Shoe sample rounds: how long they take and what to check at each

Every founder asks how long a shoe sample takes. The honest answer is “longer than you hope, and mostly for predictable reasons”. This guide gives a realistic timeline, explains what each sample round is for, and lists what to check before you send comments back to the factory.

The short answer

Situation	First sample	Whole development
Existing outsole and last, new upper	About 2–4 weeks	1–2 months with one or two revisions
New pattern and new outsole mould	About 4–6 weeks, often more	2–4 months with two or three revisions

The first-sample ranges come from a shoemaking school, a manufacturer and a development guide that publish their lead times [1] [2] [3]. The whole-development column is our planning estimate: the first sample plus one to three revision rounds, each of which takes weeks rather than days. The single biggest variable is new outsole tooling: a custom mould alone can take three to six weeks before the factory can build the sole [3].

On our home page you can watch an example of this journey, with each supplier adding days, from materials to an approved sample.

The sample rounds, and what each one is for

Names vary between factories and brands. What matters is knowing what each round is supposed to answer.

Round	Also called	The question it answers
First sample	Proto, development sample	Does the idea work as a shoe? Shape, construction, materials.
Second sample	Fit sample, revised sample	Does it fit, and are the first round’s fixes done?
Salesman sample	Photo sample, SMS	Is it good enough to show buyers or photograph? Optional for direct-to-consumer brands.
Confirmation sample	Pre-production, golden sample	Is this exactly what production should match?
Size run	Size set	Does the fit hold across every size, not just the sample size?

Do not skip the size run. A shoe that fits perfectly in a US 9 can be tight in a US 12, because each size is a different last.

What to check before you send comments

Look at every sample in the same order. It keeps the comments complete, and it stops one obvious problem from hiding three small ones.

1. Measurements against your spec

• Length, width at the ball, heel height and toe spring, measured on the shoe, not estimated.
• Midsole stack height at the heel and forefoot.
• Note each measurement next to your spec value and the tolerance you agreed.

2. Materials against your swatches

• Compare colours under the same light, ideally a standard daylight booth. A colour that matches by the window can fail in a store.
• Check that every material is the one in the tech pack, not a “similar” substitute.

3. Construction

• Bonding: any gap, lifting or glue mark where the upper meets the midsole.
• Stitching: even, straight, no loose ends, the stitch density you specified.
• Symmetry: put the left and right shoe side by side and look from above and behind.

4. Fit and wear

• Wear the shoe for several days of the activity it is made for: runs for a running shoe, gym sessions for a training shoe.
• Note hot spots, heel slip, and where the upper creases.
• Ask more than one wearer, in more than one size if you can.

5. Lab tests for performance shoes

Agree the method and the pass level before the test, so a result means something. Common tests include:

• Sole adhesion, how much force it takes to pull the sole off the upper. ISO 17708 is a standard method [4].
• Outsole flexing, whether cracks grow after repeated bending. ISO 17707 covers this [5].
• Abrasion of the outsole, and slip resistance on wet and dry floors. Ask the lab which method it uses.

Why sample rounds drag on

Most extra rounds come from a few causes:

• Gaps in the tech pack. The factory fills them with its own guess, and the guess comes back in the sample.
• Scattered comments. Feedback split across chat messages, emails and calls gets lost or half done.
• New tooling. A new outsole or last adds weeks before the first pair and often an extra round.
• Time zones. A question asked at the end of your day waits until the factory’s next morning, and a two-line exchange can take a week.

One comment sheet, numbered, with photos

The fastest way to cut a round is to send the factory one sheet, not a conversation. For each point:

No.	Area	What is wrong	Measured	Spec	Fix requested	Photo
1	Heel counter	Heel slips on wear test	—	—	Add 2 mm foam at the collar	1a, 1b
2	Toe spring	Too flat	9 mm	12 mm ± 1.5	Raise toe spring on the last	2
3	Midsole colour	Darker than swatch	—	Swatch B	Match swatch B under daylight	3

Number every point, attach a photo to every point, and ask the factory to answer point by point. In the next round, check the same numbers first.

The short version

1. Plan roughly two to four months from tech pack to confirmation sample, and more with a new outsole.
2. Know what each round is meant to answer before it arrives.
3. Check measurements, materials, construction, fit and tests, in that order.
4. Send one numbered comment sheet with photos.
5. Approve a confirmation sample and keep one signed pair.

We check samples in person in Ho Chi Minh City and turn comments into exactly this kind of sheet. If you are about to start sampling, book a 20-minute call.

Sources

1. Shoemakers Academy, Shoe production timing (new development sample with new pattern and outsole tooling: about 4–6 weeks): shoemakersacademy.com
2. Lishangzi Shoes, Custom shoe process (sampling usually 3–6 weeks): lishangzishoes.com
3. DEV Community, The footwear product development process: from concept to production: dev.to
4. ISO 17708:2018, Footwear — Test methods for whole shoe — Upper sole adhesion: afnor.org
5. ISO 17707:2005, Footwear — Test methods for outsoles — Flex resistance: standards.ie