$60 is not that much for a pair of boots, especcially waterproof boots of the kind described. If you want quality boots that will last you need to buy something like a Redwing boot. Even then you should expect to re-sole and re-treat the boot for water proofedness (if proofedness is a word) at least once a year; many times even more often. Quite franly, Totes probably doesn't expect their boots to last longer than six months. I'll refer to my post on an earlier topic. "You get what you pay for." I would agree though, that the manufacturer in this case needs to better educate the customer about what to really expect out of the product.