Has anyone returned Nike Free's because the heel area ripped?

Most people on my team have the heel ripped and I don't think it makes any bit of difference.

Yeah, mine started to rip a little while ago, but I'm still running in them, and they're still working the same. The rip in the heel doesn;t make any difference in running as far as I can tell.

I worked at dicks sporting goods this summer.. and id say at least 100 people returned there free's cause of this.. so im assuming it happens to every pair

Mine weren't ripped so I took a box cutter to them, and they are much better. ;-)

Tons of people have returned them for ripped out heels. It doesn\'t seem to make much difference as far as running goes, but it\'s a sad state of affairs that a shoe company would let a design flaw like that reach the consumer.

maybe if people used their hands to take off their shoes instead of their feet they wouldnt have that problem?

for those of you who have the frees, what do you think about them?

there arent any other threads about what we think of frees, so ill tell you. dandy.

What kind of mileage do people put in those ugly things?

I love them. I run most of my miles in my Hstreets, but I run in the frees every now and then, and wear them almost everywhere I go. They're so comfortable.

I hear that. They are crazy comfortable for just walking around. As far as mileage goes, I was doing maybe 20-25 mpw in them over the summer, and I used them for my morning runs in season (about 15 miles every week). The best part of them is that they really don't break down much at all, so you can use them for a lot more than the recommended distance for most shoes. I've only got about 250 on mine, but I know other people who have 500 miles on a pair and still looking good. As long as you don't get any big tears in them, they're great. The heel area does rip after a while, I'm not entirely sure why, but it doesn't really affect the running in them, just lets gravel and crap in them easier.

And who actually takes their shoes off with their hands?...Products have to have designs that stand up to the way real people use them. That said, it's clear the ripped heels don't affect use, but Nike should let us know that up front or figure out a different heel so we don't get pissed when they rip after about 2 dozen wearings and before we find out they work okay anyway. (In Iraq you can't go back to the store where you got them!)

The heels in each of my Free 5s acquired the rip last night. I *always* take my shoes off with my hands and have been especially careful with my Frees because of the heel complaints. I've run in them 15X and have 95.3 miles on them. I *never* wear them when not running. So, the heel area is weak. That said, I do enjoy running in them.

My free's heel ripped after 4 months, Nike accepted them back after I called for a Return Authorization and sent me a voucher.

I don't understand why you would go through all the trouble to return them because of a rip in the heel mesh stuff. It doesn't change anything about the shoe... what is the point of sending it back after 4 months of use? Just use them! They still work! Promise!

Yes, I did return my Nike Free Shoe\'s to the store that I purchased them from -- Ladies Foot Locker with a copy of the Oregonian story in the November, 2005 newspaper. Ladies Foot Locker was very accomodating and they replaced my shoes with another pair of shoes. They enabled me to purchase any shoe that they sold--and I chose the Nike Free 5.0 Zen & Now Walking Shoe instead.

Hope that this information helps!

Mine ripped...but that was when I was playing some b-ball in em. Fast pivot, and they're gone. But hey, I don't think they were made for that sport

try not wearing socks, if u do they'll rip easier in certain cases like hurdiling (thats how mine ripped) its weired yea not wearing sock but they wont rip