2013 Merrel "World Travelers"...
Bought new in 2013, two pair, $200.00.
First pair resoled with Vibram soles one year in for $60.00. Polished bi-monthly (30-40 minutes buffing) and buffed for 2 minutes daily in between. Minor repairs at 5 years in.
Second pair pictured below after 30 minutes with polish and buffing cloth after one year of wear, not quite ready for a resole. The Vibram soles are in the box (another$50.00 & probly $10-20.00 labor), with the previous pair, still in wearable condition as backup.
I expect to get about four-five more years on this pair, so at least 2023. Possibly a couple of years more than that.
The laces are hand-waxed, about $7.00 for two pair, and I get about a year out of a pair, maybe 18 months. I have three pairs on standby and just installed these.
Rough math:
$200.00 shoes
$100.00 soles
$80.00 labor over 12 years
$14.00 shoe laces
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$394.00 plus about 300 hours polishing & buffing.
How many pairs of running shoes do people usually go through in ten years, I wonder. I bet it's around twenty at $100.00 + per pair...
$2000.00 maybe, not counting landfill costs?
10/10
