KC New York boots; heel seam separation between leather and rubber

I'm on my 2nd pair of Kenneth Cole New York Bar-ricade boots since last November. I love everything about these boots except for the fact that both pairs have shown a separation between the rubber sole and the leather upper - don't know if the glue is poor or the shoe design is poor. This is occurring right at the wrinkle that happens when the shoe is flexed from normal walking. The first pair were much worse than the second, which has lasted a month or so longer than the first before showing this problem. Still I don't think I should get this with $150 boots.

So here is my conundrum; I love the look of these boots and have found NO others in a nearby price range, BUT I don't want to have semi-expensive boots with the heal separating from the sole.

Question 1: Can I take it to a cobbler and have them put better glue on it to possibly fix the problem once and for all?

Questoin 2: I may be able to live with it the way it is but it does look like water could come in. Has anyone else with this problem verified whether rain can come into the seam and get their foot wet?

KC makes junk. A cobbler might be able help you, but you'll still be stuck with a junky shoe.

Fair warning -- few people here like even the design of KC shoes with their usual clunky rubber soles and exaggerated square toes. On the off chance that boot is a somewhat classic design, post a picture or link to it and maybe we can recommend a similar boot from a higher-quality label.

Thanks for the reply.
Yeah, I've read the general opinion of KC shoes here - which I happen to mostly disagree with. I was hoping that people would disregard their "opinion" on KC shoes and give me some open minded answers to my questions.
Aesthetically KC makes some fine looking items, functionally however I'm disconcerted with the quality of these boots. Suffice to say I won't be buying KC anymore based on their poor quality and not because of the looks which I happen to enjoy.

Here's a link to the boot, it's similar to a black chelsea boot - I'd love to get something similar.
http://www.kennethcole.com/scripts/s...=84461%2084697

Anything out there like this under $200?

you could always get another pair of the same boots and hope that defect was an isolated case. looks like it is on sale for $150 as well

Normally I would but this my 2nd straight pair with this defect.
One was purchased from San Jose and the other from San Francisco 3 months later.
Don't know if it was a bad batch of glue or a bad shoe design.

repairing something that is not well made will still leave you with a badly made product and another future repair bill. Cut your losses and look at Chelseas from Loake (Charles Tyrwhitt shoes). There is a coupon floating around this site and you can get them for less than the KC and it is much, much better than the KC.

There are always the Loake for Charles Tyrwhitt chelseas that many on this forum have. I own a pair and absolutely love them. Quality will not be of the highest level ( a la EG or JL) but will still be lightyears ahead of KCs. With the 50% off link I'm sure someone will have, they are in the same ballpark as your current boots.

Thanks again for the helpful replies.
I do like the look of those Chelsea boots. Never heard of them but that's the look I want and sounds like the do hold up.

-Haven't seen the 50% coupon yet, but the site mentions they're 25% off
-How did it work out getting the right size for all of you who had them shipped overseas - having to send them back would downright suck??
-Do they work well with jeans and say charcoal wool pants?
-US 9.5 would be a UK 10?

Originally Posted by someoneNew

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Thanks again for the helpful replies.
I do like the look of those Chelsea boots. Never heard of them but that's the look I want and sounds like the do hold up.

-Haven't seen the 50% coupon yet, but the site mentions they're 25% off
-How did it work out getting the right size for all of you who had them shipped overseas - having to send them back would downright suck??
-Do they work well with jeans and say charcoal wool pants?
-US 9.5 would be a UK 10?

www.ctshirts.com/spots

The sales bascially never end, never accept less than 50% off.

I ordered mine 2 and a half weeks ago, should be here any second . How has shipping been for everyone else? Im on the west coast so im giving some leeway to the 10 business days estimate.

UK sizes are usually a half size down from the US size. However, the consensus seems to be that these run a size larger than they should (The F width?). I wear a 10.5 US and ordered a 9.5 UK *crosses fingers*

IME i've found that a full size down from UK fits me perfect. And loafers and chelsea boots seem to be roomier than laceups (again ime) so i'd recommend going down a full size for the UK size. So US 9.5 would be UK 8.5

I have seen this happen on most of the KC shoes my friends have worn. You just have to stay away. Those boots are a lot nicer and are very versatile.

I would go a full size down as well. I normally take a US12, and ordered a UK11 - they fit perfectly. They go very well with jeans and would go well with wool pants as well.

Well I'm really appreciating the help here. I am very interested in this boot and will most likely order it soon based on it's high ratings here. My only point of distress is the sizing, go down a half or a full. I'll mull it over a bit and try to figure the best size to order. Every pair of shoes I have is a 9.5, or if in full sizes only a 10.

Just got mine in today. It seems to fit quite well. The heel is quite nice - almost snug, and there is a comfortable amount of room width-wise. What puzzles me is that it is labeled a 9 H.... what the heck is an H??? Edit: Oh wow I'm dumb... 9 H = 9 Half right? hah oops, I thought an order was messed up or my feet shrank or something My first impressions: Overall Id say they arent quite up to AEs, but close. The leather seems a little thinner and a tiny bit "plasticy" compared to some AEs. Certainly not kenneth cole plastic, but corrected grain? maybe But all the details are there and they look well put together, Id say that they are well worth the sale price. Of course, actually wearing them will prove their worth.

I think I may end up getting the CT Chelseas in brown and darken them up a bit with black shoe polish. Unless there's a better way to do that of course.