I am tired of cheaply made, crap quality, no padding, abysmal traction shoes that cost so much money. At least when I pay the $20-$30 for a pair, my expectations meet the experience.
Because they spend a tremendous amount of money marketing shoes to consumers.
Although if you live in a place with tons of really steep hills like San Francisco, 3 months is probably par for the course.
I was on the train with my girlfriend (att) and she deliberately stamped on my foot. Of course, I was quite confused; however, she explained that my shoes looked too new and thus needed to be dirtied up a bit.
In the early 90’s they were $18 and made in USA. Within 1 year they went to $40 and made in China.
The cost may seem a bit much at first, but compare it to buying a cheap pair once every couple of months.
Shoes really are one of the few things in life you shouldn't skimp on.
As an aside, price isn't the only import factor in buying quality shoes. Chippewa are handmade in the US, and it shows. I also bought a pair of relatively expensive Timberland boots for about $250. They were made in China, and the upper lining of the boot came off in less than 6 months. It seems all I paid for was the name.
I've also become a loafers fan. In US fashion, at least, a good pair of black or dark brown loafers can be worn all the way up to business-formal, to weddings, funerals, et c., but also dressed down to business- or smart-casual, and if they get beat up they just become toss-on-and-go shoes for any occasion, even if it's just mowing the lawn. Again, they last a good long time if they're US- or European-made. I don't think either beats cheap sneakers for price over a lifetime, but then you get whatever benefit a nicer look and a little more formality-range gets you from going for well-crafted leather, and they aren't so much more expensive considering that and how long they last. Sure $200+ for a pair of shoes is a bit of a shock at first, but when they're in your rotation for 10-20 years it seems less crazy.
I've found a pair of Asics that have decent traction for basketball. I wore those for years, and then they turned into just my running shoes for years, and I'm still wearing them 6 years later for hiking.
Boots protect against minor injuries and frostbite to shins, calves, toes, soles and ankles and reinforce the same if you do tear something and end up having to limp for miles (splint or not).
Running shoes are garbage long before they fall apart or get holes in them. Perhaps you're lucky, but I can't imagine running in my shoes for more than about 350 miles. Nothing feels better than the first run in new running shoes.
Also play various cutting/running sports (soccer, ultimate) and don't notice much of a difference between old and new shoes. My current turf shoes are about eight years old, with multiple games per week over most of that period.
I suppose you could also have be having them repaired, but cheap shoes don't tend to be very repairable.
I picked up this[1] pair in particular for about $35 3-4 years ago, and they've been my daily drivers ever since due to blending in well with pretty much anything short of formal business attire. And despite being pretty brutal with my shoes in general, these essentially look the same as they did a month or so after getting them.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/ECCO-Mens-Soft-Fashion-Sneaker/dp/B00...
And don't get me started on the poor state of common flipflop
Yes, the store left, the mall was abandoned, it got leveled, a new building was placed there and that was a few years ago. I still have the damn sandals. I wore them yesterday.
I tried moving on from them around 2012 using a pair of sandals from DSW and those went to tatters so I went into my closet and brought the old clarks back out and now years later they still work.
I should go and hunt out another pair.
There should be a review website with an incredibly high barrier to entry that is designed to make sure there's completely unsolicited reviews for products. Avoiding abuse and spam is definitely hand-waving here but that site would be great.
Actually, it's the Nikes that wear out much faster, it seems.
PS:(edit) I walk around a decent amount and even go running 6 to 9 miles per week. Even a super cheap pair of running shoes won't show any holes in it for 4+ years at least. The Nike ones I had started falling apart in just in less than 2 years.
And yes, I do have about 10 pairs, but tend to stick to 4-5 pair at a time time. and I don't throw them away until the wear is so low that an actual hole forms or even multiple holes/rips form. most of time just get some plimsolls, those tend to last forever.