Deck Shoes - Sperry Sux

I have been a loyal customer of Sperry for years and bought their shoes before they were trendy. I liked that they didn't mark decks and you could slip em off and on without the fussing of Blundstones. The latest pair I bought were the most expensive ones, the ones that come in a snazzy, useless cloth bag. They are crap! The company support is also crap. The soles began to fall off about a month after I bought them, I took them back and it was nearly 2 months before a rep saw them and he glued the soles back on! Now, months later, the soles are falling off again - go figure the glue didn't work. If the rep had been more receptive I probably would still be blissfully happy and might even buy them again, but never again.

Anyway, save yourself some bucks and don't bother with these shoes, they may have been good once but those days are gone. Just another low quality crappy product, probably outsourced to China.

Rant Switch............OFF

It was hard to keep a straight face when the Coasties paid me a visit, but did not want to walk on my decks in their black combat boots.
I have an older pair of Sperry's seem to work fine. Best traction so far was a pair of sea boots from Gill.

Like any shoes, most of them are rubbish nowadays. My favorite brand is Clarks, the only affordable good quality ones I found that last more than few weeks for me.

L.

Skechers Go Walks have 5 pairs and most others on the marina also wear them under $100

You know that Sperry was bought out ten years ago by Payless right?

I wear Quoddy's. Very high quality. Quoddy does not put brand symbols on the outside of the shoe like most manufacturers do. I don't like being a walking advertisement.

Could be just Xsbank`s feet?

Lou_tribal said:

Like any shoes, most of them are rubbish nowadays. My favorite brand is Clarks, the only affordable good quality ones I found that last more than few weeks for me.

L.

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Have you tried Ecco? If you like Clarks, you'll love Ecco. I have both and both are great but I prefer the Ecco.

Lou_tribal said:

Like any shoes, most of them are rubbish nowadays. My favorite brand is Clarks, the only affordable good quality ones I found that last more than few weeks for me.

L.

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I picked up a pair of Clarks last time I was in Canada. Half price at the Hudsons Bay store.

Great shoe!

Clarks customer support is top shelf also.

jsc7 said:

You know that Sperry was bought out ten years ago by Payless right?

I wear Quoddy's. Very high quality. Quoddy does not put brand symbols on the outside of the shoe like most manufacturers do. I don't like being a walking advertisement.

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Actually Sperry is owned by Wolverine since 2012.

Wearing a pair now, no issues, although the insert doesn't hold up well, creature of habit I guess, where do you get Clarks?

Marlinmike said:

Wearing a pair now, no issues, although the insert doesn't hold up well, creature of habit I guess, where do you get Clarks?

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A lot of local stores are selling Clarks, I even found a air at Costco one day.
But you can also find them online: Clarks Online

L.

I have Clark's dress shoes. ANd I will agree!!! Great shoes!!! I did not know they made a deck shoe or similar.

Sperry changed its sole material about 10 or so years ago. The replacement "rubber" sole material hardens quite fast so that deck shoes with perfectly good tops become slippery. Do not ask how I know!!

I also have a pair of Timberland that are very comfortable to wear on the deck, and very well made, I like them too.

L

Marlinmike said:

Wearing a pair now, no issues, although the insert doesn't hold up well, creature of habit I guess, where do you get Clarks?

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A quick web search shows Amazon will get you whatever you want. Zappos has them as well. I would recommend Zappos(although I want to say it is owned my amazon now) because shipping is always free and return shipping is free as well....in case your shoes don't fit. Any woman knows who/what Zappos is...

http://www.zappos.com/clarks-men-bo...4gIEAQsYAg.zso?s=goliveRecentSalesStyle/desc/

Edit: I just searched and Zappos is indeed owned by amazon. Zappos mades it name with free shipping and free return shipping. Now that they are owned my Amazon, I do not know if that is the case anymore....since it would be advantaged over Amazon.

I never experienced Sperry Topsiders coming apart. I wore out many pairs of Sperry's back when they had the best boat shoes.
I switched to shoes like New Balance and Skechers because they offer better arch support, insole construction and all round comfort. Non-marking soles are available in most models. I'm looking forward to trying out memory foam insoles on my next pair.

I see another brand called "Dunham" who I found on Zappos. They are not cheap but all reviewers regarded them very highly.

Font forget Crocs.

I've always had a problem looking for boat shoes, getting different style Sperry's for years. My problem stems from requiring an 8.5 WIDE size, tough to find. Last year I bought a pair of Bass shoes from a local shoe retailer, who's now going out of business. Now my "boat shoes" are cheap, light-weight joggers that I buy at WalMart, Target, or K Marts. My only criteria is... light, comfortable, 8.5W, and, most important, the SOLES BE STICKY-SOFT. My latest pair squeak on fiberglass and wood floors, and are super sticky. Cost... $24.99.

My experience with Crocs is they are comfortable and gription is pretty good when new. After some wear they get slick as goose droppings on a treated wood dock. Don't ask me how I know but it is a "tail" I lived to tell about.

Oh yeah! Try walking into a suitable store and buying 13 D! I've been wearing nothing (talking shoes here) but Sperry traditional, original Topsiders for about 20 years. Even though I can never buy 'em in a bricks-and-mortar store, and never on sale. And you know they're good: made in Red China like everything else.

I've worn Topsiders for years and actually am wearing a pair now. I have moved to some with better support than the traditional versions of my youth however.

I am always open to new styles however and am enjoying this thread. Of course, I don't need new shoes. My shoes, like my clothes, seem to last forever. The Sperrys that I am wearing now are 10-15 years old.

DHeckrotte said:

Oh yeah! Try walking into a suitable store and buying 13 D!.

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Two years ago my youngest son required a size 14. After visiting most of the shoe stores in town we found a small but acceptable selection. Last month we found online to be our only choice as he now wears size 16. We send him off to clown college in two years.

CPseudonym said:

We send him off to clown college in two years.

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:lol: That got a big chuckle out of me.

I have a pair of Sperry topsider Gold Cups. Quite a bit more comfortable and appear to be better made than their regular topsiders. They are primarily NOT for the boat.

When on the boat, I'm partial to Keens. In the summer I have their sandals. In the other 11.5 months of the Portland year, I wear my Keen slip-on work shoes. They are heavy waterproof leather, non-slip, and don't mark.

We discovered Keen about a year ago and have been very happy with their shoes, boots and sandals. Stopping into the home store in Portland and being able to try on everything they made was a high point of our trip this Spring.

Acheron2010 said:

It was hard to keep a straight face when the Coasties paid me a visit, but did not want to walk on my decks in their black combat boots.

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Boy, you are fortunate! I have beautiful spotless decks and that didn't prevent the Coasties from tromping on them with their black tar boots. I still have a small mark on my Trex gunwales from a boarding about two years ago!

No shoes on my decks--bare feet only!

ITS NOT MY FEET!

Gold Cups are the shoe I was on about.

I loved my Crocs until I tried walking on my wet aluminum decks - anyone remember how Wayne Gretzky skates? Not like me and my Crocs! Think recent Sidney Crosby.

Combat boots on my decks are not a problem, in fact I recommend them. It's just that I actually have a few friends and they have "real" decks.

Xsbank said:

Gold Cups are the shoe I was on about.

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I have a pair of the gold cups as well.

They are nice and soft. The problem is that they look like slippers.

So I went back to the "regular" topsiders, and wear them almost every day, and have for many years.

Crocs are death shoes in the wet, I would never wear them on a boat.
Even on land a hint of rain, a wet footpath or a sign in a shopping centre saying caution, wet tiles and they come off and I am back to my predominant footwear of the past decade - bare feet.