If you live in the snowy parts of the East Coast like we do, then you can’t help but fear slipping on the dangerously icy surfaces of the roads, decks, backyard, steps et al in winter.
Like all cheapo desis, for many years we stuck to our old Made in India Hush Puppies and similar footwear.
But finally out of concern for our health and the risks of falling on ice we succumbed and got ourself a pair of Ecco boots from Amazon (yes, people buy even shoes online in the U.S.) that can better weather the snow and ice than the usual casualwear leather shoes or sneakers.
Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boot
We first went to the local mall here and checked out Macy’s, Boscov’s and a few shoe chains like Foot Locker. Didn’t like any of the stuff on display.
Back we went to our shack and our trusted e-tailer Amazon.
After much searching and researching, we shortlisted two shoes: Ecco Men’s Track II High Gore-Tex Boot ($191.00-$214.95) and Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boot ( $149.90-$219.95).
Well, girls can wear men’s boots, can’t they. So don’t y’all go off on one more of your wild goose speculative trips now. 😉
We looked at both shoes from every angle (Amazon lets you do that) and read the reviews.
Finally, we chose the Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boots. Of course, the fact that it was cheaper ($149.90 and came with free shipping too) helped. We did tell you we are cheapo desis, didn’t we. 😉
The gushing review on Amazon by a Canadian user about how it’s good for winter didn’t hurt either.
The Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boots are supposed to have an oiled leather upper with Gore-Tex linings so that the foot stays dry and refreshed, a removable 3mm comfort fibre insole and a durable rubber outsole for strong stepping and balance on just about any surface. That’s the Amazon description for ya.
We ordered the shoes on Sunday night (12/13/2009) and the postman delivered it a few hours ago (i.e. on Friday, 12/18/2009).
Our Ecco boots would have been on our feet sooner had we been willing to pay extra for two-day shipping. Ha ha ha, catch a desi willing to pay extra. No way, kiddo. We’re in no hurry.
The neatly laced boots came in a regular shoe box that was inside the usual larger Amazon box.
Comfortable Footwear
We tried on our new Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boots and went out for a short walk a little while ago.
Folks, our first impression – the boots are very comfortable.
The shoe has a neat finish too.
We like ’em so far.
By the way, these Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boots are made in Slovakia, not in China, India or Phillipines.
But of course the crucial test of the boots will come when we walk on icy surface.
Will our new Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boots be as slippery as our worn-out Indian Hush Puppies or will they be better?
The icy test shouldn’t take long because these days the weather conditions here are pretty bad. Awfully cold.
Right now, it’s 29°F outside (i.e. -2°C).
Plus, there’s a snow forecast for tomorrow here (i.e. on Saturday).
We’ll update this post once we wear these Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boot on snow/icy patches.
By the way, the folks at Gore-Tex (which makes the special fabric used by Ecco) offer to repair, replace or refund the price if you are not satisfied with the waterproofness, windproofness or breathability of the shoe. Sounds good, na.
Update:
We tested our new Ecco boots during the recent snow-storm (Dec 18, 2009) on the East Coast.
The boots held up well in the snow although some water got into them from the back because the snow was so deep (about 18-inches).
On the following days, we tried the boots on ice patches, including a large one in the parking lot of our Acme grocery store. Just to be on the safer side, we walked a little slowly on the ice.
Again, the boots held up well and lived up to our expectations. We’re happy to tell you that we didn’t slip on the ice.
Overall, we are pleased with the Ecco boots.
We hope they last long.
Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boots – Man, These are Good added by SearchIndia.com on
View all posts by SearchIndia.com →
You seem to be emphasizing the “Men’s” part too much.. aren’t you supposed to be an old lady?
update: I got too excited until I read
Well, girls can wear men’s boots, can’t they. So don’t y’all go off on one more of your wild goose speculative trips now.
why don’t you enjoy the nice aftertaste of Avatar instead of messing with us.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: You seem to be emphasizing the “Men’s” part too much.. aren’t you supposed to be an old lady?
