Shop Shoe Recommendations

[VizslaDad]

I used to work for a running shoe manufacturer. I have also struggled with lots of running-related injuries in my late teens and twenties, followed by some pretty severe back issues. These circumstances have all led to my over-examination of footwear and its impacts on comfort and health. There are many factors that ought to drive a thoughtful selection of footwear, but I'll offer my thoughts on what I think are the three key ones to me: biomechanics, cushioning, and structure. 

What I have barfed up below is pretty long, and if you'd rather not wade through it, here are my main thoughts:

I recommend a boot like a Blundstone (or similar pull-on style) sized to accommodate 1) your feet and 2) an insert/insole to increase the cushioning or biomechanical support (whichever your foot and body type likely needs more). It may also help to have a high half-stool kind of thing you can half-sit, half-lean on to take a little weight off your feet every so often.

Biomechanics: one thing I learned from the shoe gig was that the vast majority of shoes, unless they are specially constructed for an individual, do not actually support the arch. The little foamy insert that come in lots of shoes is essentially useless beyond keeping your foot away from interior stitching (if you can crush it between your fingers it is doing nothing for you under body weight, or body weight magnified by forces exerted when in motion). 

The vast majority of footwear is effectively flat on the interior. Some athletic shoes have different densities of foam and whatnot to slow or alter the inward rolling motion that the majority of peoples' feet naturally make (pronation) after striking the outside of the heel during walking and running. Pronation is essentially a natural process that to dissipates shock and enables efficient walking, jogging, and running on uneven natural surfaces with bare feet.

Unfortunately modern environments do not resemble what our ancestors evolved to thrive in, and pronation can in fact cause some people problems. The more flexible one's arch, for example, the more likely one is to pronate to a degree that causes muscle, tendon, and ligament issues all along the kinetic chain from one's feet to one's neck. I fall into this category (I used to have high, rigid arches and then tore both my plantar fascia through a combination of overtraining, acute injuries, and stupidity). Now I wear inserts in lots of my shoes that keep my arches from collapsing completely. Specifically I wear a brand called Superfeet, but I have tried everything from multiple different expensive prescription orthotics to other commercially-available systems. Note that my inserts are meant to address the motion of my foot, and are made of a stiff plastic covered with a thin foam to position the insert properly in the shoe. What works for one person all depends on one's personal physiology and feet. Someone with high, rigid arches is not likely to over-pronate and is therefore not necessarily going to benefit from the kind of inserts I use in my shoes. However, their foot type is more prone to pain and injuries from shock/impact on hard surfaces. This leads me to my second key consideration: cushioning.

Like I said before, pronation aides in dissipating shock. Human beings used to be lighter, shoeless, and on the move constantly on loamy or grassy surfaces. If one looks at less industrialized people who aren't on hard, uniform surfaces like industrialized peoples you are unlikely to find flat arches among them. However, if you take the "archetypal" high arched person and put them on a concrete floor they are going to be prone to pain and injury because that rigid arch transfers the energy of the impacts of their footfalls straight up their legs into their spine. A person with that arch type would benefit from extra cushioning from shoe and/or insert that makes up for the rigidity of their foot. A person with flat or middle of the road feet also needs to consider cushioning for comfort while also considering biomechanical needs that may not apply to the high arched person.

Finally, there's the structure of the shoe/boot/whatever. This is likely driven by environmental factors (steel toed boots, for example) but might also speak to other needs of the wearer. If one wears an ankle brace, this may dictate that a low cuffed shoe be worn, or a boot fitted such that the brace could be worn inside it. My father broke both of his ankles multiple times between playing college football, logging, and building houses. He needed to wear a high boot laced tightly to basically keep himself together. To me, a boot makes the most sense in a shop if one is working with larger pieces of lumber. I've dropped a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" plywood on my foot wearing running shoes and it wasn't pretty. 

Thus, I recommend a boot like a Blundstone (or similar pull-on style) sized to accommodate 1) your feet and 2) an insert/insole to increase the cushioning or biomechanical support (whichever your foot and body type likely needs more). It may also help to have a high half-stool kind of thing you can half-sit, half-lean on to take a little weight off your feet every so often.

[wtnhighlander]

Very good write-up, thanks for sharing. As some leaning into the Bozo range of shoe sizes, I find pull-on boots to be difficult. Slip-on shoes are also problematic, as they will not stay seated on my feet. Lace-up is my go-to, and mostly sneakers. For long-standing shop work, I found emulating the grassy / loamy surface a better option for me. 

One day, I'm going to drop my mortising chisel and pin my foot to the rubber mat, but until then, I avoid steel toes like the plague.

