Totally off topic - Anyone tried Allbirds trainers?

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Hi all

This is completely off the forum norm, but I'm the kind of guy that always cheaps out on shoes and buys bargain goodies. I find though that I become very unsatisfied with them quickly and they tend to deteriorate rapidly also.

So I'm looking at treating myself at a time where I rarely wear shoes in the first place :)

Has anyone tried these AllBirds trainers? They look really good, environmentally friendly and nice design.

 

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
They look a bit... trendy - probably too trendy for me ;) - but had never heard of them before today.
 

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
I've seen adverts for them on TV and they do look quite good but yeah at nearly 100quid a pop I'm not sure I'm going to try them out
 

FerrariVie

Super Star
Have never heard about Allbirds, but I do have a pair of Asics Gel-Quantum 360 and they're the most comfortable pair of shoes that I've ever used! I got last year's model at an outlet for half price at €90, which was also my most expensive pair of shoes ever. I think you get what you pay for? :rolleyes:

I'm not that much of a runner, much more a walker (but not Johnnie's type either :ROFLMAO:), but even so these have been hanging on well for quite a while now. I've always heard that shoes only last for about 500-700 kilometres and you should replace them every year or so, but I usually hang on to mine until my feet start to hurt from using them too much :LOL:
 

Citrus_9

Expert
Never heard of them, but £95 for a pair of trainers.....................:eek::eek::eek:
95 is actually nearly a starting price for good quality trainers ;) They can cost three time that.

I personally cheap out for clothes but never for any kind of shoes.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I genuinely wouldn't mind £95 for a good pair of shoes. I would expect them to look like a few quid of material worth though. I've got a pair of slip-ons from Sports Direct that look exactly like those AllBirds shoes. I think they cost me around £8 (for the pool side on holiday). I wouldn't touch shoes like that with a barge pole, to me you are paying for the brand over the actual product.

Get yourself a pair of Adidas Cloudfoam. Roughly £30-£50 and like walking on air.
 

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
95 is actually nearly a starting price for good quality trainers ;) They can cost three time that.

I personally cheap out for clothes but never for any kind of shoes.
£100+ for good 'quality' or just good 'marketing' :LOL:

I've paid £250+ for 'good quality' work brogues/oxfords over the last 30 years from traditional shoemakers like Church/Tricker/Joseph Cheaney, and just send them back when they need repairs/refurbs/renewing (not much more expensive than a local Timpsons) - but wouldn't consider buying anything 'designer' just for the sake of having a 'trendy' brand.

Of course I still have the odd pair of Clarke's loafers/mules, some no-name espadrilles for the summer, and some "Merrell Moab 2 GTX with Vibram soles" hiking shoes (£40 on sale 4 years ago) for comfort & protection when I'm walking around Ikea (or the N24).
 

Citrus_9

Expert
£100+ for good 'quality' or just good 'marketing' :LOL:

I've paid £250+ for 'good quality' work brogues/oxfords over the last 30 years from traditional shoemakers like Church/Tricker/Joseph Cheaney, and just send them back when they need repairs/refurbs/renewing (not much more expensive than a local Timpsons) - but wouldn't consider buying anything 'designer' just for the sake of having a 'trendy' brand.

Of course I still have the odd pair of Clarke's loafers/mules, some no-name espadrilles for the summer, and some "Merrell Moab 2 GTX with Vibram soles" hiking shoes (£40 on sale 4 years ago) for comfort & protection when I'm walking around Ikea (or the N24).
I know nothing about brands as I tend to forget names (people's including) quickly, but I choose shoes by trying them on and judging by how comfortable they are for me. Fits well - buying... But I found that it's harder to decide this way for trainers - running from a shop, then from security and coming back to pay is the only best method to check whether it's The trainers for you 😇 Ideally, in a shopping centre so you try how comfortable trainers are for running the stairs.
 

Bigfoot

Grand Master
I spent about £100 on my lightweight walking boots and £200 on my heavier leather boots. I don’t think I would spend that much on trainers, though.
 

Citrus_9

Expert
I spent about £100 on my lightweight walking boots and £200 on my heavier leather boots. I don’t think I would spend that much on trainers, though.
Leather boots are my favourite :love: Very versatile: running, reaching items from the top shelve, self-defence, reading PCS forum, grounding yourself while building a PC etc...

Screenshot 2021-04-06 194449.jpg
 
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D

Deleted member 41971

Guest
Hi all

This is completely off the forum norm, but I'm the kind of guy that always cheaps out on shoes and buys bargain goodies. I find though that I become very unsatisfied with them quickly and they tend to deteriorate rapidly also.

So I'm looking at treating myself at a time where I rarely wear shoes in the first place :)

Has anyone tried these AllBirds trainers? They look really good, environmentally friendly and nice design.

reviews on trustpilot are hit and miss

 
D

Deleted member 41971

Guest
That settles it then, not allbirds

I think those shoes are symptomatic of many designs, if you would like shoes for gentle walking etc then they would work, if you want them as an active lifestyle then like many designer type brands, there probably not it, all stylr but flimsy etc.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
I genuinely wouldn't mind £95 for a good pair of shoes. I would expect them to look like a few quid of material worth though. I've got a pair of slip-ons from Sports Direct that look exactly like those AllBirds shoes. I think they cost me around £8 (for the pool side on holiday). I wouldn't touch shoes like that with a barge pole, to me you are paying for the brand over the actual product.

Get yourself a pair of Adidas Cloudfoam. Roughly £30-£50 and like walking on air.
Just picked some up direct from Adidas on sale for £55, looking forward to trying them. The design fits with what I'm looking for

Kaptir_Shoes_Blue_FW3207_01_standard.jpg
 

NoddyPirate

Grand Master
That settles it then, not allbirds
You'll be very happy with the Adidas @SpyderTracks - enjoy them!

Mind you, if you look through the Trustpilot reviews (doesn't take long, there's only 148 of them - I flicked through the less than 50 with 3 stars or less) - the ones complaining are actually mostly about tee shirts - socks - incorrect sizes - unavailable sizes - high prices UK vs US - and even one about their TV ad showing puddles! The poor reports about the shoes themselves that sound halfway reasonable were in single figures.

'Tis the problem with Trustpilot or other sites sometimes - the top level overview might not tell the whole truth!
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
You'll be very happy with the Adidas @SpyderTracks - enjoy them!

Mind you, if you look through the Trustpilot reviews (doesn't take long, there's only 148 of them - I flicked through the less than 50 with 3 stars or less) - the ones complaining are actually mostly about tee shirts - socks - incorrect sizes - unavailable sizes - high prices UK vs US - and even one about their TV ad showing puddles! The poor reports about the shoes themselves that sound halfway reasonable were in single figures.

'Tis the problem with Trustpilot or other sites sometimes - the top level overview might not tell the whole truth!
There were lots of reviews saying they fell to bits within 6 months which is why I avoided them, also that they were extremely hot and made your feet sweat which is something I'm particularly sensitive to as tend to sweat profusely.
 
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