What’s a red herring. 😉
2. Aren’t your neighboring towns Vaniyambadi and Ambur famous for leather footwear? Bet they even export them to Slovakia, which then reexports them to the U.S. 😉
@Vetti Jijai: I don’t think SI is a women. In fact, from SI’s replies to some of my previous comments, I assume that the current writer of SI was
1) An engineer who studied in India and got a job in BHEL and somehow moved to US either via job.
2) SI had previously indicated in some of his comments that one of his friends smoked POT and had to be consoled lest Police get a sniff of the incident. He had also mentioned that this was during his college days somewhat during the 1970s. (As far as I know only men in the 70s had the audacity to spoke Hashish.)
3) SI had often indicated that he migrated to indicated with an ARNAKAYIRU. As far as I know, Women don’t wear ARNAKAYURU till their adulthood (Pun intended 😀 )
4) Also a popular writer had wrote about a MAN who reviews and thrashes Cheap Indian Restaurants in the US 🙂 So I can safely assume SI is a man. He must be anywhere between 52-60 years of age by now
Note: When I read SI’s earlier posts, I assume that this blog used to have different writers, but now, there is only one who updates the blog posts.
Am I right SI?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Ha ha ha.
– Signed by
Mehrunissa Begum
La ilaha il allah
SI Wrote:
Ha ha ha.
– Signed by
Mehrunissa Begum
La ilaha il allah
Who are you fooling?
You have yourself mentioned that you are a christian 😉 So I am sure you aren’t Mehrunissa Begum..
Strange reply 😉 Guess I was either totally wrong or partially right!!!
Jokes apart, when did Mehrunissa Begum learn to smoke pot ;D
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: You have yourself mentioned that you are a christian
Christian??
You mean the religion whose leader was born of a virgin 😉
Virgin? Ha ha ha.
Wonder what Mary was trying to hide from that carpenter Joseph.
La ilaha il allah
/Mehrunissa Begum/
That’s your name? :O 😛
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You no like?
We can always change it to Tabassum Hashmi. 😉
I liked your description of the shoes, and going by the picture that you have posted, the shoes look very tempting.
But it doesnt snow here in south of India, and $149 is a bit expensive for something that is not needed.
I cant believe that you bought the shoes without actually trying them on !
While you can check out the looks of the shoes using some modern tools (like what Amazon provided you with), you have to wear the shoes to get a feel of the shoes.
I recently bought a pair of Adidas running shoes (for Rs 4000) after trying out a lot of them over three/four visits to the showrooms.
I was advised by a runner friend of mine to try the shoes during (mid-late) afternoon, and even jog/run in them for a while if possible.
I finally settled for comfort over looks.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The mindset of the American consumer is completely different from that of the Indian consumer.
The virtually infinite choices available online, the relatively easy return policies (with major e-tailers like Amazon), lower prices and the convenience factor make it the preferred way to shop for almost any goods including books (33% cheaper online), PCs, software, TVs, washing machines, shoes, clothes …. and even Lingerie and Hookers. 😉 BTW, we are not kidding about the last two.
Plus, on most e-tailers web sites like Amazon you can read the reviews posted by other buyers (the equivalent of the advice you got from your runner friend).
It’s hard for us to believe that there will be brick & mortar outlets in any significant form in the U.S. in 10-15 years.
In India, shopping is a hostile experience to the consumer. At least, it used to be a few decades back. We remember that every bill/receipt used to come with the printed statement at the bottom: Goods once sold cannot be returned or exchanged.
brick & mortar outlets will be there as long as girls & ladies are there.. what will they do without shopping malls.. what will husbands do if the wives don’t go out shopping for 4 hours .. or a whole day in many cases.!!
@guruprasad – 4000 Rs. sounds expensive.. they may be available for much cheaper in the factory outlet stores in the US.. I think. If it is not urgent and if you care about money, you can ask one of your US friends to pick it up and bring it when they come to India. 🙂 trying to infuse some cheapitude into you.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Compared to the 90s, there’s just not the same crowds at the malls. Plus, half the people come to the mall to window shop or eat at the food court.
