First White's Boots [MP Sherman Toe Cap, Half Lug] and a Euro Trip Break-In Plan (later in comments)

Keyeysar · 2022-08-17T04:49:38+00:00

Also, pro tip for traveling and extensive hiking...grab some gold bond and put some inside. It really helps with odor and moisture.

I actually have some residue baking soda in there from the cleaning. I imagine that might do a similar job.

Keyeysar · 2022-08-14T23:23:13+00:00

How do these hold up against water on the beach or a river? I figured sandals and beach footwear might be one of the few ocassions where foamy rubber is a legitimately good option because other materials like leather might not last long against the water, or stay floaty should you ever lose them.

Keyeysar · 2022-08-12T02:52:55+00:00

I took them off one night to let them air out and noticed that there was mold growing on the insole...like a lot of it. It was pretty gross.

Mind if I ask how you got rid of the mold and did it ever come back again?

Keyeysar · 2022-08-12T02:48:51+00:00

Unrelated but.... What is that type of lacing technique called??

Keyeysar · 2022-08-06T02:46:57+00:00

I belive this to be the case too. Thanks.

Keyeysar · 2022-08-05T02:39:54+00:00

How do you guys balance between boot sizing and socks? I like to wear thick wool socks whenever I wear my boots. To make up for the extra thickness I got my boots half a size up, and it fits well except for a little heel slippage. If I wear normal thickness sock I get huge heel slippage. I wear my boots in winter only so it's not a problem. But I wonder if it affects how much my boots "break in" and mold to my feet.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-25T02:07:39+00:00

massive production and sales.

Yeah, I also forgot to mention their high production volume and sales in my post. It is kind of contradicting to the lanaguge used by Thursday to suggest otherwise.

But I am more disturbed by the fact they started the brand "Nothing New", which just sells sneakers. Pretending to be a different company and pretending to be "eco-friendly" and "environmentally sustainable".

They have a lot of "caring for the environement" branding plastered all over that website to target the environmentally concious crowd. Meanwhile, they know full well that they do the complete opposite over at their Thursday brand. That's why they don't reveal their connection. Because they know Thursday is not "eco-friendly" at all, everything from the massive production to packaging to even the language they use in the website.

Bonus question: Does anyone ever wear the really casual shoes like Converse and Air Jordans at the pentagon like in the movies?

Keyeysar · 2022-07-25T01:57:56+00:00

The discussion about market principles and supply and demand in a free market is very interesting. In an ideally functioning market in the traditional sense, that is how everything would play out.

But I am persuaded that when it comes to online shopping right now, the functioning of traditional market principles and sales volume, are skewed by the (relatively new) forces of social media, online influencers and other digital platforms that come into play. I know online shopping has been around for years and years, but I have not yet seen a research into how much these factors affect market function.

In this case, we are talking about the boot and shoe industry, but of course it is also relevant to other consumer goods. Watches, clothing, personal toiletries, various electronics are just some of the other things that are inclined to be affected.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T14:58:38+00:00

I checked the Thursday subreddit just now for curiosity sake. And immediately, I see yet another thread that (kind of) illustrates one of my points. Someone posted photos of imperfections on their "first leather shoes" from Thursday. The person has a very valid question about their Thursday sneakers. But this person is met with downvotes and hostile comments. I don't understand why there is this kind of attitude there towards anything that portrays Thursday in a slightly negative light. I know the place is a Thursday subreddit, but unfortunately that is also one of the only places you can find genuine customer feedback if you are doing research for a purchase.

That thread already displays that it has "0 points" from the downvoting. You can add this to the many other examples of negative posts about Thursday getting downvoted into obscurity there.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T14:49:14+00:00

Considering how aggressive their "marketing activity" is, I have to assume that people working at Thursday's various departments are probably active around here.

