text: I have been wearing this style for years, but the quality has really gone downhill in the last few years. 2 pairs ago, they lasted until the soles wore down after several years - perfect. 1 pair ago, the soles fell apart within a few months - the top and bottom of the sole seem to be stiffer material, but there's empty space in between, with just a narrow band of material around the edges to fool you into thinking they're the same as the old type. The most recent pair had problems from day 1 - the hooks at the top swivel around, so the shoes come untied. I ended up needing to re-tie them repeatedly during the day. Perhaps due to this, after a few months the lace sleeve (the 3rd row from the top) popped out of the leather on one of the shoes. The right shoe also becomes very uncomfortable after a few hours and starts digging into my heel enough to cause blisters. None of this used to be a problem with this style.<br /><br />Perhaps this is another example of &#34;quality fade&#34; and Timberland simply doesn't care (they certainly didn't seem to be motivated to do anything about the pair where the soles fell off when I called them). Maybe they're intentionally cutting corners. Regardless, this is the last Timberland product I will purchase.