Let me start off by saying that I hate, hate, hate shopping for shoes. I am an odd size (10.5-11) and have very flat feet. But, the time has come to finally get a good pair of shoes. My feet, legs, and back are screaming after a long day of walking.
So… any suggestions? Looking for tennis shoes and will pay good money if they last. I have generally worn men’s tennis shoes for most of my life (due to having a hard time finding my size in women’s) and I’m not even sure where to start.
Really, all I want is comfortable, supportive shoes that won’t make me hate walking. I do not change shoes with most outfits (of course I have dressy shoes or whatever for nicer events). This one pair will be what I wear every day so it should go with most things.
After knee surgery, I had a physical therapist who recommended Brooks athletic shoes. Wear them for everything, he said. They can be a little clunky looking but my feet and knees don’t hurt even after a lot of walking.
I don’t have flat feet, but if they have something that would work for flat feet, maybe look at Tevas? I love, love, love my Teva sandals! I walk a lot, and I have not found more comfortable shoes.
Go to a running store - they will watch you walk and listen to your needs to find you good shoes for you. Bring your old shoes with you. Those small stores are usually more expensive, but once you find shoes that work for you, you will be able to purchase your second pair elsewhere, if you wish.
Agree with @hrh19 above. Having the old shoes with you will allow the sales rep to see how you wear shoes.
I wear Saucony running shoes in women’s size 10.5. Guide 7 is my current pair, but they have been replaced by Guide 8. If you can find Guide 7 in your size, they should be significantly marked down. I used to wear Saucony Hurricane but somewhere around model #14, I didn’t like them as much.
On the very expensive side for shoes I can wear most of the day: Tod’s loafers with a rubber bottom. They are expensive even at the Tod’s outlet store, but AFAIK the only Tod’s outlet is in Woodbury, NY, so not helpful. They are timeless and not all that attractive (in size 10), but they work for me.
I also love my Saucony running shoes. I don’t run, but walk a lot. I am not a fan of the bright colors these days, but if my feet are happy, I am happy. D and her coworkers, in the medical field, wear Dansko shoes and swear they are the best. So I bought a pair. They took some time to adjust to, and I have to wear cotton socks, but at the end of the day, my feet are happy.
I wear a 12 and I am very happy with Clarks Wave Trek. Nicely supportive, removable insole, good break-over. I just got my 3rd pair. Lot of different colors – I have tan, blue and the new ones are black.
I have high arches but son has Fred
Flinstone flat flat feet. New Balance works great for him. He has also had good luck going to running shoes. We both do well with eccos, so maybe they are worth a look. Good luck and please report back.
The latest research is that shoes designed to help correct problems only make them worse and that people reported the best results when they bought neutral shoes with sufficient padding to feel comfortable for them. This was written up recently. Don’t remember where.
I can relate my own shoe issues and you can take what you want from that - which may be nothing! I have hallux rigidus and probably need to have the big toe joint fused, which I refuse to do, AND I have a history of foot injuries related to plantar fasciitis and the like. I’ve had my foot described as “hyper-mobile” which some people with flat feet have as well - if hyper-mobility in feet is even a real thing! So the solutions that work best for me are: find a decent orthotic and light flexible shoes. For some years, I had kevlar orthotics - which had the side of effect of making the sole of my feet bullet proof - made by a podiatrist which could be put in any shoe. Really helped. But now I use an orthotic bought for much less from Amazon for hallux rigidus - it has a weird part that sits under the big toe to stop it from flexing in the direction of “holy cow that hurts” - and it works just as well as an orthotic. So I recommend trying a rigid orthotic, not one of those drug store things but a hard one. [url=<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Hallux-Rigidus-Womens-Length-Insoles/dp/B004SOK9P0%5DHere%5B/url”>http://www.amazon.com/Hallux-Rigidus-Womens-Length-Insoles/dp/B004SOK9P0]Here[/url] is what I use so you can see what I mean about hard. I assume there are ones for people without the toe issue.
As to shoes, I recommend light and flexible. I have a ton of Clark’s, many from their “Unstructured” line but also others. I like them not only because they’re light and flexible - duh - but because they change styles often, are reasonably priced and they run a lot of sales. For more like running shoes, my favorite brand is Asics because they have a number of neutral shoes that are well padded and, for me, are constructed so they don’t bind at the toe. My wife likes Mephisto and Ecco for walking shoes. But if you have an orthotic, you could probably wear Keds.
Thank you all for the tips! I will look into these and take up people’s suggestions to go to an actual store for fitting and whatnot. I didn’t think to bring in old shoes, but that’s very helpful.
Romani, I recommend what Lergnom suggested. There are also shoe inserts called Superfeet. I know it is not your typical go to shopping place, but Nordstrom sells them, and Notdstrom will take them back if you don’t like how they feel even if you wore them. Same goes for REI - things can be returned used with no issues. Both places employ folks who know shoes well and can make recommendations, so I highly recommend starting there. The Crocs suggestion is a good one! I buy their sandals and wear them as my post-run recovery shoes.
One side note… I love my Hoka shoes. They are technically running shoes, but I hike in my Bondi 3’s all the time, because I hate to pack another pair of shoes just for hiking.
Watch out for the toe box being too narrow as that seems to be the norm these days. I just took a long walk in a pair of Nikes and my right foot was hurting from being squeezed together halfway through the walk. Tomorrow I’m going to take the same walk in my Patagonias and see if they cause the same problem.
@Madison85 thanks for that suggestion. I have PF, too, but I actually haven’t had a flare-up in well over a year. It seems to be very random when it happens. My mom has it too and her doctor gave her exercises (stretching exercises) to do to prevent the pain. I’ve been too lazy to do them though…
Again, thank you all so much. I’m passing along these suggestions to my mom as well. She doesn’t have the size issue but she’s a Fred Flintstone like me (whoever first said that, thank you! I am going to use it from now on because it’s hilarious.)
A poster PM’ed me a store that is close to where I work and I’m going to look into it this week or next once classes start.
I love my CC helpers. Y’all are always a wealth of info and help
