Leather sole or not

[Mike.S]

I have always bought leather soled shoes over many years, they are comfortable but not durable unfortunately.

I bought another new pair last week as my current ones were wearing through (again) but this time I opted for man-made sole instead, after a week of wearing these it is clear that they are not as comfy and they tend to cook my feet, I am hopeful I will get used to this.

So, going to work Monday to Friday is there really a need to go with leather soles? for the sake of comfort I would say yes, but work is not exactly a night out type of experience and there is no real need to over dress, and the savings are good.

I am still undecided at this point, time will tell.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

What is a "man-made" sole? You mean rubber?

You should be rotating at the very least two pairs of leather soled shoes to reduce the wear. Plus, you can get them resoled easily. If you buy two pairs of good shoes they can last you a very long time and even longer if you use toe and heel taps and get them resoled.

Save your rubber soles for the rain. Or even better don't wear them at all because they just look immature.

 

[Earlbiggs]

On the subject of taps... Do many folks here use them, If so, what material is best and does the shoe type matter?



Thanks

 

[alliswell]

Use taps on leather soled shoes, especially if you wear the toes. Nylon works just fine, metal is just as good, and for $35 you can have them mounted flush to the sole - which is really overkill.

 

[runner-guy]

I think it depends on what type of work you do. I recently purchased a pair of AE Sutter from the Shoe Bank for work, which have a rubber sole. I work in health care so I sometimes walk on floors that are wet or may have bleach or other chemicals. I just think rubber soles are better suited for my work environment. Plus, Michigan winters are not kind to leather sole shoes.

 

[nelly]

Might I recommend:

Wear a pair of medium quality shoes on your way to work and on your way home. When you get to the office, switch into a pair of high quality leather soled shoes. Keep them in a drawer at your desk with shoe trees. They won't ever get dirty at the office (no mud, rain, gravel).

A lot of women do this with flats-to-heels, albeit for comfort.

 

[Earlbiggs]

Originally Posted by alliswell

Use taps on leather soled shoes, especially if you wear the toes. Nylon works just fine, metal is just as good, and for $35 you can have them mounted flush to the sole - which is really overkill.
Thanks. I have a pair of Strands en route that I will definitely outfit with taps.

 

[pauliec]

I drive a car with a manual transmission and I actually find it difficult to manipulate the clutch with leather soles on my shoes. It feels very slippery and I can't get a comfortable grip, especially in heavy traffic where I am changing gears frequently. As such, I mainly wear rubber or synthetic soles.

 

[ktrp]

If you're going to get into aspects of comfort and durability, you need to draw some distinctions:

- between resoleable shoes and those that are not. Resoleable shoes might have a synthetic OR a leather sole.

- between shoes with foam for cushioning and those without.

I am wear a pair of dainite soled boots today, given there's some ice on the ground and it was snowing when I left home. They are resoleable. I would also guess that they will wear longer then leather, so I would say the durability is high. Leather may not last as long as the average rubber sole, but I'd rank a resoleable leather sole shoe as having higher durability then a rubber sole that isn't resoleable.

As for comfort, dainite soles are very hard - the dainite gives some climate appropriate performance and traction, but I don't find it any more gentle on my feet then leather. A synthetic grip is distinct from a soft midsole that cushions.

I do not understand why the OP is buying new shoes because the sole wore out, unless he is buying non resoleable leather sole shoes which I don't think I see very often in menswear.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I kind of feel that Dianite soles are kind of pointless. I have them on one pair of shoes and they wore down faster than my oak bark leather soles, plus they really don't give much more traction. If traction is your thing, you need cammando soles. If the leather sole gets wet, so what, you shouldn't be wearing them days in a row anyway. Letting them dry naturally is good enough.

 

[classicusa]

Peal makes a nice dress shoe with a Dianite sole. If I didn't like it, or it just got to a point where it needed to be replaced, could I replace it with a leather sole?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Originally Posted by classicusa

Peal makes a nice dress shoe with a Dianite sole. If I didn't like it, or it just got to a point where it needed to be replaced, could I replace it with a leather sole?

Yes.