14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Don't Know Of A Better Boot, May 23, 2009
This review is from: ECCO Men's Track II Mid Gore-Tex Boot (Apparel)
In these boots, I feel like I can walk three times as far, in half the time. I don't know what the exact increase is, but I can walk noticeably further in these over any other hiker or shoe I've compared them to. They seem to delay the onset of fatigue.
Not only that, but I swear my footing is better as well. On those now rarer occasions when I do lose my footing, I honestly feel as if I have better control through the incident. I suspect that the combination of the tread pattern and the very soft material on the sole are the main reason why the handling of these boots seem so much better than others.
A lot of reviews complain about rapid sole wear. It's well known softer tires wear down fast, but have superior grip. It's the same thing here. They have a very soft grippy material most shoes don't have. If you're primarily walking on concrete, you should seriously consider that.
When I got my first pair, I worked in a corporate environment where my day was running around the different carpeted floors of the building. I also drove to that job. At that time, I was also seriously trail hiking(10+ mile hikes twice a week or more when I could do it) and doing some backpacking. I hiked all around northern california trails. The wear at that time seemed very slow.
When I started wearing them in a job that involved me walking between 8 different buildings over concrete throughout the day, every day, as well as doing 8 block walks between agencies in the city on an every other day basis, the soles disintegrated. I also wasn't hiking at all during this time. It seemed about the same amount of walking, but what I was walking on chewed them up.
As these are not marketed as daily wear shoes for urban/suburban life, I don't think it's reasonable to fault them for that "limitation". That's like buying a 4WD offroad vehicle and then complaining about how fast the knobbies wear down when you use it for commuting on the road. For that reason, I didn't even consider that when I gave my 5 star rating. Had I, I would have made it a 4 star instead, because the comfort and handling of these boots override other considerations for me. They are THAT good.
I just recently picked up my second pair of these. My first pair wasn't made in china, these are. There was a touch of tightness around the balls of my feet the first pair didn't have(12 years earlier and 45 lbs lighter), but no pain or ciriculation restriction. The tightness faded with hours of walking. Other than that, they feel EXACTLY the same as before, with the same great toe space area that no other boot gets right for me.
As for the quality of the new boot, time will tell. I got 7 years of good service out of my last pair. They appear to be just as high quality as before. In fact, they actually improved the design in one important(for me) way... The top four lacing hooks on my last pair all used to be "open" so that you would wrap the lace around it, rather than running a lace through something. I would often miss the bottom hooks when tying these in a hurry. Now the bottoms have been closed off so that they are laced through, and I like that layout A LOT better.
The last few years, I didn't have a pair of eccos as we had just had our kids and I was in ultra budget mode when it came to stuff for myself. In that time, I developed chronic low back and foot pain. Within 5 minutes of walking around in these(tightness and all) the foot pain was gone. After about a half hour of walking in them, the low back pain was gone.
I had read other reviews on the net where people claimed that, but it sounded dubious till I experienced it myself. If I put on my old shoes, or walk around barefoot on our hard tile floor, the pain comes back, but if I put these boots on, it begins to go away again.
These Eccos have made me realize that the "good deal" shoes I've been buying haven't been doing me any favors. Enduring chronic pain to save 150 bucks is nuts. It's not indulgence or wasting your money when it's a basic quality of life issue like that. Smiles for your kids and everyone else come a lot easier when your back isn't in a knot and your feet don't feel like someone took a bat to the bottom of them. A small price to pay for peace.
These boots are worth every penny.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sole does not last, January 6, 2009
This review is from: ECCO Men's Track II Mid Gore-Tex Boot (Apparel)
This will be my second pair of ECCO Men's Track II High boots. I will start out by saying that they are very comfortable and the uppers are bullet proof. The weak link is the sole. It is an injected/molded design which cannot be replaced (with same design). The outer material wears quickly, exposing the black injected foam. Once this happens, the sole will wear quickly and the boot will have to be re-soled. When I sent mine to Ecco, they charged me $75.00 and replaced the sole with a hard Vibram sole. Completely changed the characteristics of the boot....no longer a "cushy" ride! Contacted Ecco customer support and got noooo response. Opposite of Keen which will do anything to make their customers happy.....disappointing!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I LOVE my eccos, December 23, 2006
This review is from: ECCO Men's Track II Mid Gore-Tex Boot (Apparel)
I am a 5'6" woman courier for FedEx and am on my 4th pair of ecco boots. Women's boots are too flimsy and in and out of a truck 100+ times a day, I need ankle support that women's boots do not provide. Each pair of eccos have lasted 12 months or more! The other day my manager was complaining that he needed a new pair of boots and he proceeded to show me the soles of his 6 month old shoes (mind you he does not put on nearly the mileage, on his boots, that I do) that he'd paid $70 for and the tread was completely gone in places. My boots on the other hand, which I've had over 12 months, show lots of tread left. He balked at the $200 price, but for me these are worth every penny. They are light weight and do not require a break in period. I prefer the Track II High style the other style I did try but returned because they did rub.
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