wasmisterfu
Distinguished Member
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- May 11, 2018
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You’re welcome. I post a variation of this about ever 60 days or so. There’s a lot of misinformation, weird shared labeling and other problems regarding shoe leather.
Also, I don’t, as a rule, recommend even high-end PU coated leather (such as polished cobbler) because of the long-term maintainability of the stuff. Once it starts looking bad, drastic action will be needed, action that will alter the nature of the shoe. If there is a full grain calf, or shell, version of the shoe you’re looking for, you should pursue that version.
That being said, if you see a pair that you really like or for which the model was only (or the majority of) was produced in something like PC, you shouldn’t worry that they’re going to crack and fall apart (as a number of articles on the interwebs proclaim). In my experience, PU coated leathers don’t crack or split anymore often than regular full-grain calf. The high quality stuff, especially for 80’s vintage premium brands, was made of very good stuff. However, you should always push for a steep discount, even for NOS or light-wear examples
I also recommend having a least a small subset of PU coated pairs for bad-weather days. AE polished cobbler is especially excellent for monsoon days and for post-blizzard salt-slushy resistance. However, it should only be a subset, IMHO; out of 50+ pair (!?! at @smfdoc and @suitforcourt - what have you done to me) only 5 are of this type of leather.
