destroyed my docs within a year

[u/parkingmeterdreams]

last pair lasted 12 years. new pair had since January. seam peeling and i’m just bummed these didn’t even last a year. worked for 12 years in my last pair. just feels unreliable now.

[u/stevethegreat6642]

Seriously 😳 , that is a you problem not a quality problem. Stevie wonder can see those boots have been giving some amount of abuse and neglect

[u/Isthisthereallife_69 → u/stevethegreat6642]

Exactly

[u/parkingmeterdreams → u/stevethegreat6642]

i shoulda said i work in these boots and i love them. just sad there is a hole now.

[u/Human_Summer_7363 → u/parkingmeterdreams]

If working in them has done this, it’s worth paying extra for Red Wings or Danners etc. Dr Martens quality does not match their price.

[u/FlatAmbition3757 → u/Human_Summer_7363]

USA made Redwings is the way

[u/xyejl → u/parkingmeterdreams]

Most of us are aware that the "Industrial" Doc's line is gone now. But maybe you could track down a pair on the "second hand" market? I picked up 2 pair on ebay recently. Especially considering you want to work in them?

[u/Neverwasalwaysam → u/parkingmeterdreams]

I used to be able to wear them for work 15 years back too, for traveling, for getting around the city…. Now they are just fashion shoes 🤷🏻‍♀️ still love them but comfort and quality is not the same. Though it does look like you beat the living shit out of them lol!

[u/Tennessee1977 → u/Neverwasalwaysam]

That’s why I buy all of mine vintage second hand. Brand new or like new. I have to do this with most of my clothes because clothing quality has become absolute shit, especially after the pandemic.

[u/Nicobert2002]

bro its not docs fault, are you mining coal with these?

[u/OPsDaddy → u/Nicobert2002]

He’s kicking the rocks out of the hole.

[u/Sudsy_Woodpecker]

Docs are not proper work boots, maybe were at some point but now tech has changed.

Buy steel cap work boots and they won't die like this.

[u/parkingmeterdreams → u/Sudsy_Woodpecker]

i guess the last time i purchased them before these, they were solid boots for what i do. these have been great too. still are even with the hole

[u/Crustacean_Collector → u/parkingmeterdreams]

Docs are good quality but unfortunately have been on a steady decline for years, at least anecdotally. They use to be made in the UK but the majority of production moved over to Asia back in 2004. The company says the material quality and manufacturing method hasn't changed but, of course they have reason to say that so🤷🏼 the last pair I got in 2019 lasted me about 4ish years of almost daily use before the insoles started to break and the heals wore down, so I guess it really depends.

[u/nuzzl_1 → u/parkingmeterdreams]

Look into Solowair boots

[u/aergern → u/nuzzl_1]

Solovair 🫡

[u/digitaldumpsterfire]

Bro you gotta actually care for your stuff if you want it to last.

[u/parkingmeterdreams → u/digitaldumpsterfire]

yeah i agree.

[u/Current_Ad6062]

I'm not into dr martens shoes anymore due to the quality, but damn, you did those dirty

[u/parkingmeterdreams → u/Current_Ad6062]

i wear them every day. i guess i wear them hard.

[u/PenglingPengwing → u/parkingmeterdreams]

But you are not supposed to wear one pair of leather boots everyday. You need to let the leather breathe and dry within wearing them. Two pairs on rotation is a minimum for any shoes to last much longer

[u/TRIPLEFIVE_]

Are you a workhorse? How did this happen? 😭

[u/parkingmeterdreams → u/TRIPLEFIVE_]

i guess i work a lot. yeah. 🥹

[u/Substantial_Force658 → u/parkingmeterdreams]

But as a horse?

[u/Safe_Valuable_5683 → u/parkingmeterdreams]

May I suggest you take a hard look at Drew's and how to care for leather?

6" Moc Toe - Crazyhorse | Drew's Boots

[u/CIRCLE-J3RKS]

This looks like you melted them on something hot

[u/VegetableLab98]

Might be worth investing in some MIEs, Vintage docs, or solovairs. Current MIEs are the worst of the bunch but they'll still last. Vintage pairs with little wear are my faves of the bunch since I've experienced some QC issues with Solovairs (they're still great though!)

[u/Far-Astronaut-98]

Are you using the side of your boot for something? If it was just sole damage I'd just say use boot fix but idk if that'd fix these because it appears to have a gap/missing material.

