Product Details

• Size: 11 F(M) UK / 13 B(M) US Women / 12 D(M) US Men
• Color: Gaucho Brun
• Brand: Dr. Martens
• Fabric type: leather

Features

• Lightweight PVC sole
• Flexlink technology for comfort
• Shock absorbing compression chambers in sole for comfort
• Cushioning, breathable Ortholite insole

From the Manufacturer
Dr. Martens is the stuff of legends. It all began near Munich, Germany in 1945 when Dr. Klaus Maertens injured his foot in a skiing accident in the Bavarian Alps. To make walking easier during the healing process, he designed a shoe with an air-cushioned sole. Using old rubber tires, he constructed soles that had air trapped within closed compartments. He showed his prototype to his engineer/inventor friend, Dr. Herbert Funck, and together they decided to develop and produce the shoes. Not only did the shoe solve the doctor's immediate problem, but it also started to sell well in Germany. By 1959 the two decided that they needed a company to produce and distribute the shoes, then called Dr. Maertens, in other parts of the world. At first, many manufacturers rejected the concept of an air cushioned sole as a short-lived gimmick. However, the R. Griggs Group, located in the village of Wollaston in England, decided to go along with the idea by creating the first work boot with the revolutionary sole. On the first of April 1960, the first cherry red eight-eyelet work boot was produced and named 1460. To sell the brand name better in England, the name was anglicized to Dr. Martens. The range was branded AirWair and the rest is history.

Customer Reviews

The new chinese version sucks
I've had a number of pairs of Docs over the years, all either 8-eyelet or 6-eyelet padded boots. My last pair of brit-made 6-eyelet boots are 5-6 years old, and getting pretty beat up from bartending in them 5 nights a week for years. I picked up a new pair, and didn't really inspect them much before I bought them, as I'd owned several pairs before, knew they'd all fit the same after a little breaking-in, and I was in a hurry.

Wearing them the first day, I thought they were awfully tight, but figured they just needed to be worn in a little. At the end of the day, though, my feet hurt- a first for me with docs. So I compared them to my old pair. They're both size 8s, but the new pair is a good inch shorter, narrower across the heel and instep and pinches in more closely at the toes. Pretty much a full size smaller.

The quality is -much- lower than the old pair, too. The leather is thinner and stiffer and clearly won't last nearly as long. My old pair is fully lined, with a padded, lined tongue, while the new pair is only lined in the very front of the toe, with a very thin unpadded, unlined tongue. The stitching is much shoddier, with fewer parallel lines, fewer stitches per inch and no reinforcing tacks where the uppers attach to the lowers under the lowest set of eyelets. Speaking of eyelets, the new pair has cheap painted steel rolled two-piece eyelets rather than the flat, brass one-piece eyelets imprinted with "Dr Martens Air Wair" of the old pair.

All in all, they're more like a cheap Wal-Mart/discount store knock-off than real Docs. Uncomfortable, shoddy and clearly won't take the abuse the England built ones did. Absolutely the last pair I ever buy, and they're going to the Salvation Army tomorrow.

Great Buy
I bought these shoes as a present to my boyfriend who works in a casual bank. He totally loved them and said that they are very comfortable, and, I must say, quite fashionable

Great shoes, though the break-in period is annoying
This is the second pair for me, the first having finally died. These are great shoes for jeans or slacks. When you first get them on your feet they can be a bit rigid, but after a few weeks they wear in to a perfect fit.