Keen Quality??

[RusherRacing]

Thats good to here the quality is improving.
With the warrenty money I recieved from my old pairs. I just ordered Pyrenees (looks a little more stout) and a pair of womens targhee's for my wife.

I think its awesome that the company stands up and admitted they had a problem! In this economy many companies are trying to cut costs and issues do pop up. A good company stands up and does what it takes to correct the situation.

 

[Christophe Noel]

I think its awesome that the company stands up and admitted they had a problem! In this economy many companies are trying to cut costs and issues do pop up. A good company stands up and does what it takes to correct the situation.

To be fair, they didn't exactly cop to this right away. I was on the phone with one of their QC managers and he was telling me how shocked he was we were experiencing quality issues. This was exactly ten days after they had sent four complete shipping containers of product back to China because they were so poorly made. This at a time when droves of dealers like us were sending back shoes by the dozen. They finally admitted they not only had a problem, they handled the problem poorly. So, now they are finally pretty up front with their QC situation. They've also completely redesigned their sales culture. They're now more conservative with their statements about which product is best suited for what.

 

[NorCalLC]

Good info Flounder, thanks for the insight. What I've never been able to figure out is why companies like REI or most others for that matter, don't carry numerous styles by the same company. I mean, you might be able to find 3 choices of keen high top hikers when they (keen) actually make 7 or 8 (just a figure i threw out)

It would be nice to have a few other choices from said company. Is this a marketing reason or lack of space. Since I'm asking questions, what's the best bang for the buck right now? Let's say $150 and under? Is there really anything that will hold up more than a year or two for that money?

 

[Christophe Noel]

Since I'm asking questions, what's the best bang for the buck right now? Let's say $150 and under? Is there really anything that will hold up more than a year or two for that money?

Since many footwear manufacturers make as many as 75 models, it's pretty normal for some to be a big part of their sales and a few just serve to fill their catalog pages.

As for the best bang for the buck, that is obviously influenced by fit. Fit comes first. That said, our number one shoe for reliability is the Salomon Discovery, formerly the Mission. At $130 you get GTX, a Contagrip outsole, and we've not had a single pair come back and I bet we've sold well over 400 of them. The Oboz Yellowstone II ($145) and Wind River ($165) have been super solid and we've never had any returns there, either. One of our ExPo customers recently switched from Keens to Wind Rivers, and loves them so much he bought two pairs. We carry boots and shoes from 35 brands, but those stand out as good values. I'm also a huge fan of the Kayland Zenith, but it's a tad over that $150 mark. The La Sportiva Thunder II is also a tad over that mark, and it's a great value as well.

 

[NorCalLC]

Wow, thanks for the quick response Flounder. I need to make a trip to your store for much better choices. That's what I want, a better variety.