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Originally Posted by Steve M
Mike,
I understand that. They reason I do like them is that they are SO easy to clean. Spray them with water, dry them, wear them onto the field. Regular leather shoes take a lot more to keep looking cleaned.
What I have been doing with my regular shoes is to put a really good coat of polish on them a couple of times a month. This takes a couple of hours. Then, in between games, I'll clean them with water, wipe them down with armor-all, then dry & buff them. They do look good, but we're talking about more time & effort on my part. So, when patent leather or leather lustered shoes are acceptable, I'll use them.
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To start, patents and those coated with Leather Lustre or similar product are bad for one's feet. In both cases, the pores of the leather are blocked which means the shoe doesn't breath.
I give my shoes a decent coat of wax once a season. I have two brushes, one soft (horse hair), one with stiff bristles (boar). Coming off the field, I use the hard brush to clear the dirt/dust. With an application brush, I place a sparing amount of wax on the entire shoe and edge of the sole and then buff with soft brush. This process takes no more than five minutes. No water, no rags, no problems. Shoe never needs to be stripped because there is no build up due to the constant brushing. I have never had to replace a pair of shoes due to issues with the upper leather. Of course, this doesn't apply to the care of "rain" shoes.
Nonetheless, to each their own. If you do not perspire or never had an athlete's foot issue, go for it. Guess I just don't care for "flashy" in an umpire. Personally, I prefer natural leather uppers.