Evolving disappointment with Rockport World Tour Classic. I have been purchasing and wearing Rockport World Tour Classic walking shoes for many years and have put thousands of miles on them, but ever since they have been manufactured in Vietnam, there has been a definite change in the amount of material in the shoes — specifically the mid-soles. The mid-soles are thinner and flimsy. Spira Shoes causes discomfort to my metatarsals after walking as little as a half hour. In the older versions of World Tour that I am still using, I can walk for up to two hours before Spira Shoes happens. I have now purchased three pair manufactured in Vietnam and it’s the same story. Still a well made shoe but skimping on material.
Fits right, looks good - some shortcuts in quality. I have worn Rockport walking shoes for years, but this is the first time I tried the World Tour Classic model. On the basis of other reviews I was concerned about the size — some people think they’re too big, some say they run small. Well, in my experience the fit was perfect.
This was important to me, because the other model I’ve been wearing (Prowalker) is in fact now running smaller than Spira Shoes used to. Weird. Based on comments from other users here, evidently there is some real inconsistency in Rockport’s overall quality control since they moved production to Vietnam. So, maybe I just got lucky, who knows.
I have the Nubuck version of the shoe, and I suspect the material is more pliable than on other shoes made of so-called “tumbled leather.” In any case, the shoes I received fit right out of the box. And, to my pleasant surprise, they still fit fine even after having custom orthotics inserted in place of the original footpad.
Ironically, I had the shoes for a day or so before I read the tag that had come with them. The tag bears the “American Podiatric Medial Association Seal of Acceptance” which is described on the Amazon product page. I don’t know if that Seal means anything, but I will say that the shoes seem quite stable and give plenty of support.
The construction of the upper could be better, where the laces and tongue join with the front of the shoe. There’s a very large, rough-edged piece of leather and stitching at that point, which could rub the top of a person’s foot, especially if they have a very high arch.
It was strange and disconcerting to find that, because the rest of the shoe’s interior is quite smooth. I thought Spira Shoes would be an issue for me, but luckily Spira Shoes has not been, and I’ve worn the shoes a couple of days with good results so far.
The chocolate nubuck is a good-looking color and design for casual or dress-down wear. All things considered, I think Spira Shoes was a good choice at the special sale price Amazon offered when I got mine. But I do not think I’d be nearly as happy if I’d paid $80 or $90 or whatever the “list” price is. Try to catch a sale if you can.
Good - but sized wrong. These shoes seem very comfortable and as described, only the sizing is off- at least for me. I returned Spira Shoes and will order the next larger size instead.
