Literally never worn these before. Removed the tag today. Water resistant my ass! This is after 25 minutes of walking in a city on a rainy day, a two hour train ride, and a brief walk to and from a bus.
I cannot stress enough how brand spanking new these boots are. Thank goodness I never used these at an actual work site; I can't even imagine if I had to stand on a roof with these fuckers. Can't wait to trail bits of black debris after me for the rest of the day!
What brand is this? Save us all from the same mistake.
I think they're Talan Styler 111 safety boots.
https://talanshop.de/en/styler-111-brown/
But the OP might be able to confirm/correct.
Yeah they're talan brand, I'll confirm the model when I get home. In the meantime I'm walking around with plastic bags tied around my boots!
Looks like they sat on the shelf too long before you bought them, I recall reading that the bottoms of shoes and boots will "rot" away after a while if they aren't worn
That's only if the sole is made out of PU rubber. Although it's worth it to ask the manufacturer about this catastrophic failure. Maybe OP really got a dud one.
The site says the sole is made of PU rubber.
Oh yeah I saw it, PU sole on the inside, this is worth a guarantee claim I reckon.
does wearing them help them last longer? sometimes I buy shoes and they'll stay in the closet for years before I get around to wearing them or they're seasonal styles. wondering if I should exercise them once in a while.
Yes. The PU needs to be "exercised"
stocking up on shoes might've been a mistake
It depends on the manufacturing date. They may have a shelf life of 12 months but were only placed in stock at the store after 8 months. You buy them and they sit in the cupboard for 6 months and all of a sudden you have a problem.
Bear in mind that there is "PU" and "cheap PU"
(I'm in the PU business and still don't fully understand the chemistry of why they can degrade so quickly)
According to many of the comments here, the answer is yes.
No disrespect but I cannot imagine buying shoes and then not wearing them for years. But I also have like 3 pairs of shoes.
Ack! Flashbacks to childhood when we were too poor for real rain boots or moon boots. Instead it was plastic bread bags to cover our shoes. Walking into school, I was so traumatized. 😅 May you never have this happen again!
Well there's your problem. I've always known Talan to be absolutely garbage tier quality compared to anything else.
"Talan, for when Keens just can't be sourced anywhere else."
"If I win, I getacaravan and the buys getapairathemshoes."
Periwinkle blue!
Dyalaykdags?
Yeeeah. I like... Dags.
I thought you were going to say you got them at Walmart but damn.
Damn, you were correct!
https://preview.redd.it/88zn0m5lee6g1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=09292f794488262357a5fe405f2dcdfbb32c8534
Funny to think the Talan sales team is getting flooded with pings about people looking at these boots.
"About to make a fortune, boys!" ... "Why's no one buying?"
You should never expect much from anything made with "Crazyhorse leather"
it’s not the brand,
It was likely stored in a non climate controlled environment like a closet or a garage.
Anything made wirh rubber will have a similar fate
After just 8 months though? I’ve got all sorts of rubber implements at my work that may only get used once every couple of years and they hold up. Is it a specific type of rubber that does this or is worse than others?
Honest question. Did you buy boots or biodegradable foot covers?
So ironic that they're steel toed and cotton candy soled!
Further comments could continue this as a catchy tune. In the style of Simpsons "Monorail" I assume.
Eventually the cotton candy will dissolve and you will have a literal steel shoe shell
I hope I'll be left with a beautiful metal shoe skeleton, that would be sick
https://preview.redd.it/evwvm2sted6g1.png?width=976&format=png&auto=webp&s=398eb6866e4ac46a57b1a8033e7816de9d869d3f
The problem might be the NATURAL LEA THERE
“That is not false advertising your honor, it clearly says NATURAL LEATHERE”
At least it's peni(s)tration resistant.
Shoot a nail gun at it all you want! You can't hurt those soles! Now, rainwater? That'll strip it right off.
Lmaooo pretty much
I appreciate your edit, I'll try stepping on someone's dick later and we'll see how well they hold up 👢🍆
Well Trebek.....Will it mighty my penis?
https://preview.redd.it/88owflhdhd6g1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=9e0b7fc51466262380b9b9309523f93cd247348a
Say it right...say it....say chowdah!
