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Why do I get the feeling there are two "teams on the fora?" And Manton (and jcusey) is definitely not on mine! Too bad that I appear to be on the wrong side of the occasionally churlish forum "experts."Originally Posted by brescd01
Hmm, well rest assured, I don't consider myself on any 'team'. I've disagreed with way too many people for that
. "You're assuming that he will not be buying more shoes than he already has and thus his rotation will not be increased."Originally Posted by brescd01
I am not assuming anything. There are several reasons he might put a lot of wear on his shoes, rotation being one of them.
Yes, there are indeed several reasons. So, if there are several reasons why he might be putting lots of wear on his shoes, and rotation might be one of them, why conclude that he should turn to rubber soled shoes when increasing his rotation might lead to less wear on his leather soles? Unless you assume that increasing his rotation won't help, suggesting he should choose shoes with rubber soles (when he's specifically stated he wants leather soles) is really undue advice.
"an equally plausible assumption that he wants leather-soled shoes because of the benefits typically associated with them: (1) 'breathability'Originally Posted by brescd01
I do not think that anything on the sole breathes. If it breathes out, it has to absorb in, barring some high-tech materials like Gortex. Plus, I have never heard of anyone's attributing breathability to soles. I am sure you will find a quote of someone somewhere saying this. I don't care, I don't believe it.
I really don't think this is a controversial point. Nonetheless, let's consider your reasoning. Porous materials, whether natural or synthetic, do not necessarily absorb as much as they allow to exit, and vice versa. Second of all, even if such were the case with leather soles, increasing ventilation (in and out) would keep the foot cooler and keep it from heating up and sweating as much. Since the foot itself is the prime source of heat and moisture when wearing shoes, and not usually the outside environment, ventilation that equally absorbs and breathes will still benefit the foot by allowing the relatively cooler air outside the shoe to cool it down: after all, your body temperature is around 98.6 degrees farenheit--how often does it get hotter than that outside?
"more elegant shape, and (3) high-quality RTW dress shoes tend to have leather soles."Originally Posted by brescd01
I agree that leather is more elegant looking, and I agree that high-quality RTW dress shoes tend to have leather soles.
And these are not qualities that can be easily compromised when one is looking for a dress shoe.
And the idea of rubber-soled shoes becoming misshapen is equally silly to me. I would love to see photographs of examples, however.Originally Posted by brescd01
I can fathom that well-made shoes with leather soles will not suffer this as much, but as you've agreed about, most nice RTW shoes are going to have leather soles. Have you ever seen a pair of rubber-soled Kenneth Coles after a summer of wear, even with the daily use of shoe trees and proper rotation? Trust me, not a pretty sight.
"Finally, you have also assumed the OP will not take more care with these new shoes."Originally Posted by brescd01
Again, I have not assumed anything. I made a suggestion to get shoes with thick rubber soles if he was in a situation where his leather soles required frequent replacement. I still think this good sense. Obviously I have run afoul of the rubber-sole fascists.
Again, without this assumption, your suggestion is undue since he might alleviate the problem through other means that do not require resorting to thicker, rubber soles.