[Coop]

13 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

One day, I'm going to drop my mortising chisel and pin my foot to the rubber mat, but until then, I avoid steel toes like the plague.

Never thought about the top of my feet. Guess I’d better quit using chisels. 

[curlyoak]

My family owned and operated a shoe store for decades. The store was renowned for getting a good fit. A good fit is still hard to come by if your size is something other than a popular size. The higher priced shoes may make a variety of sizes but will the retailer stock them? Frequently not as the turnover is much slower. And if they stocked odd sizes then you would need clerk to know how to measure a foot. And most don't know how. The shoes that are priced and bought by the majority never have anything but popular sizes. And therefore quite a few people go through life with shoes that do not fit.

The key to a good fit is matching the ball of the foot to the ball of the shoe. Possible get a good fit in medium to lower priced shoes if you have feet that are a popular size and get measured correctly. Bunions are formed from misfitting over a lifetime. People think bunions are hereditary. Not true. Narrow or wide feet are hereditary. And being misfitted with odd sizes that are the hereditary link.

I have been wearing Teava sandals almost exclusively for the last 15 years. I like them because it is easy to get fit due to all the adjustments they have. This provides me no protection from falling objects on my feet. But the fit is perfect and provide good cushion. And compatible with a warm climate like Florida. A trade off and risk I am willing to take.

Working in the yard I wear wetsuit short boots. I added an innersole for cushion and fit. Keeps my feet from having dirt in my toe nails. And I keep yard work at a minimum.  If it gets cold I wear socks with my sandals. If that is not enough then it is too cold to be out.

[VizslaDad]

16 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Very good write-up, thanks for sharing. As some leaning into the Bozo range of shoe sizes, I find pull-on boots to be difficult. Slip-on shoes are also problematic, as they will not stay seated on my feet. Lace-up is my go-to, and mostly sneakers. For long-standing shop work, I found emulating the grassy / loamy surface a better option for me. 

One day, I'm going to drop my mortising chisel and pin my foot to the rubber mat, but until then, I avoid steel toes like the plague.

@wtnhighlander you might consider using something like "Lock Laces" (US $10/pair). They're elastic laces with a little spring lock like those used on drawstrings. They effectively turn lace up boots into slip on boots. Undo the little spring lock and you'll be able to kick off your boots without losing your socks in the process!  

@curlyoak you make excellent points. I worked at a running shoe store in college (different job from the running shoe manufacturer) and one thing that that particular vein of shoe retail tends to hide from customers is that, by and large, the more expensive shoes are intended for heavier runners. The running shoe industry considers a "heavy" runner to be 160 lbs which I still find pretty funny, but I digress. I had customers, particularly super skinny high mileage female runners, who insisted on buying the highest end shoes despite advising them that those shoes were suboptimal for their builds and needs. I worked there long enough to have a lot of repeat customers, and a lot of them came back and tried the middle-of-the-road or cheaper models and were much happier because they were actually a more appropriate product for them. Sometimes it takes a lot of convincing for people to understand that paying the most for something doesn't automatically make it the best for them. 

 

[BonPacific]

19 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Very good write-up, thanks for sharing. As some leaning into the Bozo range of shoe sizes, I find pull-on boots to be difficult. Slip-on shoes are also problematic, as they will not stay seated on my feet. Lace-up is my go-to, and mostly sneakers. For long-standing shop work, I found emulating the grassy / loamy surface a better option for me. 

One day, I'm going to drop my mortising chisel and pin my foot to the rubber mat, but until then, I avoid steel toes like the plague.

I was out in the shop doing some quick work in birkenstocks on Sunday, and managed to drop my chisel twice. Luckily didn't hit my foot or damage the chisel, but you'd think I'd learn.

[curlyoak]

9 hours ago, VizslaDad said:

Sometimes it takes a lot of convincing for people to understand that paying the most for something doesn't automatically make it the best for them. 

A large minority of people wear the wrong size shoes. A small majority have a popular size and can easily get fitted. Far more important in running shoes, or any shoes for that matter, is the fit than the specific style of running shoe. Especially since so many people don't wear their right size. Once properly fitted a more specific style can be considered. But in many cases a slightly imperfect style is far better if it gives a better fit. If you do not have a popular size and you need a shoe wider or more narrow, most of the time to get that odd size you must pay up. In the middle and lower price range the full range of sizes is not manufactured.

9 hours ago, VizslaDad said:

the more expensive shoes are intended for heavier runners.

The most expensive shoes sometimes are the only choices if you need a size that is not popular or common. True for a large minority.

