Customer Reviews

Blundstone 500 Footwear Stout Brown Leather Boots UK8.5

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Hey,
I bought a pair of Blundstone 500's last season and I went to put them on and the soles were literally crumbling. Clearly a defect in manufacturing. I went online and contacted Blundstone directly via email and they forwarded my issue to a U.S. rep. The US rep contacted me the next day and asked that I send them back which I did the same day. I am anxious to see how the situation is resolved. My first impression is that Blundstone and their reps take their customers seriously as well as any issues one may have with their product which is why I like to buy from a reputable company who stands by their brand. I'll keep you posted....so far....so good......I am pleased.


Monday, November 16, 2009 Spoke with the Blundstone distributor from Libonati this morning after he emailed me again over the weekend and asked that I call him. He is sending me a pair of replacement boots of which I am extremely delighted. So far, customer service is outstanding, even far better than the store from which I purchased them. The whole experience speaks well of the company. Good Job!

Friday, November 20, 2009....Just opened my front door and found my replacement boots from the Blundstone USA distributor....Tim Engel.....Can't say enough good stuff about the customer service and integrity of these companies. I will be back that is for sure.....Thanks for such a great experience, what a rare thing in this day and age.

I have always liked these boots and used them for years. My last pair finally wore out so it was time to order some new ones. Let me tell you it's unfortunate that Blundstone has decided to move their manufacturing operations to Thailand. From the time you open up the box there's a cheap feeling to the boot. The leather doesn't seem quite right, feels kind of dry. After a few days wearing them you figure out that they don't dye the leather anymore, they paint it on and it starts to chip off when you scuff it or bump it showing a gray leather color underneath. This has been a true disappointment.

Like many others here, my new pair of Blunies are useless because of the deteriorating soles. My local cobbler said he can't help as the rubber used by Blundstone is so soft--he can't resole these perfectly usable and expensive boots. What's going on???

These are terrific boots and well worth the money. No need to break them in, they are comfortable right from the start. My daughter wears these 60 hours a week and if she didn't get them wet all the time they would last longer. She still gets almost a year out of a pair.
Look at the Australian sizing. It's stamped on the bottom of the boot. I wear a wide Women's 7 1/2 US sizing. This is a 4 1/2 AUS. A normal 7 1/2 would fit a 4 AUS. That "1/2" indicates wider width. The Blundstone 550 is same style but cut narrower.

These shoes are crumbling as I write this. I had not wore them for a year and put them on this year. They felt great but my teaching assistant notices chunks of rubber in our classroom. I flipped over my shoes and the sole is crumbling into pieces. Obviously a defect in manufacturing but the company will not stand behind these. Do not bother to buy these, you will be gravely disappointed!

Like several other reviewers, the soles of my Blundstones crumbled. I had only worn them for a total of 6 days! Clearly a defect in materials -- have emailed them twice so far, no response, will post again if I hear back from them.

When Blundstone moved most production to Asia (then Thailand, now Vietnam) I wrote an email to the company to complain. Somebody wrote me back to assure me that quality would remain high and should probably even improve (a snub to the union in Tasmania?). Well, the opposite is true, and with the cheaper labor and lower quality, they should have lowered the price substantially, down to the US$50-60 range. Yet they still expect $150 for a vastly inferior product. I'll keep my old pair for fooling around in the yard, but I just bought a pair of the Timberland Mt. Washington Chelsea (also made in Asia) and the quality seems a lot better. (Someday I'm get some RM Williams after the check comes in.) I've worn the #500 since the early 90's, and if I can find some NOS Tasmanian boots, I'd snatch them up in a heartbeat, but not the current build.

I got these boots the day befor a trip to Belgium that involved a lot of walking. My wife thought I was crazy for bringing them (only). For me, no break-in required. They are rugged, comfortable, stylish, and enable easy passage though the US's ridiculous Airport security.

The best advice I found was the rewiew that suggested ordering via the earopean sizing. I am a 42 which usually translates to about an 8 3/4 in standard US sizing. I got a 42 which is labeled as 8. Had I ordered my normal US 9 they would have been too big.

I've been using 500 and 510 within the last decade - very strong and soft leather; perfect for walking in a jungle. Just purchased the 500 again; very hard to wear, rugged and after 2 months of wearing the leather color begins to fade out in individual places- you begin to see the actual color of the leather, not the color of the shoe you purchased. I am disappointed.

This is the second pair of Blundstones I got. I thought it was a fluke the first time the soles started to fall apart after 5 months because the rest of the boot seems excellent quality and comfortable. This second pair's soles have deteriorated after only one week! Very disappointed in what could have been an excellent boot--this clearly has to be a design flaw they haven't yet addressed since it seems I'm not the only one with this problem...