Just finished watching For a Few Dollars More (Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef). Lovely.
Will have the review up later today.
E-shopping might have caught up in the USA, but not here in India.
Although the number of e-shoppers has grown in India, it is in sectors like books, and stuff where you can judge the product by the cover.
For most other things, people like to get a feel of what they are buying (to whatever extent that is allowed).
Due to a vast consumer base of varying economic backgrounds here, we will always have brick-and-mortar shops and showrooms.
And this, IMHO, will not change much even if the internet connectivity percolates to a larger population.
@Vetti Jijaji:
For the purchase of Rs 4000, I got a discount coupon worth Rs 1000 which I need to exhaust before 31 Dec, 2009.
I did not find much difference between the prices of shoes in the USA and in India, although I am not sure of the deals there.
Then again, there is this problem of fit and comfort, so you dont want to take risks.
And dont worry about cheapitude part of it.
SI has already branded all desis (whether in the USA or India) as cheapest-of-the cheapo people.
I wonder if other folks like natives of the USA and Europe are not cheapo at all, or cheapo but to a lesser degree compared to desis.
Also, do you become cheapo if you look for good/best deals ?
Or do you become a cheapo if you want good stuff without wanting to pay its worth ?
Or is it a snobbish thing, like if you dont buy stuff from good/posh places, you are a cheapo ?
Or if you buy second-hand stuff because you can afford only that ?
Looks like rich folks can be cheapo as well.
Do cheapos change/evolve ? Or, once a cheapo, always a cheapo ?
Cheapo seems to be an attitude and spirit more than anything else.
@SI: Please enlighten on the ‘cheapo’ phenomenon.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Cheapo desis constitute a spectrum, where at one end people look for deals/savings and at the other end resort to any and all devices to save/shave money.
While cheapo desis can be both buyers/consumers and sellers they are mostly buyers here.
Nothing wrong with exploiting a good deal if you can find one but desi behavior typically extends beyond that to outright cheating/stealing. Cheapo desis steal WiFi from their neighbor, steal the DISH access codes for satellite TV, buy stuff from stores and return them after using them, pick up discarded stuff from the street, don’t pay/under-report taxes on income, rent/buy pirated DVDs and (as sellers) treat other desis badly in Indian restaurants, (as sellers) hire illegals to save on labor costs, (as sellers) overcharge you for stuff, (as sellers) our filmmakers routinely pilfer Hollywood plots ad nauseum ad infinitum.
Cheating is in the Indian DNA (as with most things in life there are a few exceptions, of course).
One of the reasons e-shopping has not taken off in India is because of the pervasive cheating and the pervasive fear of being cheated. Folks in India want to touch and feel to make sure they are not being duped. Here, people buy $2,000 TVs online without thinking twice. Grocery is one of the few sectors that has not had much success online in the U.S. A lot of restaurants too have online ordering.
As we wrote yesterday, even Adult Services have gone online here. 😉
@SI: //You no like?
We can always change it to Tabassum Hashmi. //
So,the identity of Searchindia’s writer will remain a mystery forever. (Though I think you are a female.)
Anyway, what I care for is the reviews you write for English and Foreign (Let me be frank,none of your recommendations were bad,among the ones which I’ve seen after reading your review. 😉 ) and not your name! 😛
And waiting for your review of the For A Few Dollars More and Invictus!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We’ll try to have the review of For a Few Dollars More soon.
Lost track of the number of times we’ve listened to the theme music for this film. Worth the 99-cents we paid on iTunes.
Was looking for a snow boot and remembered that SI had posted one eons back…..
Hwz this one holding up or do you have any other recommendation?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Our Ecco boots are fine. We just took them out yesterday in preparation for the coming snow season.
Ecco Men’s Country GTX Boots – Man, These are Good
Last year, we skidded on some ice but thanks to the Ecco boots we managed to avoid serious injuries!