There was a great sale on Reeboks. Got 4 pair for hundred bucks.
What is the best way to wear them so they last. Should I wear one pair till it wears out? Or should I rotate them?
That won’t make a difference. The total lifetime will be the same in either scenario.
I don’t disagree with ultie, but I rotate my running shoes for a couple of reasons:
First, giving them a chance to dry out is the single most important way to avoid Stinky Shoes. When I run in warm weather (like this season) I can actually wring sweat out of my socks, and my shoes are squishy. Rotating them gives each pair a chance to dry, and I have had much fewer problems with foot fungus etc. since instituting a rigorous rotation.
Second, rotating them gives you a better chance to notice and avoid break-in problems. Maybe this won’t help if you have 4 brand new pairs, but I like to introduce new shoes on short runs before trusing them to go long.
Third is convienience. I put one pair in a gym bag that I generally leave in my car. That way, if I want to run right after work, I’m set. But if I want to go home, I just grab a pair out of the closet.
I’m currently running about 30 miles a week and have three pairs in rotation. Two of them are the same model and color, so I have to mark one pair to avoid problems with the axiom of choice* . More practically, I fear that someday I’ll show up to a race with a bag that has two left shoes.
I also have 1.999…* other pairs that I’ve taken out of rotation, but still trust enough for occasional use (traveling, muddy weather, etc.)
Now, I just noticed you called them “sneakers” and not running shoes, so maybe you’re just using them for walking around, in which case… never mind.
*inside jokes for you-know-who-you-are
They are technically Cross Training shoes.
Actually, I think you have two factors to consider. The first is tread life, which should be about the same regardless of the rotation methodology.
The second is aging (rubber rot and leather cracking). This will start as soon as you expose the sneakers to moisture (foot sweat and the like). To really stretch those puppies out, you might want to consider putting two pair of sneakers in sealed containers (those vacuum bags are nifty) and rotating the other two pair until they wear out.
Imagine tires on a car that is only driven once a week. They will need replacing after ten years even if they have only been driven 1000 miles.
I rotate my boots, and they do last longer.
I also use shoe trees, but I don’t know if they’ll work with sneakers.
Can somebody more knowledgeable comment on using shoe trees with sneakers?
See I am SOOOOOO cheap. I want to make them last. I wear them around too. Not just to work out. I keep my dress shoes at work.
I will change the question a little and answer that you should rotate them.
Two assumptions: there’s a reasonable possiblity you will not wear all four pairs to exhaustion(foot, life or shoe style changes etc) and the best enjoyment wearing them will be in the front end of usage rather than the back.
I suspect the total life of four pairs of shoes will differ depending on whether you rotate or not, but I don’t have a firm opinion on which method would result in the greater total life.