Any experience with Allbirds shoes?

[Janeway]

Does anyone here have experience or opinions of Allbirds shoes? I am asking because my older sister thinks they are great and wanted me to buy some. I was holding off until Black Friday when I decided to call them on the Tuesday before Black Friday and ask them if they had the deal where they would price adjust for sales. The person I spoke to said they would. I specifically explained that I was waiting until Black Friday to purchase because I was waiting for any sales. She said they would price match. Great. I ordered them that day, which was a Tuesday before Thanksgiving. On the weekend, entire site went on sale for 30% off with coupon. Great. I texted them. The guy I got seemed angry (even via text) and informed me that no one there would have said that and they will NOT price adjust. Okay, rude, but, I decided I would just re-order with the coupon and return (free returns) the ones that I paid full price for. 

Thing is, I am a little put off by how they handled this. The shoes are not even really my style much, but I do need comfortable shoes for walking (the exercise I get) so I figured they would be fine. Honestly, I live in Hokas most of the summer and their colors are too bright for me (Hoka colors) but I have just put up with it for the comfort. I am wondering if I should just send back all but one pair (one I got on deep discount and I want to be able to tell my sister that I have them and wear them when she is around) or if I should seriously consider keeping some of the others. I bought the Tree Runners and the Tree Dashers. I did not purchase the Tree Dashers with the coupon, but they were already on sale for a little off. I just did not order them when I re-ordered because I thought I would not like them. So I paid $99 for the Tree Dashers when with the 30% off coupon, IF Allbirds had honored their price, they would have charged $69.30. When I re-ordered, I ordered the Tree Runners, but they were also $99 originally so I did pay $69.30, but it is clear they are not as well built as the Tree Dashers. 

OKAY..that is long winded just to ask..please give me your opinions and/or experiences with Allbirds. Thank you!

[alisoncooks]

I want to like them, but I’m between sizes for them. The 9s are too tight, the 10s are too loose. So I’m safe (because they are a little overpriced, imo). 

[MEmama]

They don't come in half sizes (or didn't when I tried them), and they didn't feel like they had any support. I wanted to like them because they are cute, but they wouldn't have worked for me even if they did fit. 
 

I hope you end up liking them!

[Pawz4me]

My oldest DS loves them.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Pawz4me

[Bambam]

My oldest DD loves her pair. She has washed them at least once, they still look new. She is traditionally very hard on shoes. She has had them about 6 months or so. 

[EKS]

My older son thinks they're great.  I think they're hideous.

[SanDiegoMom]

I and my daughter both wear them a ton, my daughter exclusively and myself about 2/3 of the time (otherwise it's a regular sneaker or slippers)

I love them. However they do wear out quickly - I probably order a new pair every six months. But so comfy.  

[TheReader]

12 minutes ago, SanDiegoMom said:

I and my daughter both wear them a ton, my daughter exclusively and myself about 2/3 of the time (otherwise it's a regular sneaker or slippers)

I love them. However they do wear out quickly - I probably order a new pair every six months. But so comfy.  

Am I thinking of the wrong shoe? At that price point, I'd sure hope to get more than 6 months out of them! Yikes. 

[SanDiegoMom]

9 minutes ago, TheReader said:

Am I thinking of the wrong shoe? At that price point, I'd sure hope to get more than 6 months out of them! Yikes. 

Nope, but since I wear them almost exclusively and they are made of wool, they just do get flat quickly.  I try to get the close out colors to get them more cheaply.  I got my daughter a pair of yellow ones for 40 instead of 100. 

[crazyforlatin]

Well if you like Hokas, Allbirds won’t feel as comfortable. That said, I’ve had a few pairs over the years. I like slipping them on without socks. I like the wool piper because they have a minimalist look which I prefer. I got the wool runner recently won’t run in them because nothing is like Hokas for me. And I was planning to return the runners but didn’t realize they are a final sales item. I find the pipers a bit flat without enough cushioning, but I’ve walked in them to go dog walking. Piper is really comfortable if you work inside and don’t need to walk too much outside. 

[catz]

On 11/29/2023 at 9:35 PM, TheReader said:

Am I thinking of the wrong shoe? At that price point, I'd sure hope to get more than 6 months out of them! Yikes. 

Maybe it depends how you use your shoes.  I always have a pair of walking athletic shows.  Walking is my primary exercise at the moment.  This month has been awful and I currently have a cold.  But I typically walk 40-80 miles+ a month mostly on paved/concrete and in urban settings.  I do often wear those shoes for other times when I will be on my feet for significant periods of time - longer errands, tourist stuff, etc.  I am currently using asics and LOVE my current pair.  I did just switch to a model that made some list for longer wearability.  But it isn't unsual for me to turnover a pair of walking shoes in 4 months.  The outsoles get soft and I can tell because hips, feet, etc just start to ache.  If I can get this current pair to get to 5 months, I will feel like I am winning.

All that said, on the OP, if you have shoes that work well for your walking purposes and don't have a particular reason to switch brands, I probably wouldn't.  It's weird your sister is pushy about it.  Like if I could get walking shoes at $70, that might be worth a try with excellent reviews.  But at $100?+ Well that is about what I typically pay if I can get shoes on sale so why switch?  The shoes I get have outsoles that are very Hoka like and the AllBirds look like "less" to me.  If you wanted to try something else, I'd look for athletic shoes with the Hoka style padding/outsole that you can get on sale when colors switch over.  Every major brand probably has something like that.  I usually try to get mine in some boring grey or black combo because I wear them so much day to day.  I get not necessarily want the flashy ones runners are in.  I think preferences can vary depending on walking style, foot width, build, milage, etc.

I would be super irritated with the bait and switch on the pricing from AllBirds and I would find somewhere to put a review about that out on social media.  

Edited December 21, 2023 by catz

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, catz said:

But it isn't unsual for me to turnover a pair of walking shoes in 4 months.  The outsoles get soft and I can tell because hips, feet, etc just start to ache.  If I can get this current pair to get to 5 months, I will feel like I am winning.

 

Same. I think people who don't have joint/muscle issues think a shoe is good as long as it looks okay. And that's great if they can get by with that. I remember the days long ago when I could. But those of us with issues need the padding and support to be adequate. A New Balance rep told me years ago that (at that time) the technology didn't exist where they could make a shoe remain supportive for longer than six months or so, and he said that was only if they weren't worn for hours every day.