shelf-life for shoes (Read 1276 times)

Shoes don't last forever, but unless the shoes weren't stored well (extreme heat/cold) then last year's models will be fine. I generally try not to purchase shoes that are more than a year old, since I rotate my shoes and they can last for 6-18 months before retirement. I'd avoid wearing shoes that are more than 3 years old, although you can obviously check them out and decide if they are still usable. Obviously, you could have shoes that are 5 years old and still fine to wear, just don't expect to get the same number of miles out of them before retiring than if they were brand new when you start to use them. Good question, though. I've updated my running show FAQ with it: http://news.runtowin.com/2007/07/23/running-shoe-faq.html

I wish shoe manufacturers would put the production date on shoe boxes. I have 2 pair of discontinued shoes waiting in the queue, but I'd like to eventually rotate in the older pair first...no way of knowing which shoe was sitting in a warehouse or stockroom longer, unfortunately.

What a great idea! Unfortunately, I think retailers and discount sellers would hate the idea because so many (uninformed) consumers would inevitably complain that their just-purchased pair of shoes are "too old" whatever the facts might be. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I'm not going to hold my breath for this.

I just got a letter back from Nike about a pair of shoes I want to return and they said that the date of production is on the tongue of the shoe. I'm not sure but I would assume other companies would probably do the same.

I just got a letter back from Nike about a pair of shoes I want to return and they said that the date of production is on the tongue of the shoe. I'm not sure but I would assume other companies would probably do the same.

Did you find the date? My guess is that all companies have a "batch" number or the like on there shoes, where if they had that number they could tell you when it was manufactured. I doubt that they have a date listed like 07072007 (July 7th, 2007).

Did you find the date? My guess is that all companies have a "batch" number or the like on there shoes, where if they had that number they could tell you when it was manufactured. I doubt that they have a date listed like 07072007 (July 7th, 2007).

Yeah the dates on the newer Nikes are clearly marked as dates just like Mikeymike stated. But on the older models they pretty easy to find as well. My old Air Rivals have the code 050406. So they were manufactured in 2005, April 6. I just looked on my new Brooks and can't find a code that would represent a date. So I have no idea if Brooks or NB would have a code that is easily read. But I would think that if you really wanted to know you could call the company and they could probably tell you the manufacturing date on them.