Been eyeing the 1460s for a little while now, never really owned anything like them. With my Christmas cash I'm considering picking up a pair. Thoughts on the quality of DM now that they are Asian-made? Thoughts on black vs brown?
Dr. Martens 1460
- Thread starter DE93
- Start date
There was quite a thread before on this. IMHO I would avoid the Asian Docs, I have many "made in England" docs that are still going strong 15+ years later. My Chinese ones didn't last much over a few years.
Check the British boot shop http://www.britboot.co.uk/engine/shop/index.html and look at Solovair. Someone also mentioned doc martens for life but no experience on them.
Good luck on your hunt and go for black.
Check the British boot shop http://www.britboot.co.uk/engine/shop/index.html and look at Solovair. Someone also mentioned doc martens for life but no experience on them.
Good luck on your hunt and go for black.
Try to find the UK made ones they are well worth it,Ox blood for me but each to their own colour
When the production was initially shipped over to Asia: the quality was abysmal. The company was in near financial ruin (and made the decision to move to China to keep the company going) and I'm genuinely surprised that there were enough people like me that kept it going in the face of such poor quality. Keep in mind that this was ~13 years ago that production moved to Asia.
China/Thailand or not: I've been wearing Docs for many many many years now. They fit me well and are one of the very few leather steel toe boots without a liner enabling me to use as an office steel toe w/ a bit of polish as well as a impromptu motorcycle boot. As it was the only steel toed boot I would wear and my work would pay for a pair every year: I got a new pair regularly. When they first moved to China: I would spend the last 4 months "suffering" with a boot that needed to be replaced before I became eligible for another work pair. Over time this improved and I'm now able to get them to last as I believe they should.
It's really only been in the past 5 or so years, I would say, that the quality in China has risen to a level that I would consider decent for longevity.
I would definitely try them on before buying them. There are still anomalies that you might find trying on a new pair (I tried on quite a few that had an uncomfortable convex bump inside the sole).
As for the UK make pairs? They're available online to order last I checked... I did see them at Mall of America in MN some time ago so they pop up in some of the stores. While it'd be nice to see a Made in England stamp on the boots once again: it's hard to justify the pricetag.
... As to the main reason why I've not purchased different boots? My company requires steel toed shoes to be purchased from only a single company in order to be eligible to be covered by them. But also that the soles are resistant to so much: you don't think about it until you spend time in a machining shop where everything is coated in cutting fluids - that stuff is corrosive!
And black. Always black. Black is always in style and matches my work attire.
Except for this one time I got bright cherry red boots.
China/Thailand or not: I've been wearing Docs for many many many years now. They fit me well and are one of the very few leather steel toe boots without a liner enabling me to use as an office steel toe w/ a bit of polish as well as a impromptu motorcycle boot. As it was the only steel toed boot I would wear and my work would pay for a pair every year: I got a new pair regularly. When they first moved to China: I would spend the last 4 months "suffering" with a boot that needed to be replaced before I became eligible for another work pair. Over time this improved and I'm now able to get them to last as I believe they should.
It's really only been in the past 5 or so years, I would say, that the quality in China has risen to a level that I would consider decent for longevity.
I would definitely try them on before buying them. There are still anomalies that you might find trying on a new pair (I tried on quite a few that had an uncomfortable convex bump inside the sole).
As for the UK make pairs? They're available online to order last I checked... I did see them at Mall of America in MN some time ago so they pop up in some of the stores. While it'd be nice to see a Made in England stamp on the boots once again: it's hard to justify the pricetag.
... As to the main reason why I've not purchased different boots? My company requires steel toed shoes to be purchased from only a single company in order to be eligible to be covered by them. But also that the soles are resistant to so much: you don't think about it until you spend time in a machining shop where everything is coated in cutting fluids - that stuff is corrosive!
And black. Always black. Black is always in style and matches my work attire.
Except for this one time I got bright cherry red boots.
^Can vouch for this guy. I started wearing D.M.'s 8 years ago and the quality was so-so. I recently ordered a pair of asian made 1461's and the quality was great. The leather wasn't just glossy plastic like my first asian made docs. I ended up returning them for some M.I.E. docs because of the sewn in insole. Also, not a fan of brown docs. If you want something different from black, go with oxblood.
I currently own 5 pair of various DM shoes, boots, sandals. 3 of them are more than 10 years old. While the insoles could stand to be replaced, the rest of them is still in great condition. I have a pair of brown oxfords that is around 5 years old. The soles have almost completely separated. The stitching is the only thing keeping the soles together. I have a pair of slip-on blacks that I just bought a few months ago. They seem to be closer in build quality to my old ones.
I have two pairs of these boots. Been through several of the shoes too. Currently I have a pair of black ones, made in the far east bought about three years ago and a pair of made in England Cherry Reds that I've had for about 18 years!
I was quite surprised at the quality of the newer ones. Not as good as the old ones but not bad at all. If they last as long as my old Cherry Reds, still worn regularly, I'll be very pleased.
Gareth
I was quite surprised at the quality of the newer ones. Not as good as the old ones but not bad at all. If they last as long as my old Cherry Reds, still worn regularly, I'll be very pleased.
Gareth
- Thread starter
- #8
Thanks all for the replies. I just bought a pair of black Merrell "Empire" boots at the outlet mall and am quite happy with them. Maybe I'll pick up some oxblood Doc's sometime later. 
Seems Docs go in and out of style every 10 years or so. I have a pair of the old school made "Made in England" combat boots I got in the in the late 90's that are still going strong and a recent pair of Asian 1461 Docs. Don't wear either of them anymore but the Asian Docs are worse for wear compared to the combat boots.
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