Keen Quality??

[RusherRacing]

So has anyone else had issues with the quality of Keen shoes and boots?

I bought a set of nice boots 2.5 yrs ago - not sure of the exact style look similar to the summit country's.

I used them for pheasent hunting when it was wet, and as my winter boots when out playing in snow etc. I really liked how they performed (dry, warm etc) so I bought a pair of briggs II for street shoes - work, a little hiking basic everyday shoe. Within 5 months I had holes in the sole. Shoes normally last me ~9months.

I called up Keen and they intern sent me a gift code for a new set. I purchased Targhee II's. I have had them for about 3 months and they are holding up much better as for the wear on the sole but I noticed some of the differnet layers material on the sole is starting to come a part.

Then this weekend when I went to tie my boots one of hte top hooks that you loop the laces around is missing. - Not sure how a part like that isn't properly sewn into the boot. as the leather and threads around that part show no wear/tearing etc.

Has anyone else have issues with Keen Shoes?

I wear my shoes out! but the life expectancy out of these seems to be 1/2 what I used to get out of my northface shoes, and my last pair of boots Merrell - lasted about 9 years. I only retired them because they started to look horrible and leaked a little bit around the soles when fording streams etc.. They had a much rougher life as I lived and worked in the black hills. Some of my jobs I spent the summers hiking up and down the canyons and back country.

I will give them a call and see what they say but I shouldn't have to call. Good quality gear shouldn't need fixing or replacement due to defects.

 

[java]

i had a similar experince with a newer set. had some old ones that lasted me a couple years then the new ones blew up in a couple weeks. one of the seems blew out.

 

[Zatara]

My older ones lasted a long time my latest ones are falling apart after a couple of uses.
My guess is they made their name on quality shoes and boots and are now sacrificing quality for profits.

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

Interesting, I just retired a pair of their sandals after 6 years of constant use.

I have a pair of their Arroyos that are a couple years old but I don't wear them much due to fitment issues...I did notice that some of the parts on the soles were coming apart.

I also have a pair of their cycling shoes that are a little over a year old and no problems, but obviously they don't get worn a lot either.

 

[hurricane harry]

I have had very good luck with Keens, they are bad *** boots. If I could get a year out of any boot I would be happy.:bike_rider:

 

[BIGdaddy]

i have a pair of casual city walkers/light trail keens and they've lasted about 4 years with very little sign of wear. they're like these:

On the other hand, I have a set of keen river walkers with a mostly rubber/neoprene sole, and it continually tries to delaminate itself. like this:

I'd definitely recommend the former. Very comfortable, and well worth the money paid, though as things go, I can't speak to their current level of quality, not having purchased a pair in 2010-2011.

 

[BIGdaddy]

And p.s.: I'm 6'0" 280, and I'm very hard on shoes. I wear my walkers to do everything from working here in the office to rotating tires, and yard work.

Too bad if their quality has diminished. I'd like to believe its just a flubb. Oh, and don't be too hard on them before you give either REI or Keen a chance to respond. Maybe they're simply having an issue with that particular type of shoe. Something as simple as a bad run of threading can ruin a product that is held together by, you guessed it: threading.

haha!!

Definitely report back when you calmly, evenly ) ) talk to REI or Keen about the issues you're having!

 

[RusherRacing]

I am very calm when talking to the them. I was just curious if others have had a run of bad luck with Keen as I have. When I called them on my briggs street shoes they were very helpful. Those shoes just simply did not last like I expected. The tread is gone and there are holes poking through the bottom.

I am willing to pay to have my boots fixed if I need to. They are still in really good shape except for the eyelet/hook thingy. The soles coming loose on my targahes or whatever they are called I am tempted just to grab some shoe glue and fix myself it fairly minor. I just didn't have this kind of issues with some of my other shoes I have had in the past.

I will post up what they say.

 

[NOMADIC_LJ]

I trekked over 280 miles in the harshest areas of the Himalaya about two months ago and this was the only damage done to my Keens. Very tough boots!

 

[IHDiesel73L]

I'm a fan of the river walkers. I wear them when I hike with my dog since he usually ends up in the water and I do too. I actually wore them on our trip to Acadia and did a lot of hiking over all kinds of terrain. They still look brand new.

 

[Lynn]

Ironicaly, I have been wearing a pair of Keen knock-off sandles I got at Walmart for $10 almost constantly for the last year, including water aeorbics in a chlorinated pool, and they're holding up great. First time in the pool the color changed, but, structurally, they're holding up better than most any other shoe I've ever had.

 

[john101477]

Ironicaly, I have been wearing a pair of Keen knock-off sandles I got at Walmart for $10 almost constantly for the last year, including water aeorbics in a chlorinated pool, and they're holding up great. First time in the pool the color changed, but, structurally, they're holding up better than most any other shoe I've ever had.

I bought a pair of cheap sandals from walmart about 6 years ago and wore them in some pretty gnarly conditions and last year they finally started to hurt my feet. still structurally fine

 

[off-roader]

i have a pair of casual city walkers/light trail keens and they've lasted about 4 years with very little sign of wear. they're like these:

I have 2 pairs I like them so much and no issues whatsoever with them.

I have a pair of the targhee(sp?) and again no issues.

My original pair of keens (4 y.o.) have finally been retired. They have begun to wear out as evidenced by the broken stitching on the uppers. No sole issues though.

HTH!

 

[Honu]

bought mine from REI so i can take back if they fall apart !

had one pair out of 3 I own that fell apart quickly so got a new pair and they are holding up well the insoles though are junk ?

my other pair I do not wear much are some hiking models but wanted them for camping and such

I think it seems from others quality has slipped and its hit or miss these days with keens ?

 

[Tacovendor]

FYI, I'm a fan of Keen shoes/boots and have had the same delamination of the black part of the boot. no big deal, when you factor how comfortable they are. Soooo, I contacted them and gave them a link to this thread and they are reading it and they will take this as feedback to improve any QC problems that thet might have missed.