What footwear do you use?

kelbylinn · Jun 15, 2016

Teva or Keen sandals. We mainly boat down south so that is year round. Both have good toe protection too.

RT Firefly · Jun 15, 2016

Greetings,
Mr. W. I like the new avatar...

dhays · Jun 15, 2016

Pura Vida said:
In summer Sperry's, flip flops, Crocks boat shoes, and bare feet. Crocs make real/specialized boat shoes that stay nonskid a long time yet are soft and comfortable. They are hard to find and I usually have to special order.

Those look pretty nice!

BruceK · Jun 15, 2016

I had plantar fasciitis once, first question from the physio was, had I begun wearing boat shoes? Make sure any you buy give good support, it is a hard condition to fix.

Wayfarer · Jun 15, 2016

RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Mr. W. I like the new avatar...

Yeah, my admittedly feeble attempt at showing support to my brothers and sisters in Orlando. Such a waste.

Sorry for the thread drift.

Pura Vida · Jun 15, 2016

The Crocks boat shoes are canvas, but great casual footwear. They are lite weight and are like walking on pillows or in soft mud.

hmason · Jun 15, 2016

BandB said:
Do you think if my wife leaves heels out near him they'll disappear too?

I'm not quite sure. It would depend on his wardrobe that day. Just to be safe, I wouldn't leave them (or her) unattended.

David Hughes · Jun 16, 2016

dhmeissner said:
Sperry Flip Flops

I have this pair of flip flops too, and they are very comfortable. Walked 7-8 miles in them up and down the hills at Augusta National at The Masters the day after I bought them. Love 'em.

dhays · Jun 16, 2016

BruceK said:
I had plantar fasciitis once, first question from the physio was, had I begun wearing boat shoes? Make sure any you buy give good support, it is a hard condition to fix.

Yeah, PF is a chronic issue. Many years as a long distance runner got me very familiar with it. One of the reasons that I don't wear boat shoes unless I am going to be on the boat. I also avoid going barefoot.

Since I can't run anymore, I can be more flexible in shoe choice than I used to be.

ABfish · Jun 16, 2016

The Sperry's I've had seem to come standard with a funky smell. They're the only pair of shoes I've had that smell bad after one week of wear.

I tried a pair of West Marine boat shows. They're reasonably comfortable but not durable.

I've been wearing a pair of Columbia boat shoes for a year. So far, so good.

Pack Mule · Jun 16, 2016

Easy on easy off

HopCar · Jun 16, 2016

Marty, your feet are different sizes and they are on the wrong legs!
Oh, wait, never mind.

Portuguese · Jun 16, 2016

Crocs or bare

River Cruiser · Jun 16, 2016

Keen closed toe sandals, wear them all the time unless there is snow or the occasion requires shoes.

Dougcole · Jun 16, 2016

BandB said:
Any shoe manufacturer in the world will make shoes for him. Rest assured the shoe manufacturers have his foot mold and are always ready to oblige.

I actually work for a company that made some shoes for Shaq. We had to get a custom mold of his feet, they took a real beating over the years in the NBA. Our shoes are in European sizing, a size 42 is around a US size 10, a 50 is about a size 16. IIRC, Shaq took a size 56.

He bought 20 pairs, and paid around $10,000 for them.

Dougcole · Jun 16, 2016

dhays said:
Yeah, PF is a chronic issue. Many years as a long distance runner got me very familiar with it. One of the reasons that I don't wear boat shoes unless I am going to be on the boat. I also avoid going barefoot.

Since I can't run anymore, I can be more flexible in shoe choice than I used to be.

Guys, wearing an insert or orthotic in your shoe all the time is the wrong way to deal with Plantar Fasciitiis, you'll never get over it unless you do something to improve the flexibility in your feet and strengthen your lower legs/feet. Most docs tell patients this, but they don't listen as they just want a quick fix/magic bullet. It's easy to find someone who will take your money to make you an orthotic.

Orthotics are like a cast for your foot. Just like you wouldn't put a cast on a broken wrist and keep it on for the rest of your life, (a cast adds a lot of support, right?) you shouldn't wear inserts on a long term basis. You're weakening your feet and limiting their range of motion.

Don't get me wrong, heavy arch support has its place, just like a crutch or cast or neck brace does, just not forever.

Move your feet, they are meant to be dynamic and have tons of moving parts. Pick stuff up with your toes or use them to wad up a towel. Stretch them them against the base of a wall. Go barefoot when appropriate. Take it slow but move away from orthotics. Your feet will be better in the long run.

dhays · Jun 16, 2016

Doug gives good advice. I used to have a list of things for a runner to do to deal with PF. One of the big ones was to never go barefoot until the problem is under control. Now that my PF is under control I go barefoot frequently at home, but still don't make a habit of wearing non-supportive shoes for extended periods on hard surfaces.

janice142 · Jun 17, 2016

I have two pairs of Angelfish by Sperry. Kids size 3 is what fits best. I shop eBay. Kids never wear out their shoes so I get a lot of wear out of already broken-in shoes and for far less than retail prices.

