Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect shoes to last more than half a term

77 replies

MellowMarshmallow · 29/10/2013 23:17

Bought ds1 (8) pair of Kickers for school and after 7 weeks the 'leather' has split all over them. Bought from sportsdirect. Last year he had a pair of Clarks that only lasted one term before the insole went hard and curled up at the end. After that we made do with cheap pairs which we considered disposable.

So wary of spending good money on more expensive shoes in case they only make it to Christmas. So frustrating. And no it's not him. He doesn't pick at them, just normal running round the playground wear and tear.

Rant over.

OP posts:
Notmyidea · 30/10/2013 07:18

No, I've learnt the hard way this half term to keep the receipt! Worth taking back, though. I still got 10% off a new pair as a goodwill gesture from our local independent shop.
I think, for us, it's a case of dc walking to school in all weathers that, perhaps, modern shoe manufacturers don't allow for these days:S
Yanbu

Notmyidea · 30/10/2013 07:20

By the way, local shop said that if a kids shoe is worn out before it's outgrown they would refund with a receipt.

MrsPatrickDempsey · 30/10/2013 07:23

Same here - DS 7 had a pair of Kickers for the new term in September and I had to exchange them (same reason) three weeks ago. Duff batch! Yanbu.

Bakingtins · 30/10/2013 07:24

I have this problem with DS1. I have no idea what he does to shoes. Perhaps notmy is right and manufacturers assume kids are driven everywhere. Getting on better with Geoxx this term from an independent shop, and purposefully chose ones which basically have uppers with only a couple of pieces of leather as they tend to split on the seams.
Given up with trainers, buy the cheapest possible and accept he will ruin them in weeks.

MrsLouisTheroux · 30/10/2013 07:26

As soon as DD's shoes get wet they start 'wearing out' / looking scruffy. Waterproof spray doesn't help. They last about a term :(

noisytoys · 30/10/2013 07:26

Try Hush Puppies they can really take a beating and last all year

BodaciousTatas · 30/10/2013 07:27

Bad lot of Kickers maybe? Dd's have always lasted the school year. But the. Again she only has one walking speed (dead dead slow) so that maybe why.

TwoTearsInABucket · 30/10/2013 07:30

I bought some cheap (er than Clarks) shoes from brantano for DS, and they are very very worn already. Shouldn't be surprised really. I'll have to go to John Lewis and spend some money now Hmm

Branleuse · 30/10/2013 07:42

dd (5) seems to have a habit of making holes through the toes of both her last pairs of shoes. (Ricosta then clarks) I dont know how. Ive now bought her patent DMs, and if they dont last, nothing will.

ds1 wears the soles out by dragging his feet, but his ricosta boots have lasted pretty well, relatively. Ive had cheap shoes last less than a couple of weeks with him, but these ricosta boots that i bought for about £25 on ebay, new, have lasted months,

Branleuse · 30/10/2013 07:44

kickers are hit and miss. Ds1 had some that the sole split in weeks. dd and ds had some that wore really well, but were never partcularly waterproof,

Spidermama · 30/10/2013 07:49

I was fuming to find the Vans I'd bought mine, and in their school of 2.5 thousand at least half the pupils seem to have, had completely peeled at the sole a couple of weeks ago.
Shoddy! Quite literally.

Original poster
MellowMarshmallow · 30/10/2013 08:28

Glad to know it's not just me then (well not glad, as I suppose I'd rather you weren't also having to pay out for new shoes every 6 weeks).

Going to email sportsdirect where I bought them from but won't hold my breath.

These say they are real leather, but they are peeling like those leather coated shoes so don't think they are. Wondering whether I should drop an email to trading standards too in case they are fakes.

Haven't tried Hush Puppies so guess they're next.

OP posts:
WhereIsMyHat · 30/10/2013 08:51

That is bad form! I would e-mail them. We had a similar but different issue with clarks were helpful and sorted the issue with very little fuss.

We're very happy with my DS's ricosta ones, timo I think the style is. They have a double layer of leather at the from that hides scuffs easily.

marriedinwhiteisback · 30/10/2013 09:00

I bought dd a pair of clarks school shoes in Sept 2011 and a pair of Start-rite ones in Sept 2012. She is 15 and her feet stopped growing years ago. They are both going strong and she does a lot of walking. I am willing them to fall to pieces but she refuses point blank to have them replaced and they still polish up well. The insole did curl up and go hard in the start-rite ones after about a year so I took it out and replaced it with one of those cork ones.

mrsjay · 30/10/2013 09:01

you would expect kickers to be hard wearing although sports direct do get rejects in IYSWIM but i would contact kickers and complain

saying that I once bought dd2 a pair of brogue style shoes from M n S they lasted till september (we go back in august) I took them back the customer services said to me, Well if she is walking quite far for school then they are not really suitable for walking that far , (she walks a mile and a bit a day) could you not let her wear trainers to school and then put her shoes on in school Shock

LadyEdith · 30/10/2013 09:01

Ricosta are great. Lasted my boys a whole year of walking to school and playing football at lunchtime.

worley · 30/10/2013 09:07

We have a great little independent shop near us. But some of the shoes are expensive. However I've discovered the geox black trainer type shoes are worth the money. Ds2 is slow to grow out of shoes and they will last him a good few terms so we do get the money worth. They were about £40 I think. The best thing is the rubber toe to stop scuffing..
these ones

teacherandguideleader · 30/10/2013 09:11

I wonder if sports direct were selling a duff batch off cheap that didn't meet normal quality assurance. A lot of branded stuff I buy from there never lasts as long as from a full price sports store.

Good luck dealing with sports direct, I've always found their customer service dire!

AnyChippednailvarnishfucker · 30/10/2013 09:32

Bought some Geox in September and they are falling apart already. Back to kickers for me...

whogrewoutoftheterribletwos · 30/10/2013 10:20

I used to buy kickers for ds but a few years ago they seemed to change them slightly - leather not so thick, different stitching and soles. After that they would wear out pretty quickly. I think it may be different manufacturing has compromised the quality

cece · 30/10/2013 10:24

I got a refund on a pair of Clarks shoes that fell apart within a term. But you do need to keep the receipt.

Tailtwister · 30/10/2013 10:31

YANBU, they should be lasting longer than half a term. A good tip for us all to ensure we keep receipts.

We ended up with Ricosta school shoes for DS1, mainly as he has small narrow feet and they were the best fit. However, they have seemed to last pretty well so far and polish up well. Very expensive though, but hopefully will be cost effective in the long term.

Chattymummyhere · 30/10/2013 10:33

We are returning a pair if m&s shoes for my reception child they lasted not even the whole half term as they did not start till 2 weeks after everyone else.

Trainers last ages but shoes seem to go very fast

Mogz · 30/10/2013 11:07

If they're leather are you making sure your DC use suitable polish and buff them each day after they get in from school? It really does help prolong the life of the shoes, so long as they're not dragging their feet or badly scuffing them on things.

cinnamongreyhound · 30/10/2013 11:12

I have returned more than one pair because they haven't lasted as long as I think they should. Each time they have agreed that they should have lasted longer and I have had the money I spent off a new pair with sizing checked too, actually had money back once as shoes were cheaper.

I agree with Notmyidea that perhaps it's because we walk to school and back and that shoes aren't made for that but it's 15min walk each way so not excessive and we do polish them, often ds1 goes through the soles :(