Please sign in to post.

Finn Comfort Shoes fell apart.

Hi, everyone. A word of warning to anyone who's considering dropping $300 (or more!) on a pair of Finn Comfort shoes. I wore the Gomera sandal every day for two weeks and it began to fall apart. After just three days it dropped the decorative stud that disguised the Velcro strap. It was purely decorative, so I didn't particularly care, even though anyone who really wanted to find fault would have noticed my shoes were not an exact match for one another. What did concern me was that it boded poorly for the durability of the shoe. Sure enough, after another week-and-a-half of use the ankle strap on one is now coming apart from the sole.

I like to walk but I am not particularly hard on shoes. At least, I've never had reason to think so before. I did get the sandals wet twice, not long before strap and sole began to go their separate ways. Looks like the water dissolved glue where, for the price, there should have been stitching.

I have a high arch and these shoes were comfortable for me, but I've had fifty-dollar sandals that lasted longer. For shame.

Posted by
27111 posts

I had a similar problem with Naot sandals. They were stitched as well as glued, but apparently too close to the edge of the strap, and the vertical strap separated from the horizontal. It happened initially after I was caught in the rain for 5 or 10 minutes. Subsequently a similar issue occured at two of the three other strap connections. Fortunately, the issues occurred in my hometown.

Posted by
593 posts

Sorry to hear that. If the shoes are less than 6 months old and they fell apart due to a defect rather than wear and tear, Finn has a warranty. If that isn’t an option, the company NuShoe is an authorized repair/refurbisher for Finn.
https://www.nushoe.com/finn-comfort-shoe-repair.html#sale1
“Complete renewal” will cost about half what you originally paid for the shoes but they will be almost as a new pair. You might see this as throwing good money after bad, but when my Gomeras needed new soles after a few years I had NuShoe do a “basic renewal” and was pleased with the result.

Posted by
8668 posts

Very sorry to hear that. What a pain!

As I’ve stated before on this forum I’m a great admirer of the Keen brand of shoes and sandals. I too have a high arch and after developing plantar facitus in my right foot was on a desperate search for comfortable walking and hiking shoes and sandals. Discovered Keens at my local REI and have never looked back.
The plantar facitus disappeared as well.

Last fall while in London I average 6 miles a day of ob foot exploration. Depending on the weather and destination I alternated between the waterproof Traghee hiking shoes and the slip on. Durable and lightweight.

Worth every penny. I have 8 different styles of shoes and sandals. Love each pair.

Posted by
13937 posts

Yikes! Thanks for posting your experience. I hope they lasted thru your trip? That would be what would worry me most .... having a shoe fail into a trip. Makes a case for a spare pair of shoes! The last 2 trips I haven't even had my spare pair out of the suitcase except to repack but your post makes me think I will keep taking them.

(And now I'm laughing at my post. Anyone remember the Seinfeld episode with Elaine in the bathroom asking for a spare square? a square to spare?)

Good to know there is a warranty but really, I would be taking them back to the store or contacting the online retailer and sending those puppies back.

Posted by
3941 posts

As someone who sold shoes for over a decade...unfortunately, even the best shoes can have flaws. We sold thousands of Birkenstocks a year, and would get maybe 20-30 back in the run of a year. Ditto Clark’s and Rockports and Blundstones. I’ve had 6 or 7 pair of Naot and never had an issue. We didn’t deal in Finn Comfort, tho we ordered a few pair in for employees. Hopefully they are under warranty or you can have them repaired. At least up here in Canada, the company we dealt with for Birks (and they also sold the Finn Comfort) was very good about replacing or fixing defective shoes.

Posted by
3961 posts

I have to agree that shoes can have flaws. That said, I have had multiple pairs of Naot's for years and they are still going strong. I also find Keen's to be another go to for comfort and durability. I just ordered the Keen Rose Sandal to try out.

Posted by
2602 posts

I love my Finn Comfort Ikebukuro and Soho--but didn't want to spend $300-400 on sneakers so found them on ebay for less than $75 each. They have worn well, but it sounds like getting your sandals wet dissolved the glue. Might be worth contacting the company re this.

Posted by
2126 posts

These had to be defective. I'd return them to the store. I have a pair of Finn Comfort Gomeras that I bought in 2013 and wore, as my only shoes, for a month in Turkey that year, then a month in Greece in 2015 and a month in Sicily in 2016 ... and certainly got caught in some rainstorms. In addition to travel wear, these are my go-to, everyday sandals at home in the summer. I did buy new insoles at one point. Finally in the spring of 2018, when the bottoms of the soles were starting to wear and they looked pretty grungy, I bought a new pair of Gomeras.

I still use the old ones for paint shoes and yardwork, and got them totally soaked through several times this summer while working with a balky sprinkler system. They don't have a lot of arch support now, but I just checked and there is still no separation between the strap and the sole. And the decorative stud is still attached. Take them back!

Posted by
3695 posts

I agree that the shoes were defective and I would contact Finn Comfort or wherever you bought the sandals for a refund, replacement or free repair. My view is that any brand of anything can have a lemon and the true test is customer service after they know of the problem. I have two pairs of Finn Comfort sandals (Jamaica and Milos) that are my summer travel sandals and because I live in California my go-to shoes for when I am running out to run an errand and both pairs are still in just about perfect condition. At their prices, I think they should last at least 10 years -- I've had mine for five and so far so good. Good luck