Those who wear their CLs outdoors - how often do you get new heel tips?

Bitstuff

Bitstuff

O.G.
Mar 23, 2007
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0
#1
Seeing as the most popular CLs have teensy heel tips which wear out pretty fast due to their size, how often do you need to get yours changed?

I see mine wearing out after a few good wears, like going to work and back a few times, 4 miles there and back, plus a few times going out. All in all, I can't get more than a maximum of two weeks out of a pair before I need to go back to the cobbler. I've started wearing hard-wearing boots and sneakers to work in order to avoid the cobbler man!

It all adds up, I wonder how much we spend simply on maintenance during the lifetime of a shoe? :thinking:
 
#2
4 miles is quite a haul to work in CLs!! Maybe wear sneakers or boots there and then change when you get to work? Your heel tips would last a LOT longer then!
 
#4
I wouldn't walk that far. I guess mostly because I wouldn't want to beat my shoes up. I wear boots or flats to work and then change. I used to not change when I went out for lunch, but now I don't even care (unless I have a meeting).
 
#5
I think it depends on how you walk. I know some people who tend to rely on one foot etc and you can see that one shoe is more used than the other.
I'm pretty light on my feet and even when i'm wearing flat bottom shoes i don't tend to scratch the ground.
I guess my point is, try it for a couple of times and see how much damage you do and then decide. Also if you have enough shoes to change on a daily basis it's not that bad..

I'm in NYC and i walk in my CLs no problem :smile:
 
#6
wow bitstuff!!!you walk 4 miles to work???? i wont even drive in my cl's hahah--- i wear flats in the car and then change them out. I noticed i was having to change the right heel tip more frequenting and was just rougher overall on my right foot from stepping on pedal brake etc... all that rubbing of the heel in the car.
 
#7
thats impressive...i dont know whether i'd be able to stay on my CL padded feet for 4 miles. Long gone are the days where I used to wear heels everyday, all day, whatever the weather - best memory, skidding on ice in 3 inch stiletto boots, didn't fall mind so I didn't learn my lesson.. :rolleyes:
 
#8
I actually walk 2 miles there and 2 miles back. 4 miles would be like an hour - there's no way I'd bother to walk that far to work. But I can easily walk many miles in my Simples. Others just aren't as broken in.

I'm 5"9' and about 130 pounds so I'm pretty hard on the heels. I used to walk on the outside of my foot, but have consciously started rolling the weight over the centre as much as I can. I think it's better for the good ole feet and shoes both. I love love love my sneakers but they're no CLs.

I've seen girls with their heels bent inwards and I can't understand how they don't fall over!
 
#9
I'm with you bitstuff. I walk a mile almost every day, if not more, just to get to and from subway, and I hate carrying my shoes with me.
It's really weird, but I find that the shoes with the lighter colored heel tips last a little longer than the black ones. The ones that come with the shoes are gone in two or three good wears, but the ones that the cobbler replaces them with seem to go a bit longer. I try to do it every 3-4 months, but I try not wearing the same shoe more than once a week to once every two weeks (they're not all CLs!)
 
#10
I wear most of my CLs outdoors, but never for too long. I don't actually walk/run continuously in them, just sometimes get up and walk every few minutes and I can last an entire day in them doing shopping.

As for how long I wear out the heels, well I only started collecting in September, but none of my shoes need any heel-tip repair yet. They're all pretty good. 90% or more of the heel is still intact.

If you're changing your heel-tips every 2 weeks, maybe either you're doing too much walking or the way you walk can be adjusted. I used to drag my feet a lot as a kid with my runners, but since I started wearing heels in my early teens, I've learned to lift my feet as to not wear out the tips.
 
#11
Seems to depend on how you walk in them. My Simple 85s, I really have to walk more on the balls of my feet due to the higher (for me) heel, but with my 70s, I tend to walk more "normally" (ie, my weight's shifted farther back and not just on the balls of my feet). I notice that there's already some wear on the heel tips of the 70s but the 85s look like new.

Thanks for making this thread though... I probably wouldn't have really looked at the heel tips, and now even though it's easier for me to walk more traditionally in my 70s, I'll focus more on the balls of my feet so I don't wear the heel tips so much.
 
#12
I've also noticed that the tips that come with the shoes are softer, and tend to wear out very quick...

I remember the first time I wore my leopard ponyhair decolletes 315 I went to South Beach, I walked a few blocks, and the tips were almost gone!! Now the ones used by the cobbler last a very long time. Same thing happened with my Mody Blues, I almost damaged the heel because I didn't notice the tips were almost gone :Push:

Forgot to add, I change them around every 4 months, but I try to wear a different pair of shoes everyday...so I guess that helps!
 
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