A Boat Shoe Comparison: Sperry Topsider Originals vs L.L. Bean Casco Bay Mocs
Is there a reason to buy L.L. Bean Boat Shoes over Sperry Topsiders?
I live in boat shoes in the warmer weather. We all do. And we always have. They are, in many regards, a perfect shoe.
In the beginning it was always the (Paul) Sperry Topsider because pretty much that was all there was. And it was all we needed. As I have mentioned ad nauseum, the Topsider factory was about an hour’s drive from where we lived on the Connecticut shore growing up, and we made regular treks to buy for the whole family. That segued over time to buying them from local boat yard stores, or upscale island shops.
And over time as manufacturing shifted from the US to lower cost countries, other companies jumped in and made their own version, mostly produced overseas (such as Dubarry), while a couple (like Quoddy and Rancourt) were still made in Maine.