BandB · Jun 17, 2016

janice142 said:
I have two pairs of Angelfish by Sperry. Kids size 3 is what fits best. I shop eBay. Kids never wear out their shoes so I get a lot of wear out of already broken-in shoes and for far less than retail prices.

Wifey B: Kids size three?

Omg. You're a 19th century lady. Seriously, at the start of the 20th century the average size for women was 3.5 to 4. At the end of the century it was 8.5 to 9. Actually not as much difference as one things. From a 5 to a 9 is only 1 inch. Supposedly the cause of growth is Pizza. lol. Ok, Time sort of said that.

“medical experts believe that eating high-density foods such as pizza and processed foods during puberty stimulates the growth hormone.”

I'm embarrassed now. :blush:

I wear a size 9. But so does Rhianna. Kate Winslet wears an 11.

I think small feet are so cute and lady like. So, my feet are large. :hide:

Poach · Jun 17, 2016

ABfish said:
The Sperry's I've had seem to come standard with a funky smell. They're the only pair of shoes I've had that smell bad after one week of wear.

I tried a pair of West Marine boat shows. They're reasonably comfortable but not durable.

I've been wearing a pair of Columbia boat shoes for a year. So far, so good.

My Sperrys did not come pre-smelly. I had to take care of that myself.

Nomad Willy · Jun 17, 2016

Dougcole said:
Guys, wearing an insert or orthotic in your shoe all the time is the wrong way to deal with Plantar Fasciitiis, you'll never get over it unless you do something to improve the flexibility in your feet and strengthen your lower legs/feet. Most docs tell patients this, but they don't listen as they just want a quick fix/magic bullet. It's easy to find someone who will take your money to make you an orthotic.

Orthotics are like a cast for your foot. Just like you wouldn't put a cast on a broken wrist and keep it on for the rest of your life, (a cast adds a lot of support, right?) you shouldn't wear inserts on a long term basis. You're weakening your feet and limiting their range of motion.

Don't get me wrong, heavy arch support has its place, just like a crutch or cast or neck brace does, just not forever.

Move your feet, they are meant to be dynamic and have tons of moving parts. Pick stuff up with your toes or use them to wad up a towel. Stretch them them against the base of a wall. Go barefoot when appropriate. Take it slow but move away from orthotics. Your feet will be better in the long run.

Doug,
Interesting
I got "over it" a long time ago but I'm paranoid about getting it back. I was told never to get up after being down for a time and put my weight on my feet. So I have arch supportive "slides" that I wear around the house. Beyond that I always wear leather shoes w inserts. My feet have been fine (OK) for 12 years but lately i've had a problem w hot feet in warm weather (we don't have hot weather here.
I had orthotics made in the early 70's but didn't work well. The inserts have. Perhaps there was an unusual reason for that and I should give orthotics another chance? Would be hard to get motovated when I have no real problem now and orthotics did'nt work in the past.

BandB · Jun 17, 2016

When I speak of inserts, I'm typically speaking of just better inserts than the ones that come in shoes. Those out, new in. Dr. Scholls to the rescue. I've just found the support of so many shoes to be inadequate. I think some of it comes from liking good basketball shoes which typically have excellent support and other casual shoes just not comparing.

ranger58sb · Jun 19, 2016

ranger42c said:
Yeah, I can't wear them, either. They're idea of "wide" sizes is probably about a B.

Wouldn't hurt if folks here commented on makers with truly wide size, like EEE at least and EEEE would be better.

And knowing about non-slip orthopedic options would be nice, too... for those of us who have been mangled a bit over the years, put back together with screws and such. Best I've found so far are the Rockport walking shoes in W (probably really about a 2E) for general purpose and cooler weather, and for on the boat a lighter weight sport shoe they make, also in W (IIRC).

And some of the TEVA sandals actually do better in the ortho department than some shoes. Especially useful when we're going into the water...

BandB said:
What lengths are you guys experiencing the width issues in? I often have to order due to size, but guess my width is not disproportional to my length. I have noticed that many only have XW up to size 12, then only W. I know Sperry only offers XW in Classic and Billfish, but not in Goldcup or Billfish Ultralight. The Ultralight is medium only.

Athletic shoe brands are far easier to find in large sizes.

ranger42c said:
I usually can't even get my foot into the Sperry's I've tried in their widest size (probably XW), Topsiders, I think... in my normal size 9, or sometimes 9½ depending on brand.

I think XW = B in other brands.

I'd forgotten to mention my Sebago deck shoes. The WW version is wide enough to get into, in my normal size...

-Chris

sbu22 · Jun 19, 2016

Skechers Relaxed Fit (pic at Gastons #14) for light all road condition traction, minimum weight, and something my abused, bent, and wide feet can tolerate for hours and miles on end. The synthetic leather uppers (also available in fabric, but never tried) dry in minutes.

They do wear out (soles) pretty quick in street service, last about forever with boat use. Not a fashion statement.

bilge53 · Jun 19, 2016

Sandals for Everyone!

Teva or Columbia. Easy to purchase, decent quality, good gription, wear forever or almost.

Crocs; decent grip when new; absolutely lethal on any surface after they start to wear.

Us old people break hips wearing Crocs.

What footwear do you use?

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