They are also Penitration resistant.
Highly doubt it, it isint ripped at the leather and cowboy boots have used leather in wet conditions for hundreds of years, my leather cowboy boots are in water all the time and are just fine
:EDIT: I see I missed the joke, so I'll leave this up to keep the shame
I think you missed the joke
LEA THERE THERE. Don't be harsh on the guy. I missed it too at first.
Personally I think its the PENITRATION resistance that failed the OP:
It's like "
MilkMalk. Now with more vitamin R!"How long were they sitting in your closet before you wore them?
6-8 months
Decent quality rubber should not dry rot in only 8 months, given that you didn’t keep them outside in full sunshine. My $40 winter sneakers spend 8-9 months unused and they’ve been fine for the past 5 years.
They were indoors in a dark closet the whole time 🥲
Were they close to a radiator? Heat can melt the glue and cause problems like this.
Some rubbers don't like being near heat sources but my guess is that it is PU (polyurathane) and being near a heat source would have actually preserved them a bit longer as it would dry them out and prevent the Hydrolysis from occurring.
That's the problem. It's happened fast for your boots but they are PU soled, which really needs to be worn as it releases the moisture trapped in the soles. That being said, 8 months is not long enough, normally takes a couple of years to get this bad. I expect they were sitting in the store for a while too.
And how long were they sitting in a warehouse before that? If it was as long, this is what happens to this quality of boots
Sure but that much isn't op's fault
I guessing it had to sat around for 4-5 years.
Yeah that's probably the culprit.
Temu Boots?
May as well be lol. Talan brand
They genuinely look like shit boots. You gotta remember they are for your safety and comfort, so buying cheap temu garbage is only going to bite you in the ass, even of they don't dissolve in the rain.
I've worn steeltoes for over a decade for work and I'd never even consider boots that look that cheaply made. I know good boots can be expensive, but now you're buying two pairs, so you ended up spending more anyways. Get some redwings or timberland or CAT or even new balance if you can swing it.
Good stuff isn't cheap and cheap stuff isn't good.
I've worn plenty of work boots in my day. Those look like fakes. The stitching and material looks like a pleather bag from the 90's .
Oh no, not again
Dread it, run from it, shoes disintegrate all the same
"The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness."
Going to a wedding?
So my guess is you bought them, kept them in the box for a while and decided to wear them for the first time? This is what happens to certain rubbers if they aren't used. The sad part is that if you had worn them they'd be fine now. Now imagine all of those people who collect sneakers/trainers and don't realise which of them are made from this type of rubber...
Had it been a decent quality rubber, 6-8 months stored shouldn’t do this that quick. Now, the store they were purchased at could have had them in stock/storage for who knows how long, and THAT may be the culprit. All rubber breaks down, it’s the quality of the rubber that matters when it comes to how long it can last.
Happened to a sneaker I left too long before using. Soles turned crumbles
I'm 42, I've had plenty of shoes I didn't wear for years that were kept in a dark closet\basement\attic\ect and I've never even had a flake of rubber crumble OP. This shouldn't happen, ever. It's for sure a defect of the boot and of its past the return window, OP should contact the manufacturer ASAP and see if they can replace\refund
Have you never even heard of it? I havent had it happen either but it definitely happens to shoes that were manufactured perfectly fine, it's just what rubber soles sometimes do after not being worn. Apparently it's fairly common with dress shoes that people only wear every few years and that kind of thing.
Obviously shouldn't happen to new boots but saying it shouldn't ever happen is off
Haha no, I've honestly never heard of this happening but I'll take your word for it that it's a thing. TIL
I've seen it happen with brand new shoes left in a cupboard. It's called hydrolysis and really only affects polyurethane (PU) foam soles. It is quite possible you've never had that material in any of your shoes. Normal rubber isn't impacted. If the shoes aren't worn then moisture remains trapped in the soles and breaks them down. Wearing them stops/slow this process down. If they were bought recently then it's a manufacturing problem, but most likely because OP kept his shoes in a cupboard.
