Avoid Base London shoes

[Drez]

We the North, give shoes a tough go in winter and so I target cheaper shoes in the season of snow, ice and salt.

I was in the market for some brown wing tips with this in mind. Enter "Base London" ; I found a pair that appeared to have above average construction on heals stitching etc in the price segment, leather that felt pretty good and synthetic soles that should take abuse I was planning.

One winter season and the soles wore rapidly then split...right across. Less than a season with lots of other shoes in rotation is shameful.These are far from AE but Saks and The Bay have them priced pretty high IMO given that even budget friendly Aldo holds uo better.

Contacted Base London directly but got no response not that I expected as much.

If your looking beater dress kicks look elsewhere.

 

[maxalex]

As the saying goes, I can't afford to buy cheap shoes.

 

[thesilentist]

You wore them in the snow and salt for a season straight? Not surprised that's what happened, honestly. Most shoes aren't built to last up against that. That's why you see shoes with Dainite soles and storm welts. Or people wearing galoshes or winter boots on commute and changing at work.

That's not to say the shoes' construction isn't complete crap, but even if you got "nice" shoes I wouldn't expect them to fair much better for a lot longer.

 

[MrTheWonderful]

I've found this out the hard way too, hade the exact same happend to me with a medium level brand shoe. And looking back the shoe would probably have been a little bit better off not going in snow, etc. But you learn as long as you live, I always get proper soles suitable for harsh winter weather nowadays to use in the winter time.
Like mentioned above you probably need galoshes next time. Anyone have any more tips on galoshes? I haven't gotten around to trying to using any - so any tips would be welcome.

 

[Drez]

Not exactly sure what you mean by "season straight " but as I said I wore them in rotation (i.e. these were not the only shoes being worn) and they didn't even last the season. I consider that garbage no matter how you look at it. I have internal validity on my side in that I'm comparing against a wide variety of other shoes from fairly expensive to very affordable that I am so cruel as to subject to the same high expectations and wear. I spare my best this fate at least.

My point is the Base London are a poor value at their price point given that much cheaper shoes are holding up better.

-Dainite soles are a step up admitted; however as I said these were synthetic soles, not leather. The fact your mentioning Dainite make me suspicious that your thinking AE and the price disparity between the brands is rather obvious and not really fair for many people considering a winter "beater" shoe. That said I have other AE "beaters" and they do not disappoint so if they fit your budget they are the right tool for the job.

-Boots work from some peoples commute but if your not doing a simple A to B followed by a rinse and repeat it might not be feasible; my schedule is too dynamic for that let alone its not exactly practical.

-I don't much care for galoshes. I find them fiddly, ugly and not as effective as one might like but they do fit the bill.

 

[TheJoker932]

I need a good pair of hiking boots that look kind of old fashioned
what do you lot recommend?