I have just noticed that there is a hole in my boots.
To test the hypothesis that modern materials science and manufacturing techniques had rendered obsolete Sam Vimes’ famous saying about boots, last autumn I bought the cheapest winter boots available at Walmart.
They are not fashionable, well-fitting, or particularly warm, but they looked indestructible and waterproof — made of seemingly tough material with good think soles. The soles probably are indeed indestructible, but just at the heel where they meet the other part of the boot, some kind of design flaw has resulted in a hole in exactly the same spot on each boot after only one winter of light use.
I will patch them and see if the repair holds next year.
I have a pair of army boots from 1982. They were brand new when i started wearing them in 2019. I retired them this year only because i would like to keep them in good condition for nostalgic reasons. I’m fairly certain they could last another year. I replaced them with some Thursday boots. While i believe they will hold up as many years as the old military boots they are very stinky. Whatever Thursday does to their leather it reeks for months. Do not recommend them because of the toxic smell. They are comfortable though.
Picture is from July 2022.
After this i started taking them to a cobbler to polish as the military shin was cracking the leather.