Later, Chuck!

From now on, when it comes to sneakers, I’ll only be buying Vans, or my new favorites: PF Flyers!

Ever since Nike bought Converse and started making Chuck Taylors I’d been searching for the perfect, comfy sneaker to wear (sorry, I’m just not a big fan of Nike). Plus, I’d always had problems with Chucks just being too flat… I used to buy these little green arch supports at Walgreens that Dr. Scholl’s made. They fit the shoes perfectly and made a world of difference. But then Dr. Scholl’s got fancy and changed the design of their arch supports. The new ones were thicker and bulkier and did not fit inside the shoes very well at all. In fact, they made them way too tight. Crap. So I started experimenting with other shoes, went through a couple pairs of Sketchers that kinda looked like black bowling shoes, then Sketchers stopped making those. Started looking again…

Late last summer a friend of mine recommended PF Flyers. He’s got a pair that he’s been wearing for years. *YEARS*. I was a bit incredulous about that, but I looked into them, anyway. I thought, what the hell, I’ll give ‘em a shot. So I went online and bought a pair of PF Flyers hi-tops that I found on some store on the Web thru Froogle.com. They look very similar to Chucks, and even have stripes on the back. Cool. The first pair I got were too small for my feet, and they were the right size. So I had to return them and get a 1/2 size larger (11 1/2 instead of 11). But these were PERFECT. I mean, I could not believe how much better they fit than Chucks. And they had better arch supports in them so I didn’t need to worry about inserts. I’ve had these shoes for 8 months now, and wear them every day. They still look and feel great and haven’t even started to fall apart yet. Some of the fabric on the inside has worn down and the rubber has started cracking at the bend of the foot, but other than that, and a little fading, they’re still in great shape. The sole also appears to be made of a stronger rubber than Chucks, because there’s only minimal wear there, too. So I now believe my friend (thanks, Johnny!). These shoes definitely can last for years, even if you wear them a lot. I’ve never had a pair of Chucks last longer than six months without falling apart on me.

I’m getting ready to buy a new pair (the sandlot ones pictured above), but I’ll still wear these as spares. I just wanted to pass along the tip that if any of you are looking for a good alternative to Chuck Taylors, to try ‘em out. You won’t be disappointed.

(Yeah, they’re more expensive than Chucks, but totally worth it.)