Durable Adult Sneakers for Almost 10 year old

[NextTime]

So my soon to be 10 year-old has now graduated out of the kids shoe sizes and is now a size 7.5-8.

He's a typical active kid that destroys a pair of shoes every 3-4 months. In my experience the quality was quite lacking from the major brands.

Any ideas on who makes a durable shoe nowadays? Just need something he can run, jump, and be a kid in. We tried Keen's a year or so ago, and they held up better than anything, but they are freaking heavy compared to every other shoe, and he absolutely hated wearing them.
I'd like to keep the price under $50 as well.

[Sibley]

Just find comfortable, lower cost shoes and plan to buy a pair every quarter. If nothing else, the kid is still growing so you don't want to invest a lot of money in shoes that he's going to outgrow the next growth spurt.

I tend to stick to New Balance, but ymmv.

[jac941]

We’ve had a lot of luck with Natives. It’s the only shoe our rising 4th grade boy doesn’t destroy before outgrowing. He’s a lot smaller though - only a size 3 or 4.

Not a typical athletic shoe, but our son wears them to summer camp and they’ve endured tons of pickup sports there. He’s worn them biking, hiking and backpacking. They can be hosed off when filthy and will dry in a few minutes since there’s no fabric. They’re comfortable, lightweight, and he likes the designs.

They don’t feel like they will be durable, but he wears them 90% of the time and they don’t get trashed. In contrast his typical athletic shoes which he wears far less develop holes in a couple months.

[CNM]

My almost 9 year old is in the same boat.  He wears a size 6.  I have found that having a couple of pairs of shoes for different things helps prolong their lives and is probably more comfortable for him.  He also wears Native shoes as sandals/water shoes (they look sort of like a cross between converse and crocs), has a dedicated pair of hiking boots for winter and hiking activities, cowboy boots for more formal dress and chilly weather, and then Nike sneakers.   I usually only need to replace his Nikes one a year when he grows out of them.  Other than the Natives, the other shoes have not worn out at all, and they were bought on the big side so he still fits in them.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I'm with Sibley. I'd plan to not spend a lot, but plan to replace quarterly. If you get longer out of them, great. I have two teens (14 & 15) & our strategy is to invest in two pair of shoes per "season". One is more of a running sneaker, the other is for whatever else is needed. (This isn't too mention sport specific shoes, because we also go through those regularly). We tend to buy Nike gift cards on sale, then hit up the Nike outlet when they have a good sale. We often also buy a size up, if the sale is particularly good. Our average price is between $40-50/pair, but now that the kids are in full adult sizes (10+), it can be harder to find anything & we often pay more. Our kids use the shoes for PE & all activities, so $40-50 seems reasonable.

[slappy]

I'm with Sibley. I'd plan to not spend a lot, but plan to replace quarterly. If you get longer out of them, great. I have two teens (14 & 15) & our strategy is to invest in two pair of shoes per "season". One is more of a running sneaker, the other is for whatever else is needed. (This isn't too mention sport specific shoes, because we also go through those regularly). We tend to buy Nike gift cards on sale, then hit up the Nike outlet when they have a good sale. We often also buy a size up, if the sale is particularly good. Our average price is between $40-50/pair, but now that the kids are in full adult sizes (10+), it can be harder to find anything & we often pay more. Our kids use the shoes for PE & all activities, so $40-50 seems reasonable.

This is a great idea! I always see Nike gift cards on sale, and I live quite close to a Nike outlet. I didn't even think about combining the two! My oldest is just getting to the point where the Walmart character shoes aren't cutting it, and I'd like him to have more of "real" shoe, since he likes to workout with me and go on runs/walks with me.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I'm with Sibley. I'd plan to not spend a lot, but plan to replace quarterly. If you get longer out of them, great. I have two teens (14 & 15) & our strategy is to invest in two pair of shoes per "season". One is more of a running sneaker, the other is for whatever else is needed. (This isn't too mention sport specific shoes, because we also go through those regularly). We tend to buy Nike gift cards on sale, then hit up the Nike outlet when they have a good sale. We often also buy a size up, if the sale is particularly good. Our average price is between $40-50/pair, but now that the kids are in full adult sizes (10+), it can be harder to find anything & we often pay more. Our kids use the shoes for PE & all activities, so $40-50 seems reasonable.

This is a great idea! I always see Nike gift cards on sale, and I live quite close to a Nike outlet. I didn't even think about combining the two! My oldest is just getting to the point where the Walmart character shoes aren't cutting it, and I'd like him to have more of "real" shoe, since he likes to workout with me and go on runs/walks with me.

Yes, we find that investing in the higher quality shoes ensure the kids are comfortable when they work out (run, walk, play tennis, PE, general kid based activities). We just try to optimize for price within the higher quality shoes

[nereo]

So my soon to be 10 year-old has now graduated out of the kids shoe sizes and is now a size 7.5-8.

He's a typical active kid that destroys a pair of shoes every 3-4 months. In my experience the quality was quite lacking from the major brands.

Any ideas on who makes a durable shoe nowadays? Just need something he can run, jump, and be a kid in. We tried Keen's a year or so ago, and they held up better than anything, but they are freaking heavy compared to every other shoe, and he absolutely hated wearing them.
I'd like to keep the price under $50 as well.

Well, what does your son like wearing? I’d include him in the discussion. At that age I really liked wearing indoor soccer shoes (I liked lotto - my brother preferred adidas), and they are designed to take a beating.

Also - where does he wear out the shoes the fastest? Different styles of shoes are more/less robust in certain areas, like indoor soccer shoes tend to protect the toe-box and instep more.

[trollwithamustache]

whatever Costco has worked well for the sprouting years once you hit adult sizes. Ours never seemed to care much about the footwear part of fashion.

We did pay up for a pair of good running shoes every cross country season. Or, well we tried. I don't know that we really had a handle on the difference between under and over pronation until early high school.

[NextTime]

So my soon to be 10 year-old has now graduated out of the kids shoe sizes and is now a size 7.5-8.

He's a typical active kid that destroys a pair of shoes every 3-4 months. In my experience the quality was quite lacking from the major brands.

Any ideas on who makes a durable shoe nowadays? Just need something he can run, jump, and be a kid in. We tried Keen's a year or so ago, and they held up better than anything, but they are freaking heavy compared to every other shoe, and he absolutely hated wearing them.
I'd like to keep the price under $50 as well.

Well, what does your son like wearing? I’d include him in the discussion. At that age I really liked wearing indoor soccer shoes (I liked lotto - my brother preferred adidas), and they are designed to take a beating.

Also - where does he wear out the shoes the fastest? Different styles of shoes are more/less robust in certain areas, like indoor soccer shoes tend to protect the toe-box and instep more.

He wears them out in the top of the toe box mainly. But they get ratty all around. The materials Nike and UA are using these days are atrocious for young, active kids.

I found a $40 pair of Nikes on their website today, so those are on the way.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Natives, so I’ll check those out.

[gooki]

My son's New Balance shoes seem to be lasting.

For a cheaper option try Everlast (where I live they're 1/3rd the price of NB shoes).

[Dicey]

My granddaughter is hard on shoes and Natives are working well for her.

I volunteer at a thrift store and when we get them, they're usually still in great shape, which is unusual for kid's shoes. So far, I've only found sizes that are too small for her, darn! Also, they can be thrown in the washer and clean up really well.