Club Obi Wan

I want to start out by saying that I think Todd’s Costume is terrific. They are friendly and provide a great service to the community. I have nothing but nice things to say about them. That said, what follows is a cautionary tale.

I got my Outdoorsman Boots about one month ago. I walk _a lot_, hours a day on all kinds of surfaces. When I noticed the flat insoles, I knew that wasn’t going to cut it, so I went out and spent $12 on some Dr. Scholl’s.

Last week when I was putting them on I noticed that the heels were worn almost through the first layer of rubber. I’m a fan of getting things repaired in a timely fashion because I know from experience that heel/sole replacement gets more expensive the more layers you go through.

When the cobbler in town looked at them, he pointed out how the edge of toes had already worn through the first layer of rubber and that there were many large chips out of the edges. The uppers are still in perfect condition, but indeed the soles were a mess. I usually wear soles down pretty quickly, say six months or so, but this is a new record. Although the soles look remarkably like Alden’s, they are rubber and not particularly long wearing rubber at that.

Anyway, the cobbler went over options with me, and I finally decided on a complete rebuild of the sole in leather with a black Vibram sole protector for traction and longer wear. After all, I walk a lot.

The new soles came to a total of $85 (I live in the Boston area, so you're mileage may vary). This brings my grand total for the boots to...

$86 - boots
$12 - Dr. Scholl’s
$85 - new soles, heel replacement etc.
-----------
$183.00

Although this is actually much more than I usually spend on a pair of shoes, I feel pretty good about the results... and they are still about half the price of a pair of new Alden’s.

I’m passing this tale along not to say Todd produces bad boots, but to share one guy’s experience. I would also like to suggest to people who buy Todd’s Outdoorsman boots _and_ plan to wear them every day to get some decent insoles and sole protectors for them right away. It will cost you an extra $30, but you’ll get a lot more wear out of them and avoid my $85 bill.

--Bill B.

I know everyone here likes pics, so I'm including a couple:

Interesting. Do you know if those sole protectors can be added to the existing soles, or are they part of the rebuild? I just got a pair of Outdoorsman boots last night. While I don't foresee wearing through my soles as quickly as you did, I wouldn't mind taking preemptive action while my soles are still new.

Ron

Captain Ron Solo wrote:Interesting. Do you know if those sole protectors can be added to the existing soles, or are they part of the rebuild?
Ron

You can definitely just add them to the current soles. If sole protectors wear out, just have them removed and new ones put on. I think it's the cheapest way to go in the long run.

--Bill B.

I have 2 pairs of Todds, 1 pair Alden and ! pair Magnoli. Before I walked outside with any of them I had that peice of rubber put on the bottom for traction. I haven't had trouble with any of them since.

With all these tales of people wearing these shoes every day and going through heels and soles, I offer that maybe, just maybe, these are meant for costuming and not everyday use.

I have a pair and love them, but I reserve them for when I'm geared up. They should last me years.

Treadwell wrote:With all these tales of people wearing these shoes every day and going through heels and soles, I offer that maybe, just maybe, these are meant for costuming and not everyday use.

I guess, I'll mostly agree with that. I wish I had had some real sense of what that meant before I bought them. They are much better than just simple costume shoes, but you're quite right, as purchased, they are not durable enough for extended daily use.

I guess I'll see how durable they are now with better soles. I just can't afford to keep things I don't use every day or at least seasonally, no money & no space.

Did you mention this to Todd? Perhaps he would've footed (no pun intended) a portion of the bill.

JC1972 wrote:Did you mention this to Todd? Perhaps he would've footed (no pun intended) a portion of the bill.

I didn't. I figure he puts out a decent product. I just wanted to put more wear and tear on them than they were made for.

In the end, they feel lighter than before, they should wear better, have better traction, be better in the rain, and I'm happy with them. They are nice looking boots and very comfortable with the insoles.

As we say back home, "Could be worse."

That looks like a good idea. I may consider doing that with my Coyles.

Nice avatar Bilbe.

Randy

Where can I purchase sole protectors? I never heard of them before.

JC1972 wrote:Where can I purchase sole protectors? I never heard of them before.

I wouldn't mind knowing this myself for when I purchase some Todd's in a few months.

JC1972 wrote:Where can I purchase sole protectors? I never heard of them before.

They need to be glued on, trimmed, and ground to be smooth. Any cobbler/shoe repair can do it for you very quickly.

This web site has pictures of them and offer the service. They call them "protective soles" and they are at the bottom of the page:
http://www.europeanshoerepair.net/SHOE_ ... VICES.html

Some places call them "sole guards" or "half soles." I'd take them to the nearest shoe repair or cobbler. Just look up shoe repair in the phone book or modern equivalent.

--Bill B.

theinterchange wrote:Nice avatar Bilbe.

Thank, Randy.

Created using Photo Booth (comes with a Mac and great fun for kids) with a Sepia filter. Took like a second to make.

Thanks Bill, much appreciated!

I just dropped them off at the local shoe repair and its $22.50 to do the protective soles. Not too bad. I may get new insoles put in too.

JC1972 wrote:I just dropped them off at the local shoe repair and its $22.50 to do the protective soles. Not too bad. I may get new insoles put in too.

Excellent, that's about $10 less than around here! I think it's well worth it.