Merrill’s may be a bit out of you league especially those with the better Vibram sole but they are a great example of that type of shoe that can last a good long time and be rather comfortable as well. The great thing is if you subscribe to their website you can catch them on sale periodically but the better ones even on sale are about $100. The bad thing is that you just missed them getting rid of the Moab 2 shoes as they introduced their Moab 3 shoes. The Moab line do have that Vibram sole and i think that’s their premium line of shoes. With military discount I bought two pair at about $80 each. I still have a pair I‘m currently wearing which I’ve been using and walking and working a bunch in going for over 2 years now. The gortex versions are at the top of the Moab line and I always go with those. Anyway I have two more pair in the pipeline and with sale and military discount it was about $80 a pair and with Moab 3 they are about $150 shoes when not on sale and without discount. I just never pay retail for them.

if you signup on their site for notifications you”ll get about a 10% to 15% discount on your first pair. Luckily my military discount gives me even more.

‘The type of conditions and use has a great deal to do with how long any shoe will last but the cheaper you go this to has an effect as well not to mention that cheap shoes can very often result in physically issues as well. Those which are put together cheaply often aren’t constructed for the best wear and very often don’t provide arch support that can lead to not only feet but back issues as well.

‘You might find cheaper I just know.what great success I’ve had with Merrill.

I’ll just say at that price point it isn’t a good indicator that they would be that good. The stitching on the uppers for one thing doesn’t look that good at all as well as that leather. I guess it comes down to expectations but I wouldn’t expect these boots to be that durable and last that long under any kind of real use. That’s even an extremely low price point for third country manufacturers of Goodyear Welted Boots. You would have to cut corners somewhere.

I also have to say I‘m personally no fan of a fake capote boot that only consists of just stitching across the toe of a boot. But at that price point that’s only bound to be one of many cost cutting measures.

You get what you pay for. They are at the lower end of the Goodyear Welted price scale for a reason. They are also mass produced so it’s best in this case to purchase them in person so you can visually inspect them first. I personally would not waste my money on something in this price range because better can be purchased. Then again there are those not even willing to pay what it cost to purchase something in this price range. You just have to figure out what your expectations are and what your willing to pay for. Personally my expectations are higher and I have no problem spending more to get better.

I do, but that’s why I bought them to begin with. Of course I wait until I have 3 pairs to send back to make it more economicall. I tend to like their thickest most cushioned socks T4033 socks which also are their most expensive socks and I have found these tend to wear out quicker for me. Currently they are $31.00 a pair so returning them are a no brainer as far as I’m concerned. Since I’m retired I also wear them inside the house a bit as well which might help account for some of that wear.