This construction work shoe review currently spans from my first purchase of this shoe in 2012 (reviewed it one year after purchase) till 2021, 9 years and 7 pairs of the same shoe.
It's very difficult to find a decent pair of work footwear these days. I've tried many different styles and brands over the years and few, if any, make the cut. Usually the first thing to go is the stitching on the sides at the ball of the foot. Then it cracks and soon there's a hole. Every pair I've owned have had this problem and from there it's an assortment of different aspects of wear, tear, and generally falling apart.
This pair of Terra Spiders have held up surprisingly well over the last year. One thing I hate about most shoemakers is that when you find something you like and go back to get another pair, they've discontinued it. Rather than improving on the footwear they have and making them better year after year, they instead focus on making a continuing array of new styles. Good idea for trendy fashion attire, but not for work footwear. When it comes to work, we want reliability, durability, and comfort -- we care not for style.
This is what one year of wear looks like
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These Terra Spider work shoes have lasted me one year; almost exactly one year, from July 30, 2012 to my new pair August 04, 2013. Although, I would have purchased them a few weeks earlier if I had the time.
In the first week of wearing these the stitching under the ankle bone was really hurting me. I cut two small pieces of carpet to put in there to keep it away from my ankle which I finally removed after the the break-in period, which was between 1 to 2 weeks. With my new pair, I'm keeping the laces loose for the break-in period so that the stitching isn't touching my ankle. (never happened on subsequent pairs, must have been an anomaly)
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The first thing to wear out were the yellow coverings on the insoles. It really didn't take very long for them to start peeling off at the heel and toe. I became very annoyed at the feeling that there was something in my shoe when it was merely the material folding back, so I just peeled them right off. Surprisingly, it was a much better insole that way. The yellow top layer holds dirt and water and by taking it off the insole became resistant to dirt and water. If any dirt got int here, I'd simply dump it out and put my show back on. Also, I like the non-texture of the plain insole because my socks didn't cling to it but had the freedom to slide around a bit therefore reducing any rubbing between the bottoms of my feet and my socks. I recommend smooth texture-free insoles. I think I will peel the top layer off even before they start to peel on my new pair.
No cracking; stitching in excellent shape
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The reason I purchased these in the first place was because I needed a light flexible safety shoe as I do a variety of tasks in the field of home construction and landscaping, many of which require bending down repeatedly and most safety work footwear is neither light nor flexible at all. I tried many hiking style safety boots and after awhile they become quite flexible, but fall apart easily. These Terra Spiders need no break-in period for flexibility; they are flexible and comfortable and bend easily upon purchase. Look at that, you can hardly tell where the shoe bends as the stitching is still in place and there are no holes or cracks; it really held up well in this regard; I've had other Terra footwear in the past and none have done well in this regard before: peeling, cracking, soles separating from the upper, etc. are all typical of every boot/shoe I've tried (even non-work footwear).
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I also purchased these because I was looking for metal-free footwear. Where I live, it gets cold and wet in the winter for a good many months and I actually got frostbite on my toes due to my steel-toed footwear. Metal-Free footwear is not only much lighter, more flexible, but also much warmer.
Do these have sole puncture protection (someone commented that they actually do -- well that would explain how I stepped on a nail and it didn't go through). In the past I was dubious about metal-free shanks (that prevents nails and such
from penetrating through the sole of the shoe, but it says nothing on the Terra website nor the box) as I've used metal shanks
in the past and had to give them up due to my Frankenstein Walk and the
very poor flexibility, but this new stuff actually works. I've stepped
on some nails etc. using shoes with metal-free-shanks and nothing went through. Update: the new pair I bought now states that is has a "metal-free composite plate".
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The first thing of actual significance to actually wear out were the soles. You can see the heel and toe of one shoe has much greater wear than the other. I can explain the large chunk missing from the toe area. It started as a very small piece that was missing due to my stepping on a raised nail-head; when I lifted my food, it popped a little chunk out about the size of 1cm-squared. It seems that this missing initial piece allowed greater wear to occur in that area. Or perhaps I just pivot etc. more on that foot. I think if I didn't lose that initial piece, I could have worn these for another couple months, maybe, but as you can see, similar wear is happening on the other foot and the heel area is almost worn through as well. The soles are very comfortable and flexible and this may by a trade-off when looking at more durable soles. I was surprised to see that the parts of the sole that fold up onto the sides of the upper didn't peel off or anything; especially where the shoe bends at the ball of the foot.
