For Mrs S over at DIY Housewife.
Timberland’s site (looks like MSRP is $125)
and a quick check shows Dicks has the brown version for $105 (atleast on their website)
and Gander Moutain has them on sale for $84 (maybe I should go pick up another pair to stash….)
I’ve had this pair for 3 years now, and though they don’t get worn every day for the SUMMER (though certinally for at least some of the summer), by mid fall through mid spring at least they get worn every day in mud, rain, sleet, puddles, and snow. No leaks, no cracks in the leather, the soles have held up well, and even a certian puppy deciding they were his to chew on hasn’t done TO much damage. Can’t comment on arch support, as its not a problem I’ve ever had.
Thanks for the picture Ruth. I think I tried a brown pair of those a few years ago; only they were the model without the steel toe. The only trouble was, it seemed like they used the same pattern as the steel toed boots, so they were quite big and sloppy in the front. I did not mind that too much, but when the liner by the heel started shredding less than a month after I bought them, I took advantage of Timberland’s money back guarantee. I mailed them back to the company for a refund. it still cost me a bit in postage, but they did kindly refund the purchase price which was approx. $85. Maybe it helped their R&D department a little – at least enough to know that the liner material was too flimsy, at least for me. I bought a stop-gap pair of Ariat hiking boots that worked so-so (not waterproof, too smooth tread, and an annoying seam by the toes) until I was able to find the pair I have now.
I have heard that some companies have had difficulty with cheap Chinese counterfeit products showing up in the supply chain. Who knows?
Hmm, the insides are showing more wear, but not to the degree you’re describing, wonder if its the difference between steeltoe and not.
It might have been because the toes were so loose that my foot slid around a lot and caused the heavy wear on the back of the heel lining. No matter how tight I had the laces, the front of my feet were still swimming in the boots.
I might give the steel toes a try if I can find a pair at a local store that sells safety shoes. They tend not to have a very good selection in ladies’ sizes. How are they for warmth in the winter, say when the temps get below 15 deg. F?
When it comes to shoes, if it is possible to destroy, I can manage it without really trying very hard, small feet, mumble-mumble over the “ideal” weight, turning on heels and toes, concrete sidewalks, sandy mud and clay soil, salty snow, gentle persuasion when moving things – kick-kick….
I can’t recall ever noticing seriously cold toes, and we DO get that kind of temps here in the winter. And I do tend to have cold feet in general. Though I’ll admit that I avoid spending serious time outside when its that cold.
Yah, I can understand the problems, guess I’ve always been lucky enough to have a decent selection of womens work boots around!