How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

Are comfortable and repairable shoes possible and sensible from an economic point of view? Any recommendations?

Classic leather dress shoes can last decades and can be resoled many times.

But most people don't consider them comfortable. More the opposite.

But no, the foam and rubber modern "comfortable" shoes are made of are not repairable. Fundamentally, the foam or other sole material simply breaks down. The rubber wears away. And the woven and plastic materials the upper are made of fray, lose padding, and otherwise break down as well.

I don't think they are right now.

I have very wide feet, so much so that I've seriously considered manufacturing my own shoes (possibly with a 3D printer). Shoe makers and repair shops do exist but they are becoming quite rare.

My understanding is that a good quality repairable shoe is about $500 or about 5x the price of the $100 shoe we're talking about. Repairing it is labor intensive and adds even more to that cost. So, I can buy at least 5 pairs of $100 shoes for the price of a good quality and repairable shoe and that doesn't consider the repair costs.

I've used shoe goo to get more life out of shoes. It's marketed as an adhesive, but you can apply it to the bottom of the sole to rebuild thickness to the tread. A single tube could be used for dozens of repairs. After that for me, usually the textiles in the upper fray from the inside out, and I just ignore it until it becomes externally visible or uncomfortable.

I don't think more extensive repairs are economical, and you are better off wearing shoes you like until they disintegrate. There is a bit of mythology about buying expensive boots and repairing them in the hope that it's more economical, but it's really not: https://mastodon.social/@danluu/111068432320682422

I've had a couple of leather shoes (goodyear welted oxfords) repaired, and the last pair cost me around $100 to get re-soled. It was a local cobbler that has a very, very small shop.

I mean if you pay $300 and up for a pair of shoes, it could make sense. If you pay $100 for a pair, you might as well just purchase a new pair. In my case I re-sole the shoes because my shoes fit me well, and they're more on the high-end and thus I've paid a bit for them at the time of purchase. Makes sense for me to re-sole a pair of $1k shoes, rather than purchase a new pair.

To get the prices down, you'd need a lot more cobblers though. And there just aren't many going to trade school for that. It is very much a "artisanal" craft today, akin to tailoring.

I have 4 pairs of Allen Edmonds shoes. The oldest pair is 6 or 7 years old. With some light care (conditioning / polishing) they've held up very well. To address another comment about comfort: They're quite uncomfortable at first. Over time the leather (and cork insoles) mold to your foot. Making them comfortable.

These are leather dress shoes though. As far as I know, this doesn't exist in the athletic shoe world. Considering the materials used in athletic shoes, I don't know how a "repairable" athletic shoe could exist without some serious re-engineering.

Comfortable is of course subjective, but my current go to for "fancy" shoes is Meermin. For about the price of a pair of higher end Nike or Adidas shoes that are just foam glued to fabric, you can get a pair of "traditionally made" Goodyear welted leather shoes. Meermin, for example, still does some manufacturing steps in China. As far as I know they sew together the leather pieces in China and then ship them to Spain for lasting / final assembly / polishing.

It goes to show how the big athletic shoe companies are taking the piss. Of course they have middlemen and retailers and whatnot who need to take their cut, but if I can buy a pair of nice leather shoes, made from leather from UK/French/Italian tanneries, with about a million steps done by a human, for the same price as some glued together foam and fabric...something is wrong.