Giving it as a gift? It's on the gift list: Every gift
Where the 65 comes from
Warranty8/30
Allen Edmonds publishes no warranty on its site, and the only promise on the recrafting page is a replacement pair if the factory damages your shoes during a resole.
Build20/30
The product page lists no materials or construction details, but the recrafting service replaces the leather welts and cork in-lays, which tells you how the shoe is built.
Track record19/20
Elbert W. Allen started the company in Belgium, Wisconsin in 1922, it made shoes for the Army and Navy in WWII, and the Park Avenue has been sold for more than 40 years.
Repairable18/20
The factory will resole a pair with new welts, cork, heels and laces for $150, usually 2 or 3 times over the shoe's life.
One short email when something new makes the list: an album to play, a game to buy, a film to watch, a book to read, tech worth buying, a thing that lasts. Nothing else.
How the score works
Things
Warranty, 30. What the company will actually fix or replace, read from their own policy.
Build, 30. Materials and construction, and whether there's anything to wear out.
Track record, 20. How long the maker has been making this well.
Repairable, 20. Whether you can get it fixed instead of replacing it.
A Keeper is our bet on what lasts. Some releases show it right away: the reviews, the players and the people behind them all point the same way, the way they did for Elden Ring. For albums, games, films, shows and books, 85 or above is a Keeper and 75 to 84 is worth your time. Things and tech need 80. We score everything again as time goes by, and a Keeper that fades loses the label. Nobody pays to be here or pays for a score. Every score links to where its numbers came from. Each one has a link to find it on Amazon, and as an Amazon Associate, Keepers earns from qualifying purchases.