Have you got school age children? If you do, you probably have school shoe shopping on your list of things to do over the summer holidays. I think it is really important for my kids to have comfortable shoes that fit well. So I’ve always taken them into a shop (usually Clarks, or a local shoe shops) to get them fitted and paid for good quality shoes. I never even considered buying them online until Treads shoes got in touch and asked me if I would like to review a pair and do a giveaway.

Note: I was gifted a pair of shoes to review and am running the giveaway in conjunction with Treads. This article also contains an affiliate link. It won’t cost you anything extra to shop through it, but will help to support the blog. Opinions are all my own.

Are Treads shoes eco-friendly?

I’ve haven’t seen any eco-friendly or sustainable shoes options in the shoes shops I’ve taken my children to. But another reason to pay for good quality shoes, is so that they last as long as possible. The longer something lasts, the less waste there is.

Treads shoes don’t claim to be made from eco-friendly materials, but they do claim to be long lasting. Even more so than the shoes I’ve bought in the past. They are made with a special technique that makes the upper part of the shoes and the sole of the shoe one unit, which doesn’t need to be glued. This means they have less things that can go wrong with them.

I can’t tell you the amount of times my son’s previous shoes have separated between the upper and the sole. So I like the sound of this!

Are the shoes good value for money?

The prices of these shoes are similar prices to places like Clarks. So they aren’t cheap, but if they are long lasting, then they should be a good investment. In turn that would save money in the long run.

The shoes also come with a 12 month indestructible guarantee. If they fall apart within 12 months of your purchase they will send you a replacement pair free of charge.

They are similar prices to the shoes I would usually buy and they come with the indistructable guarantee. So I decided they would have been worth trying even if not gifted. I can’t comment yet as to how long they will actually last, but will report back on our progress with the shoes at a later date.

Tip: Once you have an account with them, you are eligible for their refer a friend scheme. Your friend will get £5 off if they make a purchase and you will get £5 added to your account to spend another time. This could help you save money on shoes in future.

The experience of buying shoes online

As a virgin online shoe shopper, I was a bit worried that I would find it tricky to work out which size shoes my son would need. However on their site, they have a size calculator. You measure both your childs feet and put the largest measurement into the calculator (sometimes one foot is bigger than the other). It then tells you which size you need.

If you want some help with measuring their feet you can buy or download a measuring gauge. If you buy one, you will get the money off your next order.

I just used a tape measure though and felt reassured about going through the same processes that would have happened in the shoe shops I usually go to. It seemed much more likely the shoes would fit, seeing as I had measured his feet.

Did the shoes fit?

Treads shoes come with an insert. Leave it in for a narrower fit, take it out for a wider one. When I was ordering them, the site told me to also get an extra insert for even narrower feet. So I did, but when they arrived my son put them on without the extra insert. They fit really well and he ran off happily in them. That has to be hands down the easiest shoe shopping experience I have ever had! Although he did manage to scuff them a little about 5 minutes later, which was a bit annoying.

If they hadn’t been quite right, it was nice to know that we could have added or taken away insoles to get to a better fit. I’ve saved the insoles for future shoes because they are ones that you can cut out to fit a variety of shoe sizes.

Where can you buy Treads shoes?

You can buy them from their website directly or on Amazon*.

Do you want a chance to win a pair?

Update: This competition has now ended. It ran between the 13th and 27th August 2020.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note, this competition is being run by Treads via this Rafflecopter widget which I am hosting on my site under their terms and conditions. I will not be picking a winner or sending out the prize. If you have any questions over the terms and conditions of the competition please get in touch with Treads.