Shop/Yard Shoes?

Been wearing the same shoes for about 25 years, Cabala's technistride walking shoe, a knock off of the Rockports with the small parallel ridges on a vibram sole. Low heel which seems to suit my very bad back and those soles were like standing on a half inch or more foam pad everywhere I went. Low top lace ups keep most of the stuff out, or did until I have worn these until they have side ventilation. While soles can be replaced I have worn these until the uppers are shot too. Neither Rockport or Cabala's seem to sell the shoe anymore and the only shoe I have found with that sole is a pretty heavy looking pull on shoe with the exact same sole that Red Dawg calls a slipper, must be a Canadian thing! :D Might give them a try except they have a large patch of elastic on the side of them and I don't like their chances for long term survival.

I asked somewhere about a year ago but can't remember where and a search didn't turn up anything. So, to stand on concrete for hours, work in the yard, everyday wear, what shoe? Easy on the feet, no huge tread pattern to track half the outside inside.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Hu
 
hu lowery, " So, to stand on concrete for hours, work in the yard, everyday wear, what shoe? Easy on the feet, no huge tread pattern to track half the outside inside." I understand where you are coming from. I am eager to see what is learned with this thread.

Lots of luck and Enjoy,
JimB
 
I REALLY - SHOULD - learn something here.

I wear - sometimes - er - bare feet?

I wear - most times - uh - slippers?

I wear - occasionally - some old shoes - soles should be glued on, as they flap around.

As I am getting older - my bare feet are getting more sensitive to floor conditions. I don't barefoot in the shop with a lot of sawdust on the floor - I wear slippers. I wear my old shoes if I an doing things when shoes really are needed - tilling the garden - cutting trees down, etc.

I been in this mode for many many years. It's not a problem to me.

At work - I wear Nike's.
 
Several years ago I tried a pair of Merrells slip on dress shoes. The sales clerk told me a lot of doctors who were on their feet up and down hospital corridors wore them. I wore them out over about 10 years of constant wearing. I've replaced them with more Merrell dress shoes and 2 pairs of lace up low top hiking boots. These are all I wear any more, regardless o what I'm doing. The new line has some kind of sole that feels like you're walking on air. I have high arches so I have arch support in the hiking boots but don't need it in the dress shoes. Cabelas carries them and last time I checked, some of the hiking boots were on sale.
 
I've got some serious back issues. Spinal Stenosis and Spondylolisthesis. Constant back, hip, and left leg pain. The only shoe that offers any sort of relief that I've found are Rockport sneakers. Luckily there is a Rockport outlet close by where I can get them about half off. Usually around $60.00. The only time I wear shoes is going to church.

this is the model but mine look a bit different.
http://www.rockport.com/truwalkzero...akers&dwvar_twziittoe_color=twziittoe_greysde
 
This answer will be as unique as you are. I can't take a lot of arch support; actually causes me pain after awhile. I am narrow at the heel and wide at the toes so a roomy toe-box with a padded tongue (prevents discomfort from the laces) work best for me. I used to wear Clark's before they went to China and turned to junk. Same for Bass and others. Columbia broke my heart when their quality went south. I have a pair of Columbia boots that are going on 25 years. I can't justify the $200+ for a decent pair of work boots so I just bumble along in whatever is comfortable knowing that they will last less than a year. Maybe I should do the math . . . $200 for a pair of boots that would last me the rest of my life probably isn't out of line.

http://vimeo.com/10952206
 
Thank You All! Very much appreciated

Thanks Everyone! Definitely gave me some avenues to explore. Hurricane Isaac put a couple feet of black water in the home I was living in. The speed and quantity of mold above the waterline was unbelievable. In three days I had solid mold four to five feet up and on shelves that hadn't gotten wet at all. A couple days of swamp water and sewage will do that. Naturally I had all of my good stuff easy to get to and my junk just in case stuff on high shelves out of the way! I literally have two pairs of shoes and one of them was a junk pair for mowing grass and weed eating that I salvaged from the garage. The other pair stayed wet for days with the nasty water while I wore them. New socks every day. I don't have the usual old shoes, sneakers, and assorted work shoes and boots to wear for this and that.

With my priorities I am very close to barefoot'n like it or not! Waiting on my new hollowing system with laser guide while barefoot seems silly but I kept putting off shoes because I didn't really find any I wanted to buy. My shop is my back porch that I have caught a half dozen possums off of, a few raccoons, and a handful of feral cats. Barefoot out there isn't smart because of parasites otherwise I would be barefooting most of the time turning. Of course I drop things occasionally and the idea of a gouge or parting tool landing on one of my favorite feet pointy end first as Murphy is sure to have it ain't real appealing and barefoot would be plumb unfun!

I do much appreciate all the avenues to explore. I have a Cabala's about an hour and a half up the road and need to get over thataway anyway so I'll probably take a look at shoes I can lay hands on but I'll explore all options mentioned on the net first so I have a better idea. Looked at Cabala's about a year ago and didn't like what they had but that was a year ago and what was on display then.

Thanks to all, and anyone with other thoughts please add them. I'm looking for a shoe I can use and abuse and still look moderately decent to go to the walmart store in. Was feeling a little under the weather when I went to my doctor's for a routine visit last time and my shoes looked like something Freddie the Freeloader would wear. To make matters worse I had a late appointment and had put on a ratty old t-shirt to do a couple quick chores before putting on my fancy dress t-shirt with a pocket and without many holes in it to impress at the doctor's office. Nacherally I forgot to change t-shirts!