I mean... They were acquired about 6 to 8 months ago. What a sadly short product lifespan!
If storing them keep them in a cool dry place. Heat breaks down the glue holding the sole on. They don't stitch them like they used to. I think Red Wing Boots still has models that are stitched together and doesn't use glue
Well, now I know for the next time! I think the soles here were adhered with whatever they use in post-it notes
Keep them mud free too. If they dry with mud on them that messes up the leather and pulls it away from the sole as mud shrinks while drying out
Dry rot can happen to any rubber. You need to care for them.
To prevent rubber sole dry rot, store shoes in a cool, dark, ventilated spot (not plastic bags), keep them clean and dry, use a rubber conditioner or protectant like Armoral, and most importantly, wear them occasionally (every couple months) to keep the material flexible and prevent degradation from hydrolysis, especially for seldom-used footwear.
I guess they weren't in a ventilated enough spot? Like it's only been raining here for the past few weeks and I thought these would hold up for at least a day?? The more you know!
It’s because they sat in the closet for so long
I'm in the PU business and I still don't understand the chemistry involved but if you wore them daily from the time you bought them they would last 2 - 3 - 4 years or so.
PU has to be "exercised"
Strange but true.
This happened to a whole squad in the army. Our heels fell off just like this. Sounded like floppity flopp when walking.
Turned out our boots hadn't been stored properly.
What a terrible material choice if this is a known issue. Do they just assume every person who buys them will be wearing them daily at work?
Ah yes. Better to pick a material that doesn't have this known issue....
Like metal. Metal shoes for all.
That looks like a cake crumb
Maybe the boots ARE cake. People are very good at that nowadays! 😂
Lets cut the boot in half!!
insert is it cake? meme
Sam Vimes in shambles.
When I search for those it’s saying $35 and available in the Middle East.
I’m not sure what to expect for $35 “safety” boots not meant for the USA market. But my non-safety boots are resolable and the soles alone cost $80-$100.
Well you got the region I'm in correct. Cheap ass employers provided these "boots" and even then they were a backup pair. If/when I'm in the market for new work boots (I have more) I'll definitely invest in something quality.
Bro you can’t spend $18 on WORK boots
No but your employer can.
Where I am the employer is obligated to supply safety equipment. Hence the cheapest of the cheap.
JB Weld and avoid the manufacturer for life….
Shoe Goo is pretty handy too.
That is PU hydrolysis. It happens faster if you leave boots stored without wearing them.
https://www.safetyjogger.com/en/eu/technical/hydrolysis
Well I guess these were probably sitting on a shelf for a while before I got them! Thanks for the link
https://preview.redd.it/hpwizcga0e6g1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=669849bbaca77af89a0a6a197f3fdcb6e26a0d79
in HUGE BLOCK LETTERS...
Rode hard put away wet. 😆
WoW. Once my shoes did the same, but after about 14 days. 1 day of walking is a abolute record of shittiness
They looked sweet. Probably made of sugar by the looks of it
It should be illegal to make stuff with such poor quality.
I have to wonder if perhaps these are counterfeit goods.
It will forever baffle me that dudes who work on their feet won’t spend $200 a year on boots
All that and probably "new boot blisters" on top. I think I found out why there are always shoes discarded on the road.
Fuck the mfg
Seems we are soon to reach the shoe event horizon (as described in the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEI19kJ5GfU
Well, now you've got flip-flops.
I'm walking rn with plastic bags tied over these shoes, and they are in fact flip flopping in their wretched containers. The tops of my feet are so much more protected than the soles! Lol
I know the feeling. Had my dress shoes give up on me, good thing I was indoors at the time.
they might be "new" as in not worn, but they are very old
the PU foam/sole absorbs moisture over time
wearing them after a couple years of not being worn puts pressure on the foam
the water can't escape
the foam breaks down
The lower quality the rubber is, or a failure in the chemical mixing, makes them break down faster.
This is why your black dress shoes fall apart when you go to a funeral after not having worn them for 3 years.
