 26th, 2013, 12:53 pm

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by Chazz » February 4th, 2019, 3:12 pm

I just complained to Columbia about a pair of Bajada trail running shoes that I bought in 2015. I had been extremely careful to wear them only for PCT section hiking. My intention was to finish all of Oregon in one pair of shoes. However, after 12 days of wearing them and 250 miles (all spread across three separate trips in three years), they were destroyed.

That's pretty miserable durability. Admittedly I did not pay full retail for them but I certainly expected to get at least 300 miles before something started to tear. Even getting the last 50 miles required hand-stitching sections of the shoe mesh and some superglue.

Sigh...

Aimless
Posts: 1922
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:02 pm
Location: Lake Oswego

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by Aimless » February 4th, 2019, 5:53 pm

On the other side of the coin, I've never had less than 650 miles of wear on any of the 4 pairs of Brooks Cascadia trail runners I've owned and hiked in. I replaced my last pair (Cascadia 11 model) at about 1100 miles; most of those miles were on a fairly civilized pathway (semi-graveled) in my local nature park, with maybe 250 miles on true wilderness trails. I could probably squeeze another 100 miles out of them, but they are now retired as my 'beach-walking' shoes exclusively.

bghiker
Posts: 33
Joined: April 26th, 2016, 6:26 pm

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by bghiker » February 5th, 2019, 1:57 am

As I said before, I love the salomon GTX shoes, but I have also had Zamberlain and Lowa goretex boots and have never had an issue. I'm sure I don't put as many miles on them as others but the goretex seems to last me several years before leaking and is well worth the initial cost of the boot. I usually hike 6-15 miles/day 2-4 days a week on trail and have yet to have a failure in the waterproofing of my boots. I do not do any additional treatments...

User avatar
Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

Re: disappointing lifespan for shoes

Post by Chip Down » February 7th, 2019, 6:28 pm

bghiker wrote:
February 5th, 2019, 1:57 am
I have also had Zamberlain and Lowa goretex boots and have never had an issue. I'm sure I don't put as many miles on them as others but the goretex seems to last me several years before leaking and is well worth the initial cost of the boot. I usually hike 6-15 miles/day 2-4 days a week on trail and have yet to have a failure in the waterproofing of my boots. I do not do any additional treatments...
Hmm...my last two pairs of Lowas weren't water resistant at all, despite goretex. Pretty sad for $400 mountaineering boots.

Post Reply