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The toe-kick rubber started peeling off about a month before I got my new pair, but nothing some PL Premium couldn't fix. The year-old ones pretty much look the same as the new ones, minus the dirt.
Overall, a very good shoe. It has a 6 month warranty by Terra, and a 100 day warranty from the store I purchased them at.
Reasons to buy:
- metal-free sole puncture protection
- composite 'steel' toe
- durable
- light
- warm (metal free)
- flexible
- comfortable
Areas of improvement needed (updated):
- more durable insole (seems to have been improved)
- Made In Canada
- more durable sole (unless hiders flexibility/comfort)
- animal-product free (non-leather uppers and glue)
- more durable laces (they are garbage, replace them upon purchase with waxed hockey laces)
I also hate when shoes are marketed as being "Water Resistant" or "Water Proof" when all they do it spray on some water-repellent that washes off in the first rain. Stop that - they're not water resistant or water proof unless they are rubber boots.
It would be nice if companies made shoes that were 'resolable'. I have a great pair of Redwing shoes, and they are 'resolable'. They are made as work shoes, but I use them casually and 9 years later, I'm still using them (and I abuse the hell out of them). I'd love to see that same quality in the Terra shoe, and I'd also love to see the Terra show Made In Canada as I bought that pair of Redwing shoes specifically because they were Made In the U.S.A. (most of their shoes are not made in the U.S.A. now, only a select few). I remember when Terra boots were made in Canada; I wonder if they also have a selection that still are.
Update: Second Pair: 2014 October: my second pair of these shoes have lasted longer as I didn't step on a nail-head popping a piece of rubber out of the sole. Although the sole has worn under the large toes on both shoes in the form of crack-shaped holes -- water was seeping in through there (similar to the cracks/holes seen on my right-foot shoe above), but I filled the holes/cracks with PL Premium and that solved that (I also used PL Premium to fill a hole in the bottom of my waterproof boot heel that was letting water in and two winters later, they're still good!! As with my first pair, the yellow fabric coverings on the insoles started to come off almost right away -- this time I just peeled them both off -- they're useless anyway... when they get wet, it takes longer to dry than without them. I should add that if you use these shoes in wet conditions, you should make sure to use waterproofing spray regularly -- otherwise, the shoes take a long time to dry. If I put them in the summer sun, not so long but if there is no sun... then what? I bought a pair of in-shoe/boot dryers -- I got the maxxdry brand, but that's only because I had no choice of other brands. Takes about a day to dry these shoes with said dryers when they're soaked. I imagine that non-leather shoes would dry much more quickly. The laces wore out after about 6 months, so you might as well buy a pair of sturdy tough laces at the same time as buying these shoes. They were also too short to tie in a good double-knot for me and would sometimes come undone.
Still a good pair of shoes -- just bought a third pair Oct. 2014 and probably won't start wearing them for awhile as the old ones are still hanging in there, longer than last year's pair.
Update: 2014 October: There is a new Terra shoe/boot called that VENOM that is pretty much the same as the SPIDER, but with a few upgrades:
• TERRA FIRMA-FLEX Metal Free composite toe cap and puncture resistant plate
• Removable shock absorbing PU FOOTBED®
• Heel pull-on loop
2016 October: Yes, I'm am still continuing to use the Terra Spider shoes. I now change the laces to waxed hockey laces (Canadian Tire). Just buy the shortest ones in whatever colour you like, and after you've cut them to length, the ends melt very nicely to be able to form an aglet with your fingers. Why? The laces which come with the shoes are too short, not durable enough, and do not stay tied well - for my liking. The hockey laces on the other hand are fantastic, far better than any so-called 'durable' laces I've tried from work-wear stores in the past. the pai I currently have have lasted two years and still look brand new. I should add that I don't tie and untie my laces, I merely slip these shoes on and off and keep my laced double-knotted.