Dang man, I did the same thing last week with my caterpillars. I took peoples' advice and upgraded to red wing.
https://preview.redd.it/jedmu7l5xd6g1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61c175e1173297abfed72bdc9a1c946d9d6202f8
How long were they sitting in your closet? If you just bought them, take them back to the store.
Thankfully I got them free from my last job, I will be disposing of them creatively once I get home. They'd been sitting unused in a closet for 6-8 months or so
if you are in germany, buy engelbert strauss.
Wonka shoes
seems like its been in storage for a long time, and the bottom thing idk what its called just disintegrated. i heard those do that when in storage for a real long time
That's what you get for wearing track pants in public.
😅😅 okay fair lol. It's the rainy season where I am and I really need to do laundry ahaha, classier pants await their cleaning in the depths of my laundry pile
Well at least they're impact resistant! Just not if it's a raindrop, that's too much
I had this problem with and1 shoes from walmart. The shoe and sole began to separate in the rain water. Also found out the sole was mostly hollow with ridges.
I use to work at jcp and this guy does construction and returned boots soaked in mud and concrete. He wanted a full refund because the boots only last six months. I politely said i cant because they had been worn for six months.
He screamed at me and demanded a manager and started to yell about how horrible the store is until his face was all red.
The manager processed the return and threw the boots in the rrash because she knew the store wont get reimburse from the supplier. Its considered a loss for the store and part of shrinkage.
So you can try and return them.
First time wearing them, maybe, but how old are they? The rubber can break down over time, even just sitting on a shelf or in a closet.
wow that's too bad. i like the look of them
That sucks, if you can afford them Thorogoods are my top boot. I've been using them for the last 16 years. I've only had to purchase 3 or 4 pairs in that time
Return them even without the tag. Luckily you weren’t using them at work. Such lower standards on products. SMH!
Please, not again
same shit happen to me the other day :(
Good god, everything is single use now hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaihateithereha
I miss buying things that work
Sorry this happened to you man.
At least its not the front flopping. I hate when the front flops.
I had this exact same issue happen to me at a airport with some airwalk tennis shoes.
They make you take your shoes off for scanning and I stepped on the back heal to remove one of them and ripped the sole almost all the way off from the back. It was the only shoes I packed as it was only a 2 day trip.
I was flopping around all day until I got to my destination and had a Uber take me to a shoe store and I over-payed for some replacement shoes.
Oh nooo! Having that happen in a travel situation is a nightmare, I'm glad I just needed to go to the dentist in another city (long story)
Almost home now! Cannot wait to destroy these pieces of trash
I had the same thing happen to me! On a multiple mile hike. In the Appalachian mountains. In winter. In the snow. While carrying a backpack.
🤣 That’s kind of funny. You’d expect work boots to be a bit more durable than that. 🤣
One would expect!!! I'm glad the stakes weren't too high and we can all have a laugh about it on reddit
Holy shit
Timberland or Keen
Will never go wrong, they're expensive for a reason and their warranties are wicked
Can tell these are gonna crease really hard where your foot bends as well, if this sole deterioration didn't happen, you'd be having water and dirt ingress withing a month or two anyways
What a terribly designed boot
That’s what happens when you buy no-name products from Amazon or temu.
were the boots sitting in a cupboard for 30 years before you wore them?
question: why are you wearing "work" boots of questionable quality with sweat pants?
i think these boots and pants together reveal a pattern of questionable decisions.
They look like Talan Styler 111 safety boots.
https://talanshop.de/en/styler-111-brown/
Just under £50, so not dirt‑cheap -- probably about "average" for what should be half‑decent safety boots
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TALAN-CH-2C0111-3-41-STYLER/dp/B08P3X81LS/
Idk where you’re from but $50 is absolutely dirt cheap for safety boots anywhere
Absolutely dirt cheap. My steel toes usually cost $130-170. Quality over quantity man.
My son's a welder. He works on submarines so occasionally in small spaces. He's had soles melt to the floor.
He buys $300 boots biannually because anything cheaper won't last a week. I think he settled on redwings
There are certain tools you may be able to cheap out on but never fuck around with your feet if you can at all afford it.
