Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Gear I Use: Welcome to the Horror of Kate's Feet

Okay, it's that season of the year when shoes become really really important. These are my North Face Gore Tex XCR's from last season. At about $110, they are a bit pricey, but well worth the dough!

Now, a caveat here: I am really freakin' hard on shoes. They have that new shoe feeling for me for about a month, and then most shoes are all compacted, broken down and just useless to me. I am also really REALLY picky about fit and comfort because I have chronic frost bite on both my big toes, whose toenails are always on the verge of coming off... so I'm hard to please.

And I have to say that TNF did it. They made my feet happy for almost 6 months before they started breaking down. These suckers are almost still goin' strong a full year and a half later! I think they have about 600 miles on them at this point, and the sole is finally coming off the last. I can also feel rocks through the compacted foot bed. BUT! They are STILL stable! Yes, indeed, they have softened quite a bit, but out of the hundreds of pairs of shoes I have run into an early grave, this sucker could take a re-soleing and probably last the summer.

They are a bit heavier than most would think they want (just over 1 lb), but again, I've worn lots of them, and heavier seems to equal bomber in this case. When they are dead, I am going to replace them with another pair by TNF, you can count on that!!

Now, let's test their customer service: I'm sending them in to see if they will fix the sole. Stay tuned!

***Update***
If you want to know about other gear I use, it is always posted in the sidebar under Gear! Or, just click here. More gear reviews and updates soon!

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