one word: Danner . Best boots I have ever owned (finally retired).
"13,500km's On the Boots
"After averaging 10 Km per day (I wore a pedometer for a few weeks), 270 working days per year, and 5 years later..."
I just wanted to drop you folks at Danner a line and let you know what one of your pairs of boots has been up to the last few years. I work in a garden center/wholesale plant nursery. I have worn my Danner Light II boots since I bought them in 1991. I have worn these boots at work everyday, over sand, snow, ice, slush, mud, muck, gravel, pavement, roofs, rocks, grass, sawdust, shale, concrete, bricks, creeks, rivers, swamps, even over hot asphalt while paving a parking lot with an average of 10 Kilometers a day. After averaging 10 Km per day (I wore a pedometer for a few weeks), 270 working days per year, 5 years later, I figure there are about 13,500 Km’s on these boots not counting my camping, hiking and fishing trips (most weekends). My Danners have been resoled once, re-laced maybe three times and a five minute cleaning with boot dressing every two or three weeks they have required no other maintenance. Everyone I work with has been through many pairs of “work” boots, wet feet, blisters and worse, while I have enjoyed dry, comfortable feet. I can’t say thank you enough to the excellent craftsman at Danner. Keep up the great work and maybe I will need a new pair someday.
Paul Buikema"
web link:
http://www.danner.com/contact_customer_testimonials.asp?id=28