Re: MBT- Wow - Re: The Exercise Portion of the Incurables Program

Hi elf,

I’ve had my first pair longer than I’ve had any tennis shoes last me so far, I would have already had to replace a pair of normal tennis shoes by now because I really am kind of hard on them.  I actually have three pairs because I’m in construction, well not actually doing the building myself but I’m always on jobsites checking on things so I go where most people don’t ha ha.  Anyway the first pair I bought were suede and from walking into muddy dirty places it was hard to keep them clean so last year I bought a pair of leather ones to wear when I’m not working and now wear the suede ones for work.

The friend who told me about them bought the hiking boots when MBT first started the company and if I’m not mistaken that’s been about 15 years ago or maybe more, I’m sure the website says somewhere.  Anyway the reason I remember when they first came out was I saw a story done on them on TV and I remember thinking yeah right, like who is gonna pay $350.00 for a pair of tennis shoes LOL.  That’s what they cost when they first came out and I just couldn’t justify spending that much on tennis shoes.  Now the new models are down to about $250.00.

I met my friend that hikes about 5 years ago and she had been telling me about these shoes, and I saw her wear them all the time.  Well when I bought my sandals a little over a year ago she asked me if I would order her another pair of the hiking boots.  Hers were finally wearing out but I have to say that she hikes on a regular basis, at least 5 times a week and travels all over the world hiking so those shoes had served her very well.  She hikes up mountains on rough terrain so she really put them to the test.  Like I said I can’t remember exactly how long the company has been in business but she’d had her shoes from when they first came out.  I’m sure the store by you could tell you how long they’ve been in business.

I don’t have a store anywhere near me that sells them so I had to order online but the thing is online they sell the discontinued models anywhere from $99.00 to $169.00, I got my friends hiking boots for $179.00 when the retail was somewhere in the neighborhood of $300.00.  I just looked and see that they have completely discontinued the boots and they are now $109.00.  So you can buy them cheaper online if that makes a difference to you.  The good thing about having a store is that you can feel what they are like before buying them.  It will take some time to get used to wearing them and please for your own good don’t do what I did and wear them all day the first time LOL.  Once you get used to them there is nothing like those shoes and you’ll love them.

So I guess to answer your question after that long story, sorry about that ha ha.  The MBT shoes hold up longer than any shoe I’ve ever heard of, and I saw my friends original pair of boots and they weren’t falling apart but the soles were worn down but after 15 years I would expect that!  The soles did not appear to be misshapen just worn down from 15 years of walking in them.  My friends never got to the point where she couldn’t walk on them but I’d say that you would be able to tell when its time to get new ones.  On the DVD that comes with them they show you how to walk because if you don’t walk correctly on them, like if you were to lean your feet in or out the soles will wear out faster and they can be repaired but I don’t know how long that would take or how much it would cost to get them resoled, that’s why they stress so much about walking correctly in them.  I know it sounds like I’m saying you have to learn how to walk all over again but its not really that bad and once you do you’ll never look back.

I walked on average between 4 to 6 miles a day in my first pair and that was above and beyond the normal everyday walking we do in life and I have to this day NO hint of wear in the soles, they last longer than any shoe on the market I’d say, of course I’ve not owned every brand I can only say from my experience with other brands and my friends pair lasting 15 years or so.

The only shoes without heals I wear are tennis shoes, when I’m not wearing tennis shoes I wear very high heals and don’t have a problem walking in them but I will never be able to wear another brand of tennis shoes again after the MBT’s because it really does feel like you’re wearing planks of wood on your feet in regular tennis shoes.  I don’t wear flat shoes like dress shoes so I don’t know how that would feel but if I had to guess I’d say it would feel like planks of wood on your feet.  I have absolutely no problem walking barefoot, in fact I hadn’t walked barefoot for years until Uny told me I needed to feel the earth on my feet on a daily basis and I’ll have to say it feels wonderful.

If you do end up buying a pair please don’t make the mistake I made, get used to wearing them little by little and please let us know how you like them.  Can’t wait to hear.

Willow