How long would you expect a pair of Dr Marten sandals to last?

[Lanawashington]

I know a lot of people hate the style of these sandals but I don’t so😄

I’ve had a pair of DM boots for about 10 years now and they are still going strong, no sign of wear and tear and still as comfortable as ever. 2 years ago I bought a pair of sandals, £95 and they are the comfiest sandals I’ve ever worn. They get worn for probably about 40 days a year with what the weather is like here.

Today I was wearing them and the back strap snapped and has come completely loose from the sole. Not sure if this is the expected lifespan of them or not!? Was happy to pay that much thinking I would get a long time out of them like my boots but I’m so disappointed. Is it worth complaining to them or will they just say that’s how long the expect them to last!?

5 years

I thought they lasted years and years but I put my beloved ones on last summer and they were disintegrating between the upper and sole.

So disappointing as they weren't cheap.

My boots however are still going strong

Indefinitely to be honest with the amount of sandals weather we get. Definitely longer than two years anyway!

I'd say 2 years very heavy usage (i.e. pretty much daily April to Sept), 5 years for typical British usage!

Given that one of their mantras is 'Tough as you' I would complain. I think they're taking the piss with their quality these days and it's time they were called out on it.

@Somanysocks so disappointing isn’t it! My boots have lasted so long and I was expecting the same from these, especially as they get worn nowhere near as much as the boots

@Floisme from having a look around online I’ve found a lot of people complaining about the quality of more recent styles, they definitely seem to be going massively
downhill!

It’s worth contacting the manufacturers and saying that you are disappointed, you never know.

I think they have changed manufacturers, it used to be Solovair and they are the boots that last years, now they are ‘fashionable’ again I think the quality has gone down hill.

I'd expect the cost per wear to be far less than £1!

They've switched to cheap manufacturers unfortunately and still charge £££££.

I'm not surprised, Dr Martens really get up my nose these days with their faux free spirited indie vibe. They annoy me even more than Toast.

DMs have gone so far downhill these days that I would expect them to break after that amount of time. The last pair of boots I had split open after 14 months of light use while my pair from the 90s are still going strong.

I would definitely complain to them, there is also a chance somewhere like Timpsons will be able to replace the strap/

I have one pair of DMs boots that only lasted about 2 years of admittedly heavy use until they look trashed. Other look perfect 😐

I'd definitely expect them to last longer than that.
I got DS some Dr Martens as school shoes as I thought they would be really hardwearing but by the end of the school year, the whole front section was coming away from the sole. He was outgrowing them anyway, so wasn't a massive deal but I was surprised by how flimsy they were.

I wear my sandals a lot in the summer, they are not DM and less robust looking. A pair will usually last me 3 years and still be servicable but looking shabby after that.

Dts have dms school shoes and they've done a whole year and they are not light on their feet! Maybe it depends where they are being manufactured?

Old dms lasted forever. The current ones much less so

Just thought I would update this with a bit of good news. I got in touch with Dr Martens on Twitter and sent some pictures. They agreed it was fault with the leather rather than wear and tear so they've sent me a new pair for free!