Lets talk about footwear for a minute

[Exoter175]

Boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy are my feet sore. Its been a whirlwind week with more hours than I'd like to admit between APBJ/VUX/VP. The numbers are good, the numbers are great, I'm way ahead of the curve and I'm happy.............my feet on the other hand, are not. I've thought about getting one of those "step counters" to see what I've been doing because I've got to be in the 5-10 mile per day range EASY. I know I"m young and all, and its a little bit easier for me to recover from this, but what kind of shoes/inserts are you guys (young and old) using to fix this problem?

Specifically looking for advice from those of you who "hustle" or VUX, or guys who spend a lot of time in "high concentration of stores" areas that do a lot of daily foot traffic between them. It seems at the rate I've been going, I can only go 4 or 5 days before I need a two day break to let my feet "heal" from the blisters and whatnot.

[paymypush]

All feet are not created equal. Go to an athletic shoe store where the staff is trained to evaluate your specific needs. You won't believe the results which will go far beyond your feet. There's no need to suffer. Good luck.

[RS]

Do you walk/run/excersize on your own? It'll be worth your while if you start taking a mile or two walk every day.


Beware, if you're trying to pull off the high-roller with a suit look, don't wear tennis shoes.

[Norm]

I wear Rockport on the advice of a foot doctor.

[paymypush]

Rockport is a good shoe and is also one of the first reasons shoes had to be removed at airport check points.

[Sharky]

try ecco

[Norm]

Ecco is the other brand suggested by my foot doc.

[21forme]

Try roller blades. That's what KJ does

[Three]

I have always walked marathon distances in the course of a day at a very fast pace unless I am with others. I either have to get frustrated by having to continually wait for them to catch up or just walk at the typical persons snail pace. I didn't have any issues except when I got older or walking on really bad surfaces. My shoes were never suited for the task. When I was in therapy the PT's made me wear my tennis shoes after repeatedly saying the boat shoes I always wear were not suited to the tasks they had set out for me. After switching shoes I had to admit they were right. With the tennis shoes I could do things much more effectively. I still wear boat shoes. The issue of walking on concrete and hard wood and other unpadded surfaces can be helped with padding in your shoes but I can't speak from personal experience only from advising others to do so and getting their feed back.

I developed a bone spur recently and have custom orthopedics that take care of that issue like a miracle. It was tough for the podiatrist because I had the issue during a time of the year I couldn't keep my feet dry. I was hunting the swamps and between sweating in your boots and going over them his test padding and things like that that were supposed to be on for about a week wouldn't last a day. He was not used to people as active as I am at practical physical activity. He usually had athletes that dealt with extremely specialized physical activity. Needless to say with my high threshold of pain the issue had been getting worse for a few months before I decided time would not help with the issue. I decided to just pay for the custom orthopedics and hope it helped. It worked miracles.

The podiatrist also criticized my choice of footwear. Spending to get proper footwear is probably worth it to frugal people. I just like boat shoes because they grip on wet slippery surfaces and last a long time. They are not by any means cheap. I have not working on boats as a waterman in decades like I did when I developed the affection for boat shoes so I probably shouldn't cling to the tradition. I used to be a hook and line commercial fisherman and worked swamps for mussels and did some crabbing. The crabbing was the least lucrative. The hook and line fishing was spotty as there were high maintenance costs to the boat. We made some great money when we hit runs of fish and okay money at other times. The musselling was the best money. I just need a canoe and paddle power and I knew exactly were the mussels were and at what tide my efforts would be easiest and take the least amount of time. In those days I made about $60/hr when the minimum wage was $2 and change per hour. I didn't work much to supply my clients but at that wage I didn't have to. By the time I worked the entire swamp the small mussels I passed up at the beginning were now perfect size to start the rotation over again.

Now that my interests are different I should probably make a new choice for a favorite shoe but I like the ones I have. My feet are not typical. I have extremely wide feet and not much of an arch. I have been told I have flat feet but they are not actually flat. Finding shoes that both fit and are comfortable is not an easy task. Most shoe stores don't even have any shoes that fit. The ones that do are not comfortable. Anyway most people that make a living on their feet and work on hard floors get a pair of work shoes appropriate to what they do. I would recommend anyone with a foot issues do the same as a starting point. Consulting a podiatrist first never hurts if you have no idea what to get. The problem may be structural anyway. Athletes (Especially track and basketball. Many sports are played on grass which is more forgiving to feet) and other active people are prime targets for foot issues.

I rarely wore shoes for the first decades of my life so that may be half my problem. I had pads on my feet similar to a dog's then. I took a stalk of swamp grass into my heal in my early twenties. After 3 days I decided there was foreign matter in my heal and had a friend operate. He was trained as an EMT. He tunneled an inch or so into my foot and could believe I wasn't in pain. He was still cutting out the pad I hadn't even felt anything. Right after that I informed him I felt that. He said he had just found the object and hit it with his exacto knife. He pulled it out. It was about 2-3 inches long stalk of swamp reed that typically stands 6 feet or more. I still didn't wear shoes much but wore them in the swamps after that. I usually did anyway but I wasn't trusting my pads to protect my feet after that even on rare occasions.

[somtum]

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9099/...-barefoot.html

[Casino Kid]

Companies that make outdoor gear and hiking boots such as Vasque, Merrill, and North Face also make "trail shoes" that are kind of a hybrid between actual boots and tennis shoes that have Vibram soles, thick tread, ankle support. They're light and look pretty similar to sneakers so you can not really stand out while wearing them, but your feet can feel good while walking around and standing all day. This is what I wear:

http://www.vasque.com/USD/product/me...uga-gold-07068

[Joss]

Companies that make outdoor gear and hiking boots such as Vasque, Merrill, and North Face also make "trail shoes" that are kind of a hybrid between actual boots and tennis shoes that have Vibram soles, thick tread, ankle support. They're light and look pretty similar to sneakers so you can not really stand out while wearing them, but your feet can feel good while walking around and standing all day. This is what I wear:

http://www.vasque.com/USD/product/me...uga-gold-07068

I second this. Stores like REI will have a ton of different shoes that are great for walking long distances in. Nice socks can help as well.

[Aslan]

try ecco

I used to wear Rockport, still hae several pair, but I found that Ecco's are great on my feet and they wear like iron. Mephisto is another shoe and boot I've had good luck with. All three brands are well made and good for your feet. But that did not prevent me from getting a heel spur from walking the Strip. It took me two years to get over it.