well, I normally wear mid-range ($65-ish) Nike running shoes, and I extensively research each pair I buy... but I still wind up buying new ones every few years.
.
These, on the other hand...
...have been through hell and back with me (and I still use 'em for dirty work and hiking). The other pair was destroyed in an accident during a training exercise, but these are all that's left of my original issue as a raw recruit... I haven't shined 'em since they stopped being a uniform item, though, and it's
really starting to show (but they still have enough polish rubbed into 'em to be waterproof, so I don't much care).
...don't even get me started on the desert tan boots we're issued these days... more expensive
and completely disposable. *headdesk*