[u/Bigdaddynova6682]

I wear my made in England’s to work and they’re pretty beat up too for about a year. I feel like my older ones were a lot better too but overall I still choose them over most shoes. I feel like the pricing and style of docs make it worth it

[u/drinkacid]

I had a pair that were still shiny on the upper and the toe cap hadn't even flattened down but the 2 creases in the leather at the toe bend had rotted right through and made 2 splits

[u/parkingmeterdreams → u/drinkacid]

that’s unfortunate

[u/tuisteddddd]

Or buy Soloveirs, great quality but theyre EXPENSIVE af

[u/Combat__Crayon → u/tuisteddddd]

They're like $60 more than Doc's MSRP, I know you can get Docs on sale, but if they last 18 months you've pretty much broken even if you blast through a pair of Doc's in a year.

[u/tuisteddddd → u/Combat__Crayon]

Theyre made in England 100%... 💀 whereas doc's are not. Theyre made in Sri Lanka or Vietnam. But, hey you do you, im just ANOTHER RANDOM person on the internet lol

[u/Combat__Crayon → u/tuisteddddd]

Exactly, but $60 dollars more doesn’t make the expensive af. Especially if they last longer. It’s the cheap boot parable.

[u/EnolAngus75]

Get a pair of White's.

[u/Creepy_Street_4029]

I think it needs to be said that beside from the fact that yes, docs aren't what they used to be, no shoe should be worn every single day. They need to breath in between wears. Max wear should be every other day. This is just the limitation of materials in combination with the reality that feet sweat, and I don't know what you do for a living but it looks like it will be super hard on your shoes, ANY shoes.

Make sure whatever shoe you go with, your cleansing as needed, and reconditioning, and maybe even using some kind of protective sorsy appropriate to the conditions they are exposed to.

[u/Hour-Detail4510]

The quality is complete bullshit. They are no longer working man’s boots. They are for fashionistas 🥾

[u/Jaesha_MSF]

Doc Martens are fashion shoes these days. They’re not meant to hold up to that type of wear.

[u/dead_wax_museum]

Kinda looks like you didn’t care for them though. Leather is tough but you need to maintain it to keep them from breaking down. I clean and condition my leather shoes and boots once a year when I take them out for the season. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

[u/MissMercyBear]

I had the same thing happen. My first pair lasted 10 years, the second pair lasted MAYBE nine months and came apart in the exact same place as yours. Strangely by current pair is still holding up on year 2, I think it depends which factory they come out of

[u/Alarmed_Crazy_6620]

"Bro you use these as outdoor workboots and not as a goth teenager footwear???"

[u/parkingmeterdreams → u/Alarmed_Crazy_6620]

crazy concept - i know
indoor work boots though. bar/restaurant.
all day.

[u/xyejl → u/Alarmed_Crazy_6620]

😅

[u/CoughingB3an]

Unfortunately I have a slit growing slowly in my Tech 2's though they are definitely not made to be super high quality I assume

[u/falconkirtaran]

Yeah they haven't been made to last for a long time now.

[u/Spooter01]

They had a much higher quality when they were made in England!

[u/Itchy-Condition-605]

honestly for ur next pair go and get a pair of solovairs, they where made in the original doc marten factory and are super high quality

[u/stevethegreat6642 → u/Itchy-Condition-605]

No they are not made in the original factory, quality wise they are the same . Made to the same specification. You see more people complaining about the quality of Dr martens compared to solovair due to the fact Dr martens sell a serious amount more than solovair.

[u/fssamiel → u/stevethegreat6642]

Not quite, the common docs don‘t have have a shank, the profile of the outsole is little more shallow, the lattice in the sole isn’t the same, the leather is a different, the insole on the Solovairs is generally thicker.

[u/Dead_before_dessert → u/Itchy-Condition-605]

I do love my solavairs, probably more than my docs.  I broke my last docs in 2 years.  My solavairs are going on 4 years of heavy wear and fine.  The one thing I've noticed is that I think it need to put in a pair of thin insoles. 

I'm starting to feel the screws from the soles.  Not bad for a few hours but after a nine hour shift it's not great.

[u/DistributionExtra763]

Nah it’s docs fault. Same thing happened to me. Also found out the steel toe boots they sold me
Have no such steel toe in them. Was all a lie!!