I don’t know why it seems to be impossible to find a good house slipper these days.
These are the features I’m looking for (need both men’s and women’s, or even just a good variety of men’s sizes will do; my wife will wear a men’s if it is small enough to fit):
Firm shape — not the sock-like things
Soft, comfortable interior
Hard sole — The soft ones seem to wear through very quickly
Nice tread — We don’t have carpet; we don’t like slipping.
Durability —Since they seem to be so hard to find nearby, I don’t want to have to replace them frequently
Price —If they really are that good and will last a long time, I’d be willing to pay $50-60, but I’d prefer to keep it at $25 or less
I’ll plug Giesswien, though they miserably, miserably fail in your #6 requirement. They’re stupidly expensive for slippers.
That said, I live in slippers. I work from home, I live in a cold climate, and I have hard floors; if I don’t have good footwear, I get backaches and my feet get cold. So I invest in slippers. I’ve had lots of them - nice ones from all kinds of different brands.
Then, a year and a half ago, Mr. Athena bought me these as a Christmas present. The slippers that changed my life. They are absolutely the most comfortable, stable, wonderful slippers I’ve ever had. My feet sing when I put them on*. I could run marathons in them**. They’re holding up to daily use, showing almost no wear so far. Highly recommended, if you can stomach the price.
OK, maybe not, but if my feet had voices, they WOULD sing.
** Note “could”. In theory, I could. Have I? Nope.
my feet hurt if I don’t have arch support so my “slippers” are actually shoes. warm weather I use sandals and right now I am wearing felt clogs. I think some of the clogs meet your requirements.
My wife gave me a pair of suede Uggs a year or so ago. I’ve never been a fan of house slippers but with age comes wisdom (and cold feet, apparently). Like OP we have hard wood floors throughout and these are warm, soft, durable and incredibly comfortable. A bit more expensive than you might want to spend but worth the price, IMO.
You can’t buy those kinds of things for somebody else. If you gave me a pair of thong flipflops, I’d just throw them away. I’ve tried to wear the ones furnished in hotels, and nearly killed myself stumbling over them, and it takes me longer to put them on than a pair of laceup sneakers… Each person has their own preference for what they want to wear on their feet.
Personally, if i need some quick footwear, I have a pair of yard-sale Nikes, laces removed with a velcro closure, which are perfect for all uses, I could even walk several blocks in them, without socks, they have quality arch suppport… It takes me 8 seconds to step into them and close the flap (I just timed it).
I wear Sperry Docksiders in the house. They’re in the $100 dollar range, but they last for years and years. They’re leather, durable, well stitched, and have a tough non-slippery sole, so you can wear them outside if necessary. They don’t have the soft lining of a regular slipper, but the leather becomes very supple pretty quickly.
My wife loves her Haflingers, but they run about $80.
Have you tried Lands’ End? I have a pair of LE slippers that I have worn almost daily for about 15 years. They are only now beginning to look a bit scruffy. They meet all your requirements, except possibly price (they cost more than $25 but they really are durable).
One year I asked for house slippers for Christmas, and I got moccasins. I’ve been wearing moccasins almost exclusively since then – inside, outside, all seasons.
Walmart sells moccasins for around $12; they stretch out quickly and last maybe six months. I prefer to buy from Eddie Bauer (or similar store) for $80-100; the moccasins keep their shape and last forever (at least five years).
Look for sales, coupons, discounts, etc. to knock down the price.
I’m on my second pair of these Ugg slippers now; the first one lasted about 10 years…although I probably should have replaced them about 2-3 years earlier (they were still serviceable, but the wool lining was no longer fluffy and soft). At $100 they, like many of the suggestions in this thread, fail your criterion #6, but “you get what you pay for”. I don’t really think the slipper you’re looking for actually exists…and if it does, you’ll most likely be spending another $25 next year to replace them. Expand your price range, and you’ll get a pair that will satisfy you for many years.
Alternative to conventional slippers but tick all the items on your list and may still meet your needs depending on how you feel about laces are Allbirds - wool upper, sneaker-like sole.
Sorel. I have these. A little bit above your price range, but they are so worth it. The heel is just high enough to not slip out of, but low enough to make slipping your feet into them easy.