Hu
 
New Balance sneakers for most activities. I relegate the older ones that are still in decent shape to shop/yard footwear. Right now, I have four pair that I rotate so I rarely wear the same pair two days in a row. I also have two pair of NB sneakers and two pair of deck shoes for 'better' dressed situations. And, yes, I do have dress shoes for the rare occasions when I need to look my best. :rolleyes:
 
I'd agree that crocs are surprisingly comfortable for me (as Glenn said its definitely different per person). Unfortunately LOML has banned me from wearing them off property. They do have some closed toed versions that look like they might be "ok" for shop wear (no worse than sneakers anyway I suppose).

I have one older pair of redwings that really fit me well and are comfortable as heck if you need steel toes. They're the closest thing to the long lamented Whites Boots that were left somewhere along the way. If I needed real work boots 5 days a week I'd spring for another pair of Whites or similar custom boots - the sticker shock is high but dad has a pair almost as old as I am that have been rebuilt 3? 4? times (and are waaay past needing another but that's a different tail).

My yard work boots are a pair of high top leather doc martins, they are FLAT footed (Glenn might like them) and killed my feet when I first used them but were salvaged by a set of somewhat higher arched superfeet inserts (lower arched version have also replaced the standard inserts in several of lomls shoes as well). The Doc Martins have proven to last pretty darn well.
 
My favorite shop shoes are a pair of Ugg boots. They're like wearing slippers, and since my pant lags cover the tops, I don't get lathe curlies in my shoes anymore. But those probably won't fit your needs for something you can also wear to Walmart. (Although face it, there's been a LOT stranger stuff than Ugg boots worn at Walmart.) :D

Most of the time, I'm wearing either New Balance or Merrill cross-trainer hiking shoes. I also have a pair of plain black New Balance walking shoes (like Rockports) that I wear at the office quite a bit.
 
Been wearing these Red wing boots every day from sun up to sun down for the past 12 years. I rarely wear anything else anymore and if we need to dress up to go out some where I throw a coat of oil on them!
1155.jpg
 
Been wearing these Red wing boots every day from sun up to sun down for the past 12 years. I rarely wear anything else anymore and if we need to dress up to go out some where I throw a coat of oil on them!
View attachment 82329

You sound like my kind of guy! I used to buy my boots two pair at a time, semi-round toe, light rubber soles, not fancy but plenty acceptable for dress in my world. I'd wear one pair all the time until it got a little ratty then start slipping the other pair in for dress occasions. I did this for fifteen years or so. Bought a business and moved to a city of thirty-five thousand or so with an airbase next to it with about as many people. Busy day and night I walked out my last pair of boots and went to town to buy more. Nobody within fifty miles had a size E except by special order! My boot heels weren't high but the only modes I knew how to walk in were bare foot and in boots. I had to buy tennis shoes to get by with a few weeks waiting on boots to come in and it took me almost that long to learn how to walk in the tennis shoes. My wife thought it was hilarious. Now I can't wear anything but very low heels after the back is so boogered. I used to put on a pair of boots for a couple hours at a time just for old times sake but lost them in the flood.

Guess I'll go shoe shopping at Basspro and Cabalas and start from there. No idea what Basspro has but they are on the way so might as well I guess. There is an outlet mall next to Cabalas too, no idea who is in there.

Hu
 
Rockport may have a replacement for my shoe now. Where to see them?

Did yet another search, just on walking shoes. Rockport is making what looks to be the replacement for the shoe Cabalas knocked off. They didn't for a long time or I didn't find them. Next question, where to buy them at a storefront? I do need to try them on if possible.

Hu

http://www.onlineshoes.com/mens-rockport-prowalker-black-p_id3640
 
Well after having had a mother that lived through WW2 in UK and the shortage of shoes, her feet taking a beating for it and showing it, she was almost neurotic in making sure we had decent shoes properly sized as kids, so this has always been a priority to me. But its a huge struggle to find decent shoes at local stores. Price is no indicator i have discovered.

But the very best ever pair of shoes i have had, i picked up on impulse in Austria as a youngster when touring Austria after my military service and before starting school again. They looked like these

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/al...lterString=mens-footwear~d~11/&colorFamily=05 except that they were ankle height. They had a vibram sole that i wore out and replaced twice. It took some work to break these in because they not only had a leather outer top but the sole inside the shoe was a strip of thick leather that after time molded to your foot like a prosthetic. They were absolutely amazing shoes. I wore them everywhere for years nothing else they were so comfortable and your foot felt so supported it was a sad day when they had to go after they saved my foot in a motorcycle accident. Around that time i was looked at like crazy wearing boot like this as shoes. Red laces and more work to lace up than slip ons or any other lace up normal shoe, but nothing ever since has come close.

I also cannot say enough about the quality of a Vibram sole. They like a real good tool they just work and last. I look at buying good shoes as the same as a mattress. You only get one pair of feet and they contain all your nerves and support your body. Have been disappointed so many times with the quality of shoes available. I am not into what the latest fashion is. Fashion needs to wake up to what a shoe is for.

Thanks Glenn because i never knew of Danner but after seeing the video i think i will look into them they look like something worth paying for. But now i have had cause to look for those Austrian boots again i think i might investigate seeing if i can find a local dealer and maybe get a new pair that will last me the rest of my life.
 
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