Boots

Does footwear count as tools? Sure, why not.

My father-in-law got me these Matterhorn boots for Christmas in 2003. Apparently I have a step that wears out footwear in a weird way--the rear outside of the heel gets worn first and the stresses concentrate on certain seams of the boots, which wear out ever more quickly. At least, that's what the guy who resoled and stitched these up once a few years ago told me. They need, badly, to be resoled and stitched up again but I don't think it'll happen. 

I have a pair of Danners that I wear most days but as anyone who's spent time them can tell you, boots're most comfortable when they're about to fall apart. Since my Matterhorns are like a pair of slippers at this point--that is to say, very very comfortable--they're my boot of choice when I'm working on the cars. Which wrecks them even more quickly, I'm sure. Which makes them more comfortable, which means I wear them more, and so on.