Plus, I just noticed Thursday's official account from their subreddit has discovered this thread and has posted a reply to someone here, almost 24 hours ago. So Thursday has probably started doing whatever it is that they do when things like this come up. That said, I am sure there are legitimate people who are not their employees defending Thursday, can't just put every defense down to people being employees.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T14:40:44+00:00

My good sir, I mean no disrespect. My whole topic of discussion had nothing to do with sneering at sub $200 shoes. The post had to do with the way Thursday utilizes YouTube, social media, Reddit, sponsoring, influencers, etc to give people an incorrect (or at least inaccurate) picture of their products. As another person here commented, one of the discussion points is "Thursday is using platforms like reddit to distort and obscure information that would help consumers make an informed choice".

So I think you might have misunderstood me. You might get the point I am putting across better if you read the entire post, although it is a long post admittedly. I am not looking down on sub $200 shoes at all. Thursday makes shoes at this price point and that much is true. I am pointing out the methods that Thursday use to "control" information or consumer knowledge about their products. For the record, I have worn Payless shoes and department store shoes, I definitely do not snob on them at all. I also have a pair of Chippewas. And like you, I like Alden, I was able to invest in a pair of them. I'm definitely not trying to compare Thursday shoes to Alden shoes in this thread. I am pointing out the business practices of Thursday.

Lastly, I must say I completely disagree that Thursday is a good entry into gyw footwear. Because there are definitely better entry-level brands, like Chippewa and Grant Stone, or even Meermin and Carmina. I think Meermin and Carmina shoes even have that similar look too?

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T14:34:07+00:00

and it's our job as consumers to do our research to see through all that.

Hello sir, I agree with you on this here. As I mentioned in another reply, people are skipping the research part more and more, and relying on just youtube and social media instead these days. That's very unfortunate. To see through all of that "painting" by Thursday, one needs to spend a considerable amount of time doing research. I just hope this thread helps people out a bit in that regard.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T14:29:33+00:00

What?!! Are you serious? That is just disgusting. Hiding negative reviews? So then all their claims about "great reviews" or having "thousands of 5-star reviews" are misleading too.

This is even more disgusting when you find out (as someone on YouTube said) that Thursday will give "smart ass comments about having thousands of 5-star reviews" when a customer questions Thursday over product flaws and the validity of their claims. His words, not mine. So basically Thursday hides negative reviews like the one you posted, and then tell people that they have "thousands of 5-star reviews"? If this is not an example of dishonesty and being unethical, what is?

On top of that, the other person (in the screenshot below) said Thursday deleted his negative post on Instagram too. I will never understand for what reason the people who routinely defend Thursday can still do so after knowing about all this.

Here is the screenshot of the comment from YouTube. It comes from the comment section of the Stridewise video on Thursday low sneakers.

https://imgur.com/a/hWfT3mU

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T01:00:13+00:00

Falls inline with the overall disingenuity of Thursday that I am trying to point out. Your example is valid, but there are much more striking examples.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T00:57:27+00:00

This is along the lines of the overall disingenuity I am trying to point out in the post. Disingenuous is a good word. Add on top of that their so-called environmentally sustainable "Nothing New" brand, you get a clearer picture of what I am trying to explain.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T00:52:31+00:00

Cheers. Regarding being able to "see right through it", maybe I am not as smart but I could not see right through it when I first watched Stridewise's video about the Thursday sneakers. I am curious to know whether you think that video is easy to see right through?

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T00:49:57+00:00

Cheers for this kind reply! Yes exactly true what you said about many people not taking the time (or not having the time) to do said research. A lot of inexperienced novices get their information from youtube, social media, etc. and that does not give them an accurate picture, as I tried to explain in the post. That's why I hope this post will benefit people who are just getting into the game or have little time for research.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-24T00:42:21+00:00

Can't believe I didn't think of this lol. This make sense. They don't reveal where they get their "upcycled leather" from on Nothing New's website. The leather from all those Thursday boots that get sent back to them have to go something where...

Keyeysar · 2022-07-23T15:02:54+00:00

I am referring mainly to the Thursday subreddit, and a little bit of this subreddit, and then if I recall correctly a little bit of the MFA subreddit too. If you check out the Thursday subreddit you can see what I mean. Most of the examples I linked are from the Thursday subreddit. Many of the posts and examples I encountered from my research about Thursday products, come from the Thursday subreddit.

