Birkenstocks wearing out

confusticated

I got my first pair of Birkenstocks there at the start of May. Found them really really comfy and wore them all the time, but had to bring them back to the shop last week because the heel had completely worn down to the extent that the cork bit of the sole was crumbling. The guy in the shop wasn't too impressed and implied I must've been doing something weird in them (he suggested riding a motorbike) but I really hadn't, I wore them most days but I don't do an inordinate amount of walking or anything. Anyway, he took them and sent them to Birkenstock to see what they'll do about it and I'm to call back in next week.

My question is has anyone else experienced this? A couple of my friends have them and they've always lasted years, I know I do wear out shoes quickly enough but two months seems ridiculous for shoes that are meant to be really good quality!

Pixie001

You only have them since May? I have 2 pairs (have them for over 3 years). I don't wear them everyday, but they get a fair bit of wear during the summer months. I can see why the guy in the shop was surprised, I would consider them really durable sandals. For that to happen to yours in such a short time seems really odd - I definitely wouldn't consider it normal wear and tear!

pow wow

Agreed, mine have lasted years with only minimal wear to the rubbery bit on the sole. Some kind of manufacturing fault perhaps?

Rockery Woman

Have you ever had your gait analysed??? It could be your walking style that caused the sandals to wear out. I was always "hard" on shoes, my mother was constantly getting new soles and heels fitted to my school shoes years ago, and I always had a funny-hoppy walk.

I now wear orthotics in my shoes, they were made-to-measure especially for me after a podiatrist made impressions of my feet in a box of foam, I found they made a huge difference to me. No more fallen arches, hoppy-walk or wearing out all my shoes every 2 months.

Got them 5 years ago and never looked back.

solerina

Have mine over 10 years, wear them quite a bit and there is hardly any visible wear, either you got a dodgy pair or you need gait analysis as suggested above !!

eth0_

solerina wrote: »

Have mine over 10 years, wear them quite a bit and there is hardly any visible wear, either you got a dodgy pair or you need gait analysis as suggested above !!

Would agree with this suggestion. I've had my birkenstocks for 4 years and wear them a LOT during the summer and they are still in perfect condition.

confusticated

Thanks for all the replies! I think it must be a dodgy pair though, my brother has those orthotics too but I never needed them, unless I've started to walk funny in the last couple of years...

I've worn runners like converse every day for months before and not worn them out like I did the sandals, so it seemed really weird to me that they went that fast.

doctor evil

What do folks do when the leather starts to smell a bit funky when wearing them in warm weather? I have shoe sprays and powders but I feel that skin cells and whatnot is building up.