Reply With QuoteI've been wearing the same style of cherry red Doc Marten shoes day-in day-out for 30 years. If they'd had this range back then, I'd have saved a great deal of money. Unfortunately, its probably not worth it for me anymore.
Anyone any experience of the Doc Martens For Life range ? Supposedly they'll repair or replace for life.
Seem expensive to begin with but in the long run could be worth it.
maseman
I've been wearing the same style of cherry red Doc Marten shoes day-in day-out for 30 years. If they'd had this range back then, I'd have saved a great deal of money. Unfortunately, its probably not worth it for me anymore.
I've got two pairs of For Life DMs, a pair of dark brown 1460 boots I bought in December 2010 for £110 and a pair of tan 1461 shoes I bought in December 2011 for £120. They are my favourite boots and shoes I own. They are supremely comfortable and are very hard wearing. After 4 years of wear I see no need to take up the repair for £20 option so far. It is a great fallback to have though. Both boots and shoes took some breaking in, particularly the shoes. They rubbed the back of my heels quite badly to start off but are a great fit now. I can post some picks later on if you're interested.
It's interesting that they now have a special range for this. At one point they claimed that all of their boots were guaranteed for life. As a teenager I had a pair on which the heel split after about 7-8 months. I took them in to the DM shop (this was in the US), and was told that the guarantee was for the "life of the shoe" and mine had reached the end, so nothing they'd do. I never bought another pair of DM boots since.
^^ I'm really surprised by that. Not only the poor customer service, but also the poor wear. Over the last 30 years I reckon I've had about 6 pairs which I wear almost every day. So I've been getting about 5 years wear from each pair.
(PS I love DMs. My favourites are two-tone black/green with low profile soles)
I'm surprised about the poor customer service too. I needed a new pair of laces for my For Life boots. They have a metal aglet and weren't available to buy online. I called up their customer support and they sent me a pair free of charge. I also just bought a pair of new DM boots. There was some damage to the leather which I spotted when I opened them. A quick phone call and they said to send them back for a replacement using the included prepaid return label. They also use DPD for delivery which is a big plus in my book.
Any DM that fails through anything other than general wear and tear will be replaced within two years of purchase.Originally Posted by adigra
Even after the two year period they (we) will often replace with new as long as you send the defective pair back to them. They are very interested in looking at wear and tear and defects throughout the lifespan of the boot.
I must be missing something here as ive had quite a few pairs, granted when I was a teenager many years ago.Mine always used to split on the inside of the sole, the sole area wore down very quickly so became very slippy, shame really as they were a bugger to break in but very comfy after a couple of weeks.
These were the original docs from the 70/80's so maybe the quality is better now.
I'd say the quality isn't as good now as when they were made in England many years ago. I've had several pairs over the last 25 years and they lasted me longer back in the day. Just got a pair of the new Made In England range and hoping they last well :)
I've had no issues with either pair of my For Life DMs.
Sole splits are still the biggest single reason for returns. Each foot is given a six point sole bond test on the production line and one pair out of every single order is taken to the lab, deconstructed and put through a bond process.
Every effort is made to ensure the sole and the welt are bonded correctly but generally due to a contaminant, some will always fail.
From your replies I assume you have a connection with the company? The popularity of the boots speaks for itself. When I was a teen in the early 90's, they were a dream item, and I was incredibly excited when I could afford my first (and only) pair. My issue happened in '96 at the Portland, OR store. The shoes were bought at a different store though, but I had all of the paperwork, tags, etc., just no box. The sole came away from the rest of the boot at the heel, but they looked pretty much as you'd expect after 8 months. I took them in, and the manager on duty simply turned me away with the whole "life of the shoe" line. I have always suspected that the issue was more down to the manager than the company, but combined with the premature failure, I simply decided to stay away from DM.
Unfortunately that was pretty much the mentality back then. There were 27 UK factories, business was booming and they subsequently lost focus of what was important.
The business has had a couple of owners since then and now the focus is more towards quality and customer service than ever before.
You hear a lot of people say that standards have dropped since the transition to overseas manufacturing, but the requirements from DM are higher than ever. That doesn't mean to say that those standards are always met ;-)
Each order that is produced in all factories is AQL'd (accepted quality levels) by DM quality controllers, that have the authority to reject an entire order if they deem it not to a gold seal standard.
Obviously I was referring to the bad old days of British manufacturing, by your reply I did get the impression you worked for the company, possibly research and development.Great to hear about the quality control measures these days, I did have a look in town yesterday and was very surprised how much they sell for these days.
My shoes for life are going back for repair; photos sent and return details received. Be interesting to see if they are repaired or replaced. Disappointing in that there is a £20 admin charge AND you need to pay for delivery.
I don't work for DMs, although I used to from 93-03 until the transition to overseas manufacturing. I now run one of the companies in China that manufacturer and supply them.
They are definitely worth it, been wearing them for about 3 years, and now on my third pair.
Never any issues with the process, less than a week turn round, and to date always brand new boots.
The frustrating thing is that I have always sent them back simply because I have worn enough of the sole smooth to render them slippy in the wet etc. If only the tread was deeper (or a commando sole) then I would get more than 12 months out of each pair... I do a fair bit of walking around.
Over the years I have done a few video reviews on my youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/DevonReviewer) which may give an idea of how the hold up.
Best regards,
Chris
That's my memory of DMs as well, they are very slippy underfoot when the sole wears down - just when the boot is properly broken in!
The one saving grace for the "For Life" boots is that a very supple oily leather is used which doesn't need any break in of note, so you can enjoy them straight away.
Nice video Chris; did DM customer service ever get back to you with the offer of a different type of boot to review ??
Sadly not, no reply at all even after a bit of chasing. Bit disappointing, would have liked a simple "no", but other than that very happy with the DM service.
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