😰😰😰 my best safety boot experience was getting stepped on by a horse at a protest a few years ago (different steel toed work boots) and I was completely okay because of the metal. I saw what happened to someone else who got stepped on, who was only protected by sneakers... It was bloody and unpleasant. Safety shoes are no joke!
Warranty return and replace
Warranty return and replace
thats why u need find proper brand, this sort of thing is more decorational than functional
Send them back for a refund
Work boots are one thing you don't cheap out on. Your feet will thank you.
Numbah One China slop from Amazon?
You didn't happen to leave these put away or in a closet for a long period of time between wears, did you?
Never worn them before today, they were in my closet maximum about 8 months, tags still on and everything. I for sure didn't expect them to fall apart after literally only one day of use tho!
I totally understand. I used to sell shoes, some of which had soles made of that same stuff. Sometimes there would be defects and sometimes it would just be that they weren't worn. It's not your fault for not knowing beforehand. They should make sure to provide care instructions to you, otherwise how would you know?
You might contact them whatever customer service is available just to see if something could be done. Sorry this happened!
Thank you for the lovely response, it's always great to hear from someone who knows what they're talking about!
Did you buy these on Temu??
how long were they in storage lol, storage ruins shoes
should've bought Red Wings.
You bought Temu quality boots made out of Chinesium leather and rubber (plastic/rubber mix)...
You get what you pay for.
That Walmart special
Did you walk into a chainsaw
That would honestly make more sense than whatever this is.
Old stock, decayed rubber
On the bright side, you get to buy new boots. This time, get some real boots.
Rubber has an expiration date. Rubber will start to dry rot over a certain period of time. Were the boots on sale?
Got them from my old employer, unworn for the last 8 months. At least it wasn't at my financial expense!
I doubt they are actually new. You probably had them in storage for year or so and this is the consequence of not maintaining them. Boots are also a terrible choice of footwear for roofing unless you're doing rubber.
Solar panel installation, and yeah these were my backup pair that I never wore outside because of how clunky they seemed.
Oof even worse then. I have had to repair way too many shingles because solar installers don't know how to walk on roofs. The total lack of care for work outside their own is wildly offensive.
Oh god I fuckin hate shingles. Least favorite type of roof in my experience. Whenever we broke a shingle we had to replace them ourselves, very unfun.
Oh wow that is actually awesome. The installers around here just say "fuck it." 😆 I get paid to fix them, but I would much rather be doing other shit. Thanks for caring!
Did a bird shit on your right "boot"?
Ah crap. It’s happening again. You weren’t going to a wedding were you?
You bought off brand boots
Not to be fair a lot of the brand boots are not much better. I have not found a pair of boots that last longer than one year without some part of them starting to break.
How long were they sitting unused before you wore them? A lot of rubber soles pretty much disintegrate if they are not used every now and then.
Usually the rubber sole disintigrates when shoes are not worn for long periods. Happened to a lot of my shoes that I did not wear for years. Not sure how long these were on the shelf or storage
I've had several pairs of shoes do this and I never wear shoes because I have uniform boots
If these are for work, consider them a tool and not just footwear. Never cheap out on work tools.
Holy Temu that looks bad
I bought a pair of Columbia Tech Lites a few years ago. I’m never going back.
sorry sir these boots were meant for the cavalry
plastic used to last decades
elmers glue melted
Made in Poland or shipped to Poland from somewhere else?
Only steel toes I buy now are Blundstones. First pair lasted about 7 years. And the failed because I dropped something heavy on the lip between the shoe and the sole.
Best boots I've ever owned. Redwings, they size you up at the store and find the perfect inserts for you. Pricy but worth every penny.
https://preview.redd.it/m1tgd2kuwe6g1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad4bef0ac04bab1622f2c9c398d63158ac5785b6
Where did you get them from?
What the hellllllllllll? Oh my godddddd. No wayyyyyyyyyyy.
I always put money into my boots. One thing not to skimp on.
How much you pay for them?
When did you buy them? Lots of footwear have a warranty, check the store you got them at.
dude this is a tragic loss
No offense but that outter material looks cheap AF. It Has that pleather look to it?