WHICH Brown Shoe?

[Gatordev]

The best answer you're going to get is: it depends. Different communities are going to do it differently, and even the same squadrons in the same Wing will do it differently. Even the same squadron may have different policies throughout your tour. I'd roll with the Bates initially until you get a feel for your fleet squadron. You'll wear khakis off and on during flight school, but it's not anywhere near an everyday thing.

By the way, after I left my first sea tour, I can count the number of times I've worn my khakis on both hands. My current tour ruined my ability to be able to count it on one hand, but I'm still pretty happy with my track record.

 

[helolumpy]

I'd definitely wear the Leeds with my civvies too, but $600 is still quite a bit to shell out on a pair of shoes.

Dude, for $600 you can get a pair of Bates brown shoes, a new pair of Dryjoys golf shoes and a brand new driver.

I'm not sure where your priorities lie, but $600 for a pair of shoes is waaaay too much on an Ensign's salary!

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

Dude, for $600 you can get a pair of Bates brown shoes, a new pair of Dryjoys golf shoes and a brand new driver.

I'm not sure where your priorities lie, but $600 for a pair of shoes is waaaay too much on an Ensign's salary!

Truth, but if I would need to wear brown shoes often, and IF the Bates still have that whole sole-disintegrating issue that's mentioned at length on this thread, it's worth looking into. But then again, my Bates are holding up for now, so maybe if they start falling apart I'll reconsider.

 

[lowflier03]

Wanted to add an update. My Bates just disintegrated on me yesterday. Funny as other than back in API I have almost never worn them so its not like they have a ton of miles on them. That is some very crappy quality there. I'll never buy another Bates product again.

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

Okay so first, I figured out how the shoes looked somewhat uneven, because I saw a fellow API student with the same sort of look. He must've used a darker polish than the original color of the shoe, and the polish didn't take as well near the crease at the toe.
Second, the AE Leeds are on sale til the 15th, down to $500. Getting really tempted now.

Wanted to add an update. My Bates just disintegrated on me yesterday. Funny as other than back in API I have almost never worn them so its not like they have a ton of miles on them. That is some very crappy quality there. I'll never buy another Bates product again.

How long have you had them?

 

[cfam]

Hold off on the leeds man. I've seriously worn my khakis three times since I left flight school, and that was three years ago. Spend the extra cash on beer. Even Bates hold up just fine when you hardly use them.

 

[Pags]

Hold off on the leeds man. I've seriously worn my khakis three times since I left flight school, and that was three years ago. Spend the extra cash on beer. Even Bates hold up just fine when you hardly use them.

Concur. $600 is a lot of scratch for a pair of shoes. If you plan on wearing them a fair bit with civies then they might be worth the investment. If you only plan on wearing them with your uniform, like cfam said, just know that you're paying a lot for shoes you won't wear very much. Once API finished, I barely wore khakis. Even when my squadron did the once a week wear them to feel professional thing, it still hasn't amounted to wearing them very much.

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

Concur. $600 is a lot of scratch for a pair of shoes. If you plan on wearing them a fair bit with civies then they might be worth the investment. If you only plan on wearing them with your uniform, like cfam said, just know that you're paying a lot for shoes you won't wear very much. Once API finished, I barely wore khakis. Even when my squadron did the once a week wear them to feel professional thing, it still hasn't amounted to wearing them very much.

Yeah that's the thing, I was expecting to wear them quite a bit in civvies, since they're pretty versatile. You can wear them with jeans, khakis, a blue suit, etc. But I'll probably hold off for now. Maybe after Primary if I can get a good deal. Or if my Bates fall apart.

 

[Hopeful Hoya]

Was wondering if anyone had any current brown shoe recommendations, I can't stomach the idea of paying $120 at the NEX for a crappy pair of Bates I'll never wear after API.

I was looking at these Cole Haans, what do you think?
http://www.colehaan.com/harrison-gr...an/C24163.html?dwvar_C24163_color=British Tan

 

[SynixMan]

http://www.allenedmonds.com/shoes/mens-shoes/oxford-derby-shoes/leeds-2.0-derby-shoes/SF1430.html

http://www.allenedmonds.com/shoes/m...nementColor&sz=18&start=2&prefv1=Brown|Walnut

Both would double as a nice dress shoe in civilian clothes too. I have the previous version of the Leeds, still in great shape on year 6.

 

[cmwz1510r]

I'm very late to this party, but my brown Bates fell apart on me and I took them to simoneaux boot and shoe repair (In Pensacola) asked for wooden heel and leather sole and a week or so later I had these. This was back in early 2016. They also did a pair of dress whites for me. It was around 100 dollars, I believe I had them do a rush order though.

 

[Flash]

We just had a retirement in my unit and four folks had their white Bates shoes disintegrate on them, including the retiree who had to borrow our Master Chief's shoes and was in socks for the ceremony. That was out of about 15 folks wearing whites, a loss rate of ~30% in one day. You could track one guy's path in the building just by the debris he left on the dark rug. Its criminal how Bates gets away with such atrocious quality and we have so few alternatives.

 

[nittany03]

Hmm. Might have to find a shoe repair place and get the whites done. Thought the color would be a nonstarter. Reserve units do changes of command and retirements too, and I'm waiting on the inevitable Bates disaster.

 

[sevenhelmet]

Bates soles are horrible. Especially for the price we pay!

I'm 0/2 on the last couple of times I've worn my bates. Soles disintegrated on a pair of Khaki shoes while at the 32nd street food court for lunch on day 1 of a 2 day security manager class. I left the proverbial trail of bread crumbs across the food court. Didn't have a flight suit with me (dumb), so I had to jump through my ass to get another pair of Bates that day (dumber). Then a pair of white soles let go while walking across the stage at NPS graduation last September. All my graduation photos are framed from the knees up, because I was in socks by that point. Bookmarked some pages for my next pair of brown shoes- wish there was a better option than buying Bates for whites. I still haven't replaced mine- my new strategy is to buy them as close to an event as possible, and then get them re-soled when they inevitably fall apart.

Bates shoes didn't used to be this way. The ones I was issued back in '01 had hard rubber soles that seemed to last forever. Now they're made out of packing foam or something- whatever it is feels cheap as hell, and will fall apart the first time you walk a few steps. You'd think they'd fix it out of concern for liability- I damn near broke an ankle when my khaki shoes let go at the NEX.

Is there literally no recourse for this? It's clearly a widespread issue. Suppos, Logistics-os, etc. unite!

 

[Hopeful Hoya]

I ended up getting a pair of Allen Edmond LAX brown shoes and they are fantastic, I would highly recommend taking a look at those.