They are definitely a buy it for life item assuming you take care of them and get them resoled when needed which mine are about ready for. I did the paper trace method where you mail them your fit sheets. I’m not sure what the process is now but I went through it about 8/9 years ago so it probably has changed. That said, it was a smooth and easy process but be prepared to wait for them. I’m unfortunately one of the small percentage of people who don’t fit into stock sizes so they had to custom build for me which they did an amazing job of!