Here’s a question I recently answered:

Question MarkHave you ever bought a bad pair of shoes? I got an updated version of my favorite pair of shoes, which were only supposed to have had very minor changes. I went out for a long run, and had really tired and sore feet afterwards. They claimed they only made very minor changes, but my old pair with 500 miles feels more cushioned. Usually, the new pair leaves my feet and legs feeling happy.


I have gotten a bad pair of shoes before.

I bought a pair of my favorite trail shoes that didn’t last too long. I’ve got about 700 miles on my first pair and am still using them, and only got about 80 miles out of the second pair before the tread on the sole ripped apart.

I’ve gotten a few new pairs since then that have 60 miles and 100 miles on them and they seem like they are going to last just as long as the first pair.

That second pair clearly had some manufacturing problems because they had started showing signs they wouldn’t last within about 30 or 40 miles.

That said – I don’t usually have a problem going right into a long run or a race with a new pair of shoes of a model I know my feet like, but the problem here is more likely because you bought an updated version your shoes.

There’s no such thing as an updated version (no matter how minimal the changes) that shouldn’t be considered and distrusted like any other new shoe you try out. The shoe industry makes it’s money by constantly changing shoes up so that people have to stock up on the old models they like and buy new models to have the latest and greatest.

Obviously, there are some small shoes companies such as Loco or Vitruvian that you can be reasonably confident aren’t going to change their shoes from one model to the next, but they are the exception to the rule and base their marketing around that.

If you do get a defective pair of shoes, you can usually bring them back to the store you bought them from or contact the manufacturer for a refund or replacement pair. Especially if the shoes are obviously defective, you shouldn’t have too much of an argument with trading them in.