After buying a $70 pair of Vans at famous footwear and having them literally fall apart after using them as daily walking shoes, I’ve realized the quality of shoes overall has gone down over the last decade or so.

I don’t mind if they cost $100 or more, are there medium-light weight walking shoes that can withstand the horrors of walking on pavement? I remember checking out some Ecco shoes at the mall years ago, didn’t pull the trigger as they were almost $300 but the way the construction was described to me it sounds like those could last 5+ years.

What shoes do you have that you wear almost daily (not during the winter), and have had for almost a year but aren’t falling apart?

  • I lost about 300lbs over a couple of years with walking being my primary form of exercise. I started with a couch to 10k program and for most of the time I was losing weight I was walking about 8 miles a day on sidewalks and paved walking paths. I had been wearing sketchers walking shoes for a while and they are very comfortable and good for light walking but would only last about 3 months while I was morbidly obese and walking that much. I went to a walking store and asked for recommendations and left with a pair of Saucony that I wore daily for almost a year. I’ve stuck with Saucony and since I weigh a lot less and have switched to an exercise bike for my primary cardio exercise my current pair is about 2 years old and still going strong. They have a much stiffer sole than the sketchers, new balance, or Nike that I have had in the past. I do still use Sketchers for hiking boots.