2018 August: Continuing to use the Terra Spider shoes. I still recommend getting rid of the laces and use hockey laces; the hockey laces I currently have on my shoes have lasted two years and look great and I will move them to my new pair of shoes (I considered getting new laces just so they'll look nice and clean to match my new shoes, but no need, the shoes will dirty up in a few days to match). My latest pair of shoes have held up pretty well, very similar to previous ones, with one exception, the insoles held up far better than in all previous ones I've owned. Usually the top fiber layer of the insole which is glued onto the foam part starts to peel off within a month and sooner or later I just have to peel the whole thing off because it's very uncomfortable. But this time, I didn't even wear a hole through as I usually do and it didn't peel at all. Hopefully this is an improvement they've made in the manufacturing and not an anomaly. The stitching on either side of the toe started coming apart so I put some PL Premium on there to stop it coming out any further. Not pretty, but worked. It has been almost two years for this pair of shoes now. The likely reason they've lasted longer is due to doing more driving and more indoors work compared to my first pair in 2012 which I thrashed working nearly 90% of the time outdoors. If you work in, say, a warehouse job indoors, you can expect these to last at least two years, more if you are careful about not pivoting or spinning too much in them and keeping the wear on the sole at the large toe to a minimum. I do not pivot on or drag my heels and that's evident by the lack of wear in the heel area.
2018: No peeling or holes; insoles in excellent shape
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2018: Stitching on either side of toe came apart
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2018: Major wear points on upper
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2018: Major wear points on lower: large toe
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2018/19 PAIR UPDATE
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As you can see, this pair fared very well, perhaps from doing a lot more indoor work during that time. That's my best guess. But, if you look at the soles, you can see where there is wear and cracking at the heels and large toes. Because of these 'breaches" in the outer sole, water gets into the mid-sole, which soaks up water like a sponge. That's fine, but this allows water to get into the inside of the shoe as there is no barrier between the mid-dole and the inner-sole-board. If I was working exclusively indoors or an otherwise dry environment, I could have continued to wear these shoes without any problem. But, I had to get a new pair of shoes simply because of the water problem. Stepping in a shallow pooling of water is all it takes. Or multiple trips across a wet driveway. Doesn't take much.
Makeshift arch support
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Man, I had a terrible problem with sore ankles in this pair of shoes. Maybe it was the type of work I was doing, or maybe it was the shoes, I don't know, but I just felt like there was no horizontal support and my feet/ankles would 'fall inwards' if you know what I mean. I stopped at a few places to see about getting some insoles or other kind of arch support, just some foam inserts or something cheap, but when it comes to arch support, nothing is cheap. Complete ripoff. So, I just made my own with cardboard, taped them to the inner sole-plate and put my insoles back on top. Worked really well. But, another reason I wanted a new pair. Once I got a new pair, and I've had those for over a year now, no ankle problems. So, no idea what was going on.
Minimal wear but shoelace wear still evident
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As you can see, the stitching at the toe is coming apart and the shoelaces are pretty much ready to fall apart at this point. As I've said before, these shoes last about a year, and these were already over a year old and fared much better than previous pairs perhaps due to working more indoors. The major points of wear were the soles (heel and large toe), shoelaces, and toe stitching; same as previous pairs, but the additional new problem of sore ankles with no definite cause.
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2021 UPDATE
The Terra Spider shoes have had their name changed to Terra Spider X. There have been some design changes.
Got the Terra Spider X over a year ago. Perhaps 1.5yrs old right now. I will continue to wear these through the summer until the rain comes again. The outer sole is already breached, so that means water entry. I recommend always getting a new pair in the fall before rain/winter starts, then you can extend the wearing time through the dryer summer months even if you have wear in the outer sole where water would normally get in.
First and foremost, with this new design, they have removed the shoelace eyelets. This seems to have been the cause of major shoelace wear. As you can read above in my previous posts, the laces did not last very long until they broke, so I had been replacing them with hockey skate laces. Now, without the plastic eyelets, I haven't had any lace breakage problems.
2021: new design and improvements
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The top layer of materiel under/around the eyelets has been removed also, save for the bottom-most eyelets which still go through the toe material.
Another thing they seem to have fixed is the glue used to adhere the fabric to the foam insole. Previously, the fabric would start to peel off almost immediately so, instead of being annoyed by the peeling fabric, I would just peel the whole thing off myself and be done with it. I didn't experience any peeling with the new X version or my previous pair. Yes, there was wear, but no peeling.
