Actually the heel is the only bit that is not worn. It is the lugs all over the rest of the sole that are now worn down alomost to nothing, so I have next to no grip.

I had a nice chat with a chap in Cotswold Outdoor in Salisbury. He reckoned it is the road walking I did, combined with the fact that the lugs on the sole are rather small, which means each one is taking a lot of pressure. He recommended if I am walking a bit on the roads to get some shoes with wider lugs.

Hi Chris. When you say worn down, can you be more specific?

Is it the heels, the outer sole, under the big toe, or all over...?

Have a look here... Click here

Bit scary! 300 miles!!! But I think they are talking about road running.

Some shoes can be resoled. Not cheap but can increase the length of shoe life. Little point in resoling a shoe where the mid sole has degenerated, or where the uppers are past their best.

I use Saloman running shoes, which are not cheap. They seem to last me a fair time, and I find them comfortable.

Good hunting.

Hi All,

I am a new convert to LD walking, having done the Ridgeway Walk the past two years. I bought a new pair of walking shoes in January, and have walked about 300 miles in them since then on a mix of footpath and road. Annoyingly, the soles have almost worn down entirely, to the point where they need replacing.

What I want to know is whether this is typical, or if it was just a poor choice of shoes on my part - they were on sale and were relatively cheap, but I don't want to invest more money in my next pair only to suffer the same fate. Any thoughts?

While we are at it - are there any particular brands that you are aware of whose shoes tend to last longer than most? I don't mind spending more money if they last a good long time.

Chris.