[Mark J]

A sad reality for such an important article of clothing.  When I find a brand and model that fits I try to buy the same thing again when the first pair wears out.  

[VizslaDad]

4 hours ago, Mark J said:

A sad reality for such an important article of clothing.  When I find a brand and model that fits I try to buy the same thing again when the first pair wears out.  

One tip for the running shoe wearers (or any other shoes primarily cushioned with EVA foam) is that rotating pairs of shoes will give better wear life and performance over the course of that wear life than wearing the same pair every day. EVA foam takes many hours to fully decompress after being worn for any meaningful length of time. So, if a person wears one pair of running shoes every day they're wearing increasingly compressed material, which yield decreasing amounts of cushion and breaks the material down faster than if the shoes "rested" overnight. The rule of thumb is one can enjoy the working life of three pair of shoes worn every day out of two pair simply by alternating them.

[pkinneb]

3 hours ago, VizslaDad said:

One tip for the running shoe wearers (or any other shoes primarily cushioned with EVA foam) is that rotating pairs of shoes will give better wear life and performance over the course of that wear life than wearing the same pair every day. EVA foam takes many hours to fully decompress after being worn for any meaningful length of time. So, if a person wears one pair of running shoes every day they're wearing increasingly compressed material, which yield decreasing amounts of cushion and breaks the material down faster than if the shoes "rested" overnight. The rule of thumb is one can enjoy the working life of three pair of shoes worn every day out of two pair simply by alternating them.

I agree. I usually rotate 3 pairs and after 3-500 miles they become my shop shoes, shop shoes become lawn mowing shoes, and lawn mowing shoes go in the trash  

[curlyoak]

9 hours ago, Mark J said:

A sad reality for such an important article of clothing.

The most common problem from misfit shoes shows up in a few years. Bunions. Wide feet are sold longer with a medium width, narrow feet get shorter and to wide shoes too often. When fit too long or short, the ball of the foot does not match the ball of the shoe ( the widest part). That over time breaks down the metatarsal arch located on the bottom of the foot behind the toes. Then next is the bunion. Most people think the bunion is hereditary. Wrong. Wide or narrow feet are hereditary. To make matters worse, a bunion has a nasty impact on the spine. Moral of the story, make sure your shoes fit.

[Chestnut]

18 hours ago, VizslaDad said:

The rule of thumb is one can enjoy the working life of three pair of shoes worn every day out of two pair simply by alternating them.

Interesting I rotate between 3 pairs not for that reason but for smell and to help my shoes dry out (i have sweaty feet). This has been a good shoe learning experience.

[Belle City WW]

In my basement shop, I have the Harbor Freight Mats and I wear Crocs.  I have worn all kinds of different footwear in the shop and have found the Crocs to be the best for all day comfort!  It's like you are walking on a pillow.  I have always dismissed Crocs because I have always thought that they are the ugliest footwear out there, but for me in the shop they work!

 

[Coop]

I think going barefoot all of the time may be taking it’s toll. I didn’t know Crocs made shoes like that. I guess it’s time to get my bare feet off the concrete. Thanks. 

[Chet]

On 8/8/2021 at 7:39 PM, Coop said:

I guess it’s time to get my bare feet off the concrete.

And out of the way of sharp falling tools...

[Coop]

To be in style, do you wear socks with crocs? 

[Belle City WW]

On 8/8/2021 at 11:41 PM, Coop said:

To be in style, do you wear socks with crocs? 

I wear socks with them.  But I have never been a "Style Guy"

 

[Coop]

Yeah, me neither. When I first typed it, I spelled it stile and had to correct.

[Coop]

Thanks @Belle City WW. It took a lot less time to get use to the rubber spikes in the inner sole than I thought. These things are super comfortable.

[RichardA]

On 8/12/2021 at 11:48 PM, Coop said:

Thanks @Belle City WW. It took a lot less time to get use to the rubber spikes in the inner sole than I thought. These things are super comfortable.

Yeah, but how do you know where your feet are when they are so well camouflaged?

[Belle City WW]

On 8/12/2021 at 11:48 PM, Coop said:

Thanks @Belle City WW. It took a lot less time to get use to the rubber spikes in the inner sole than I thought. These things are super comfortable.

They are comfy!  Enjoy!

[wtnhighlander]

13 hours ago, RichardA said:

Yeah, but how do you know where your feet are when they are so well camouflaged?

He can hide in the grass, now!

[Coop]

My wife’s puppy prefers these over my leather Topsiders to chew on. Wife said that after I wear these a week or so, the pup will leave them alone as well. Not sure why she thinks that?