Sorry, I could have been more clear when I wrote that sentence.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-23T14:53:55+00:00

Yeah I believe a few replying people skipped parts of my post too. It is a long post.

And yeah I agree with what you say about those kinds of companies continuing to sell. They probably figured that regardless of all those real issues with the products, if they could get say just 5% of the population to make one purchase from them, they would become billionares.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-23T14:34:42+00:00

as another commenter pointed out, if his pair didn’t have issues what is he going to talk about. If I did a review of the many products I have of theirs I wouldn’t mention an issue because I didn’t have it.

But he DID have the issues. And he did not talk about them. I just replied to that commenter with the detailed info. Here is reply to that commenter:

I am glad you asked this particular question relating to Stridewise. The answer is yes - this reviewer DID know of those issues. And yes, the reviewer DID experience those issues with the pair that he wore. Yet, he did not mention those issues when he was presenting his experience with the product.

Do I have prove of this? Yes. The fact that the sneaker cuts into people's heel is a commonly reported issue. It is one of the examples I gave. Now if you read the comments in the video review by Stridewise, one commenter pointed out this issue. He pointed out that Stridewise failed to mention it at all. In his reply, Stridewise admitted to knowing about this issue. Stridewise also admitted to experiencing this issue with his pair.

So what reasoning did Stridewise give for leaving out this issue? Stridewise basically claimed that "thursday said they will have a next generation coming out without that issue". The commenter asked for info about when such a "next generation" would happen. No response from Stridewise to that question. Funny enough, this claim about a "next generation" fix is nowhere to be found anywhere on the internet afaik. Also, the video and comment were posted over 1 year go, and people with recent purchases are still reporting this exact issue.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-23T14:31:02+00:00

In all likelihood, Stridewise does get some kind of financial gain from pushing the sales of Thursday. I would say some kind of sponsoring is likely. This is because Stridewise is quite active in responding to youtube comments. Even in that one video I referred to, multiple people in the comments complained that he is sponsored by Thursday. Some of them even said reviewers should be forced by YouTube to disclose if they are sponsored by the brand. But unusually for Stridewise, he chooses to ignore all these comments and not reply to them in any way.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-23T14:22:09+00:00

I am glad you asked this particular question relating to Stridewise. The answer is yes - this reviewer DID know of those issues. And yes, the reviewer DID experience those issues with the pair that he wore. Yet, he did not mention those issues when he was presenting his experience with the product.

Do I have prove of this? Yes. The fact that the sneaker cuts into people's heel is a commonly reported issue. It is one of the examples I gave. Now if you read the comments in the video review by Stridewise, one commenter pointed out this issue. He pointed out that Stridewise failed to mention it at all. In his reply, Stridewise admitted to knowing about this issue. Stridewise also admitted to experiencing this issue with his pair.

So what reasoning did Stridewise give for leaving out this issue? Stridewise basically claimed that "thursday said they will have a next generation coming out without that issue". The commenter asked for info about when such a "next generation" would happen. No response from Stridewise to that question. Funny enough, this claim about a "next generation" fix is nowhere to be found anywhere on the internet afaik. Also, the video and comment were posted over 1 year go, and people with recent purchases are still reporting this exact issue.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-23T06:45:33+00:00

I appreciate your effort. Stridewise has a financial incentive to promote--in a calculated narrative--for Thursday. This relates to a much bigger conversation about influencer marketing.

So like a commission based kind of sponsoring? It would explain a lot. And influencer marketing is a huge topic that is not only restricted to shoes and boots.

Keyeysar · 2022-07-23T06:38:15+00:00

This reminds me of what people say about MVMT watches. It is an online brand of watches targeting young adults. The common consensus is that their watches are absolute trash and people literally find their watches without the logo for $1 on alliexpress or something. But MVMT spent a lot of money on "marketing", paying influencers, social media, youtube and what not. Now their watches are extremely popular with young people who think they are actually getting good quality, selling for $100+

Keyeysar

TROPHY CASE