Forums >Gears and Wears>"Born on" Date for shoes?
GreyBeard
I always get excited when I see shoes on clearance. I've had mixed experiences where some of those bargains seem to break down quickly. Talking with the local shop guys, there seemed to be a belief that regardless of miles, new shoes every 3-6 months even if they just sit around.
This made me wonder if there is a way to determine when shoes were stocked / made before investing in the bargain. Easy in a shoe shop, harder online.
2020
If I made a living selling shoes I'd want people to believe you need new shoes every 3-6 months regardless of miles, too.
Runners run
Well, my thought too. But I have experienced breakdown of shoes earlier than normal when buying online. Didn't know if these places buy wholesale, out-dated items.
What did you study in college?
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.
lol - How long does it take for a thread on these boards to go another direction. Shouldn't ask questions when half asleep.
Perhaps I should delete this thread. I guess my questions are somewhat rhetorical in nature. Guess the real question should be if anyone else has experienced quicker breakdown with "clearance shoes".
Feeling the growl again
I bought 4 pairs of Mizuno Wave Precisions in early 2007 through a team discount deal.
I am still wearing out the last of those pairs.
When I pulled them from the box in October they felt just like new shoes and now feel like any other shoe with 500 miles on it.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
I've got a fever...
The materials in a running shoe's sole will gradually lose their elasticity/compressibility over time. I've still got some spikes and racing flats from decades ago when I wasn't a fat slug that are crunchy and rock-hard.
But notice I said decades ago. Anyone telling you that process is significant over 3-6 months is just trying to sell shoes. I've got a pair of flats at home I bought a few years ago that I've never worn, and I have no worries that they'll be fine.
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
Is it possible that the clearance shoes that seem to break down were stored by the store in a bazillion degrees (or negative degrees)? That may have something to do with it. I usually buy shoes that are 1-2 model years old. Occasionally I will get a brand new model, like... er... when Disney loses my bag and I have a race and NO FREAKIN SHOES... (or my memory fails me and I forget to bring them)... Anyway, the 1-2 years-back shoes last me just as long as the new model shoes. And I'm sure they were born-on long ago.
Maniac
Did Mickey buy you a new pair?
Marathon Maniac #6740
Goals for 2015:
Run 3 marathons (modified: Run 2 marathons--Lost Dutchman 02/2015 and Whiskey Row 05/2015)
Run a 50-miler (Ran a 53.8 mile race 11/14/2015)
Run 1,500 miles (uhhh...how about 1,400?)
Stay healthy
Sort of. My bag showed up 24 hours later. In the interim, they gave me $100 credit... which paid for my $85 shoes (or other stuff depending on how I look at it). Also a bunch of free toiletries. Had my bag remained missing, they were prepared to send me out into the world to buy as much new stuff as I wanted. Manager: just bring me your receipts at 4p tomorrow. But my bag reappeared, so I didn't push it.
Aside from giving me crappy information about my bag and what they were doing about it while it was missing, they were pretty darned good customer service-wise.
The materials in a running shoe's sole will gradually lose their elasticity/compressibility over time. I've still got some spikes and racing flats from decades ago when I wasn't a fat slug that are crunchy and rock-hard. But notice I said decades ago. Anyone telling you that process is significant over 3-6 months is just trying to sell shoes. I've got a pair of flats at home I bought a few years ago that I've never worn, and I have no worries that they'll be fine.
I ran my fall marathon in a pair of flats I bought in 2005. I wear them because they are softer than any I have tried on, of similar weight, since.
Blaaahhhh
Could there be a difference in shoes bought at a running store and those bought at a bargain store or online?
I had a pair of Asics Jel runners that I bought at a big box sporting goods store that gave my feet blisters from day one. I bought the same brand at a running store (twice now) and have had no problems.
If shoe material can loose its elasticity/compressibility in three to six months, how do you know that the material hasn't been sitting on a shelf for 6 months before being glued and stitched together to make the shoe?