Customer Reviews

H.S. Trask Men's Electric City Oxford,Black,10 W

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The company was started by Harrison Trask who had previously worked for one of the large athletic footwear companies. Using bison and elk leathers and US manufacturing the company carved a niche in the footwear market during the prime period of business casual. Although the company office was located in Bozeman, Montana, manufacturing was sourced among several small US based factories. In the early days, the majority of the footwear was made by a small factory in Skowhegan, Maine, MacDonald Footwear. The other two suppliers were Ansewn Footwear in Bangor, Maine and Addison (a division of Munro) in Arkansas. Due to the rapid growth of the company, Trask started having shoes made in the US and Brazil to keep up with demand. Before the company sold out to Phoenix Footwear several years ago, all manufacturing had moved to Brazil. Sadly, the loss of the Trask business had such an impact on MacDonald Footwear that they never recovered and eventually closed. Ansewn moved production off-shore, but many of their designs were picked up by Highland, a very small company in Brewer, Maine that makes high end footwear. Fortunately, Addison is still around and makes shoes for Neil M. footwear. Since Phoenix Footwear is a brand conglomerate, it's likely the main driver to production is where the footwear can be produced the cheapest, hence the Chinese manufacturing. This calls into question if the shoes and the brand are worth the price since there is nothing unique about them any longer. Unless you can get them at a sizeable mark down, you might as well buy any lesser priced Chinese made shoe or boot as there is no reason to pay top dollar for the Trask name any longer. Too bad.

Why do I want to pay 185.00 for a pair of shoes made in China? I've been a Trask customer for years and only after purchasing these shoes did I discover that they are no longer made in the US, in Montana or anywhere else. But, they fail to disclose that little fact. Trask has not responded to the email I sent asking specific questions about the origin of manufacture of their products.

The description on Amazon's site says to order a size smaller than you usually wear since the style runs big. I usually wear an 11 and have high arches and I ordered an 11. I couldn't even get the shoes on my feet. If you have even moderately high arches, don't even think about ordering these shoes. They won't fit.

I wear Allen Edmonds, Ecco, Johnston Murphy etc., various brands of shoes. These are very well made, light weight, comfortable. I am more than pleased. Don't understand the other one-star rating, oh well I am very happy with this purchase, got the black and may get the brown. This is more of a business casual or casual shoe, not a dress shoe really.

Although I was initially disappointed that these shoes are now made in China rather than the USA, I must say that I have yet to be disappointed with these shoes. Be sure to measure your foot's length and width before purchasing, also keep in mind that some are suede and others are leather. $80 for a great pair of shoes is certainly a worthwhile investment. I would buy them again in a heartbeat.