Timberland TravelGear
By Bob | Permalink | 8 comments | June 30th, 2005 | Trackback
Sean sent me a link to this page over at Business Week. I haven’t seen these show up at any of the local stores I have been to lately. You can bet that I will go looking for them.
I have somewhat of a footwear fetish…at least as much as my budget can afford. Alot of my friends own one or two pairs of shoes that fit and look nice. I have somewhere around 30 pairs of shoes and sandals. Typically, I take 3 or 4 pairs with me on trips because I always want to be prepared for any situation. With the Timberland TravelGear footwear collection, I could shave some weight and size off of what I carry with me. The heaviest pair that I have is actually some Timberland Boots that I use for semi-formal dress. A setup using the Hong Kong shell could replace them.
The styling of each shell is really not too bad. It will be interesting to see how people react to them. I can see it as being a niche product that doesn’t catch on well with mainstream buyers. Sometimes customization isn’t a good idea. I am not sure about how comfortable I am with the idea of a shoe that is made up of 2-3 separate pieces. Sounds like blisters to me, but I could be wrong. I do hope that they continue to develop these. With some good real life use by the general public, I think they could be a great product.
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November 9th, 2005 at 12:08 am
Any idea what happened to those Timberland TravelGear products? they seem no longer available
December 5th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
After I saw this, I tried to find these shoes. There is no sign of them on the Timberland Website and I tried several timbeland stores to no avail. I just called the Timberland 1-800 number and they said there is no sign that they will be shipping out this product in the future. They apparantly did carry it their stores this last summer. Did they end up not working so well? Is there anyway to drum up demand for this product so that it returns?
December 11th, 2005 at 11:57 am
I have been unable to locate these shoes anywhere. I’ve tried several Timberland stores and calling their toll free number. It appears these shoes have vanished. Anybody have any knowledge on why these shoes no longer exist or if they do, where I can get some?
December 11th, 2005 at 12:23 pm
It does appear that they have disappeared. I guess it didn’t end up catching on. Too bad…the concept was interesting, but as with a lot of niche products, things didn’t pan out.
December 12th, 2005 at 1:32 am
I actually have two pairs of shells and two insoles. I intended to get more, but they disappeared completely pretty quickly. I figured when they hit the outlet I’d stock up on parts, but they may already be gone.
I like them quite a bit. They are very comfortable, among my most comfortable shoes, and they do travel well, although not quite as well as you might believe given the marketing. They do pack fairly tight, but you really need a strap to hold the two shells closed against each other. It’s also good to have a bag to keep the outsoles away from your clothes. Oddly enough, they supplied a mesh bag and a strap for the insoles, but they need it less.
If anyone stumbles on a stock of shells, let me know- I’ll certainly buy more.
November 1st, 2006 at 3:20 pm
%
October 28th, 2007 at 9:43 am
I got a pair of these in the UK about 6 months ago as a gift. I do not know where they came from. They don’t have any kind of multiple insoles, but they are the ones featured in the bottom right of the photo in the article. And they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. They clearly say “Travelgear” on the tongues, and I can’t find these anywhere now. Please bring them back!
February 17th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Looking for a hardware source for a leather Timberland Breif case purchased some two years ago. I need to replace the snapcase latches that hold the top flap onto the two front pockets.