Let’s talk school shoes. A constant expense. If it’s not our children constantly growing, it’s the shoes themselves wearing out. The shoes I bought L at the start of the school year didn’t even make it to half term, we’re on our second pair already! So when Treads got in touch to see if I’d like to review a pair of their school shoes, complete with a one year guarantee, I was very intrigued. 

L is hard on his shoes, he pulls the straps ridiculously tight, so they wear out at the bend. He scrapes them along  the ground as a secondary brake when he’s cycling. He plays football in them, jumps in puddles, climbs trees and all the other general school hijinks. 

I’ve tried expensive shoes, I’ve tried cheap shoes, as yet nothing had made much difference. More than the expense I was looking for certain features. Rubber ‘bumpers’ round the shoes to give a longer life from all the scuffing. Easy close velcro straps, because he’s six and very busy. Good treads so he doesn’t slip in the muddy fields. I also like something I stand the chance of being able to clean. I opted for the Madrid style, I liked the wipe down aspect and the general look of them.

On the website there are some printable shoe fitting guides so you can easily measure up at home, I love this as all different brands measure up slightly differently, up to a whole size differently in some cases, so it’s good to know you’re buying the right size beforehand. If you don’t have time to do this the general advice I was given was that all Treads shoes come as a standard F/G fitting with the option of removing the dual-fit eva undersock to provide a wider G/H fit and their official recommendation is to size down, so for example, if your child comes up in a size 3 usually, they’d recommend the 2.5-3. I measured L and then actually went one size larger than he measured as I know we’re due a growth spurt any minute and there’s nothing more irritating than just purchasing a new pair of shoes to find they don’t fit two weeks later. 

As soon as I opened the box to his new Treads I could already see they ticked off my requirements and then some! With a removable inner sole you get the perfect fit as it allows for extra width and is also perfect if you use orthodontics as you get extra depth too. The shoes are smart, sturdy and made from breathable and water resistant permair leather.

As for the guarantee, well that covers split stitching, split soles and broken straps amongst other things. All the issues we’ve had in the past, but obviously if L has continued battering the shoes despite his frazzled mummy’s desperate pleas then that is not covered, a normal amount of wear and tear is fine but a solid dunking in a pond or using a brakes for his bike is not. I’m fine with that!!

More than anything though L adores them, they’re comfortable, easy to get on and off and look like his friends shoes. I love them because I know they’re offering his feet the protection they need as they’re growing and I can keep them looking clean and smart. 

He’s not been wearing them long enough for me to comment on their life span but I’ll be keeping an eye on things, all I can say is, so far so good. 

If you’d like the chance to win a pair of Treads school shoes for your child just enter your details into the Rafflecopter app below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 

Disclosure – we were gifted our shoes in return for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and images are my own. Treads have also kindly provided the competition prize.