Insole much better, no peeling
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The Heel Collar part of the shoe, just under the ankles, has been improved, also. This part of the shoe has often been quite stiff and really hurt my ankles until they broke-in, so now this part of the shoe has been replaced with soft padding all the way around the back of the heel. Very good improvement. Much more comfortable right from the start of wearing a new pair.
I'm not certain, but I think the main leather part of the shoe has been changed to a different kind of material, it seems a bit more swede-like on the surface.
The major wear-point for these Terra Spider X shoes has been the back of the heel. The material has totally worn away and the inner stiff backing material has slowly been breaking away in pieces. This point certainly needs improvement. I keep thinking that the back of the heel should have no material at all, and be completely smooth to prevent rubbing between the heel/sock/back-of-shoe. Would save me getting holes in my socks as well. Since I do a lot of bending down, there's really no way to prevent the heel from lifting up a little when bending down, so I think it would be best to limit friction instead. Of course, this might be a bad idea, because it might allow the heel too much freedom of movement to life up. But if the top of the heel curves in, and the shoe does as well, that should prevent the heel from lifting out of the shoe.
Heel backing support and wear needs a design change
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The soles of the shoes haven't changed. The Terra Spider X soles are no different. Still very good, very flexible upon purchase, great for squatting and foot flexibility etc. Still love the soles. The major wear points seem to be on the pivot points, i.e. the large toes and heels. Same as any footwear. Not sure if this can be improved upon without affecting comfort in a negative way. Since it rains around here a lot, once the sole is either punctured (by a nail for example) or worn through a little by regular wear, water get into the squishier inner part of the sole and once that happens, water enters the shoe and your foot is wet. Would be nice if they could but some kind of coating between the rubber sole and the inner insole footbed board to prevent water getting in. Once the outer sole is comprised, the midsole just soaks up water like a sponge.
The soles are still comfortable and flexible in design.
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Arch support. These shoes have zero arch support. They are totally flat. With at least one previous purchase of Terra Spider, I have added my own arch support in the form of cardboard cutouts that I taped in place. I found that adding arch support really helped with ankle stability. My ankles were getting sore. The arch support helped. Maybe it was the specific work I was doing, not sure, but with this current pair of Terra Spider X shoes, arch support never occurred to me. So, not sure what was going on there. But, if you typically like arch support, you will have to add your own with these shoes or replace the insole with ones with arch support.
Old design on top, new design on bottom.
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Looking at the picture above, you can see some differences between the new version and the old.
The heel collar being the main design change and a great improvement.
The plastic eyelets removed.
The stitching at the toe is still a weak point. I am still having that stitching come out and having to glue it to prevent it coming fully apart. They really need to do something about this. Stitching is not enough, it needs to be glued down.
Toe-kick rubber on the nose has been good in previous years. It hasn't come off at all. In the past, it would eventually start peeling forward and I'd have to glue it back on with PL Premium (just because that kind of glue is usually kicking around on every jobsite). So, maybe they improved upon that by using better glue in the manufacturing because I haven't had any problems with that issue for awhile now.
The pull-tab loop for putting your finger in to pull your shoe on is a good idea, but, it's WAY too small. I can't easily get my finger in there and my fingers are pretty thin. So, regular man-hands will not fit in there. Plus, takes too long to try and get your finger in there, and imagine that you are wearing gloves, as I usually am, I just want to take my shoe off, shake out the debris that's in there, and put it back on, it would be better that it was a thicker piece of material, more of a pull-tab, not a pull-loop. You know, something a guy can just grab onto with no need to try to find the hole.
The area where the shoe bends at the ball of the foot, I haven't had any problems with cracking and splitting, so that's good. That was a problem on my previous pair. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, so not sure if it's luck of the draw in manufacturing, or if it has to do with something else. Such as, getting the shoes wet and muddy then drying them out, causing the material to become less flexible. Not sure.
Anyway, still a great shoe. I highly recommend them, and look forward to further improvements on their design. If I had to choose only one improvement, hm... I'd say to prevent water from getting into the shoe through an outer-sole breach -- a brand new pair of shoes can be turned into soggy sponges by a puncture through the outer sole allowing water in.
