Club Obi Wan

Greetings.

I have used the search function, and haven't seen this addressed directly (which may be a failure of searching on my part, but even so):

How durable are the Aldens 405?

The reason I ask is not because I intend to climb mountains in them, or try and protect my feet from a nail gun. The reason I ask is because, frankly, for $300 I would need a shoe to last several years before I would have to replace it.

I have seen in a couple of threads people saying that their boots were destroyed after only 3 or so years, in part due to the severity of their use.

So for those who have them, I ask: How long have they lasted? How often do you wear them? Where do you wear them? How often do they need upkeep?

Thanks for reading,

Lingarn

I've seen plenty of Aldens (especially on the main Indygear site) that are close to a decade old. These things hold up really well. I wouldn't use them for rock climbing - they don't have much of a tread - but as an everyday work boot and hiking boot they'll hold up for many years - especially if you give them maintenance every once in a while. :junior: -M

if you take care of them and resole them when it comes time, the boots will literally last forever.

I bought my alden 405's last summer, took them out of the box this past Halloween party for my Indy gear outfit and finally just started wearing them for work the past 4 weeks. I walk about 8 hours a day for my job and these boots are taking a helluva beating. I think they really are orthopedic boots or whatever because my feet never hurt at the end of the day....they're also getting some fantastic distressing! Trust me, it's worth the money....and if they fall apart you can always have them re-soled or fixed or whatever.

The only thing that really worries me about these boots is the fact that on my pair, the cork-ish 'bed' (that is to say the part directly below the leather) seems to be wearing out all by itself. I don't know why, but it just seems to flake off without any help, resulting in the type of 'flakes' that you get from rubbing a pencil eraser. However, since no one else has commented on this before, I think this problem is only unique to my pair?

Lingarn, I use my 405s on building sites walking through all sorts of dirt and varying surfaces.

I've had them for about four years and there have been no problems at all with them so far- if anything they just keep getting better. I remember being surprised at how comfortable these shoes are when I first got them.

If you look after them, they're worth the money- I'd highly recommend them.

Lingarn, there are some variables in the answer you seek. Are you a heavy set guy? This will cause the soles to wear out a little faster as you are putting more pressure on them. What are you using them for?Are you doing a lot of walking? A big question is are you wearing them every day? Ideally you shouldn't because the shoes don't get a chance to dry out from foot perspiration. Although your feet might not seem like they sweat much, they do. Also the perspiration in our feet is fairly acidic and when not allowed to dry out for a day, the leather deteriorates from the inside out. I wear these at work (shoe store) and I recently had a pair split on the side under my arch after 5 years. And I wore them nearly every day. Even though I know I shouldn't. My oldest pair is about 10 years old and from the day I got them (as they were INDIANA JONES boots) I beat the living $#!% out of them. Didn't waterproof them. Took them out to a forest and abused them for a month. Streams, climbing, whatever. Then I polished them back up and started wearing them to work. Every Day. 10 years later they are still going. But now I have hiking boot soles on them and only use them in snowy Chicago winters!!
Hope this helps.

Schmidty

I think the thing to keep in mind here is that Aldens are quality footwear, and as such are much better made than 99% of the rubbish on the market today.

I find that with footwear of this quality the only thing you really need to find is a good cobbler to resole the shoe every so often. I would not hesitate to recommend the 405s. I plan on purchasing a second pair soon.

Thanks for the responses!

It seems that the general consensus is that, properly taken care of, these boots can last for many years... Which is good.

To respond to individual items:

What are you using them for?Are you doing a lot of walking? A big question is are you wearing them every day?

I would be wearing them most days, as everday shoes; they would replace my sneakers, which I usually use. I could expect to walk a few miles each day, or sometimes less. I suppose I would be more willing to change my habits to preserve these shoes than a normal pair.

I realize that there are a number of variables that will change dramatically from person to person, which is why I was hoping to get multiple responses from people who use the shoes regularly -- I was hoping to try and pick out what makes them last, for how long, and what makes them fail.

I think the thing to keep in mind here is that Aldens are quality footwear, and as such are much better made than 99% of the rubbish on the market today.

I can say without question that I have never owned a pair of shoes as good as Aldens. The argument that I toss back and forth with myself is that buying a good pair of shoes that will last for years will ultimately cost less than serial replacement of poor quality shoes. It has been said by those more learned than I that if you buy the best, you never regret it.

Mulceber wrote:I've seen plenty of Aldens (especially on the main Indygear site) that are close to a decade old. These things hold up really well. I wouldn't use them for rock climbing - they don't have much of a tread - but as an everyday work boot and hiking boot they'll hold up for many years - especially if you give them maintenance every once in a while. :junior: -M

I'll be honest.
I don't know what shoes you're wearing, but If I used my aldens as a work boot, or as a hiking boot, they would destroyed in a month. They are not built for that. I always feel like I have to "baby" mine. The stitching is so slim, and the leather is so thin it feels like I could punch right through them if I wanted to. They are not invincible shoes by any means.

I have been wearing mine every day for about the last 3 weeks or so (Since I got them) and so far they are showing little sign of wear. Of course I gave them a good coating of pecards...So far they have held up better than all my other boots in the same period of time

Mola Ram wrote:I'll be honest.
I don't know what shoes you're wearing, but If I used my aldens as a work boot, or as a hiking boot, they would destroyed in a month. They are not built for that. I always feel like I have to "baby" mine. The stitching is so slim, and the leather is so thin it feels like I could punch right through them if I wanted to. They are not invincible shoes by any means.

http://www.indygear.com/gear/boots.shtml

Read the page. There are plenty of members who have taken their Aldens all over the world. Magnoli talks about how his have been in 8 different countries and several archaeological digs. I would suggest that if your boots haven't been standing up to the punishment it's because you haven't been putting them through any. There's no way of knowing how they'll hold up if you baby them.

It's a similar thing with the jacket. I remember several years back that some gearhead or other expressed supreme disappointment the first time he saw a Wested; he thought it looked too flimsy and would tear at the first sign of punishment. Then years later he actually BOUGHT a Wested and discovered it was a lot more tough than it looked. :junior: -M

Mulceber wrote:

Mola Ram wrote:I'll be honest.
I don't know what shoes you're wearing, but If I used my aldens as a work boot, or as a hiking boot, they would destroyed in a month. They are not built for that. I always feel like I have to "baby" mine. The stitching is so slim, and the leather is so thin it feels like I could punch right through them if I wanted to. They are not invincible shoes by any means.

http://www.indygear.com/gear/boots.shtml

Read the page. There are plenty of members who have taken their Aldens all over the world. Magnoli talks about how his have been in 8 different countries and several archaeological digs. I would suggest that if your boots haven't been standing up to the punishment it's because you haven't been putting them through any. There's no way of knowing how they'll hold up if you baby them.

The DAY I got them,
I wore them at a high school dance, where I was doing lights. I was crawling around on scaffolding for hours, and my boots looked terrible after. I got stuck in a tropical depression, in the middle of the forest during the summer with these on, and slipped and fell into the river as I was crossing it on a log. They were soaked through. I had to run 4 miles in them one day, from one side of town to the other, because I left something at school very important and had no way to get there. I was filming a basketball game, and was crawling under the risers on my back with these on....I did all this and NOW they feel like they are falling apart...make more sense?

High school can be a jungle!

Tron