Dr Martens...still good?

[AmericaOverland]

Sorry, I initially posted about the wrong topic here, but I will say that the Dr. Marten's boots appear to SUCK on some of their models. they had some that were thin, thin, thin leathered! I wouldn't think these models would last a year! And no good for me, as they are wide as hell! I tried them out at the mall. I was supremely disappointed, as I like the look of them under the jeans.

 

[Storz]

I've now had mine for a couple weeks and am quite pleased with them. They broke in quickly, are super comfortable and fit my feet great. I'll keep updating this thread as they wear in.

 

[MattScott]

There are actually still some being made in England, they´re part of a heritage collection or something of the sort.

 

[Steve F]

I have two pairs of English made boots, one pair are a 30 year anniversary pair and are now 20 years old and still going strong (you can get 50th anniversary boots now). The other pair is about 15 years old and going fine as well. The soles are looking a bit slick but it looks like they'll stay together forever and will simply just wear out on the sole eventually.

Cheers
Steve

 

[GV Black]

I wore DMs throughout college (early 90s) and loved everything about them: fit, durability, customer service. After having one eaten by a roommate's dog, I contacted the company on a whim and amazingly enough, they sent a new pair. Today, they're completely different. The last pair I owned, the soles delaminated. The new 'customer service' blew me off. I now only wear Blundstones. When I found out they were sending the manufacturing over to Asia, I bought 6 pairs and am hopefully set for a few years.

 

[4xdog]

x2 on the Rossi boots. They fit me better than Blunnies, are still Australian-made, and wear like absolute iron.

There's a pair of Doc's around here somewhere, but to tell the truth I couldn't say where...

 

[alosix]

I've worn Doc Martens my whole life, and I bought my last pair a few years ago. I'm done with them--they've gone downhill, quality-wise. They used to take a few months of hard wear to break in, now they take a few weeks of hard wear to break. I've switched over to Rossi (Australian boots, not unlike Blundstones), and after a year of hard use, I still absolutely love them. Most comfy pair of boots I've ever owned, and durable as hell. Only problem is, with the elastic ankles, they are lacking a bit in ankle support. Small issue compared to their durability.

I have a few pairs now. My older 8 eyes are still in really good shape and are holding up well. Also have a pair of brown 5 and black 5 eyes. The black 5 eyes are the most recent after completely destroying my older set of them.

The quality definitely has gone downhill, and its pretty easy to see why. The 2 pairs of martins that are still in good shape have 'Made in England' stamped in the sole. The new ones don't... and guess where they are made..

 

[alosix]

There are actually still some being made in England, they´re part of a heritage collection or something of the sort.

This is good to know.. I might have to hunt down a few pairs of these.

 

[REDrum]

As others have noted here, something happened to DMs back in the late 90s, quality and life span dropped. I bought my last pair in '97 and never went back. Since then I migrated (back) to Frys for "work boots" and Fluevogs for more daily use, and as I would have worn DM. 'Vogs are a bit funky for some taste, but no more so than DMs were in '84 when I started wearing'm. And 'Vogs are much more comfortable than DMs ever were, are resole-able and have strong satan resistance properties---which is nice...