I used to only wear 'Earth shoes', but they got too hard to find (or maybe the brand stopped making mens shoes?). Anyway, I now only wear Columbia sandals. Takes about three months of discomfort to break in, but then they are the most comfortable shoes I ever had, plus I don't have to buy socks anymore.
I have had a number of foot problems, mostly due to my lifestyle, and many shoes are fine for a short while, but cause problems for me with extended wear. After a tendon tear, the physical therapist recommended getting ASICS running shoes. I went to the athletics store in Anchorage and was custom-fitted for a pair of those. They cost several hundreds of $ but did the job for about a year. As they wore out, the no longer supported my ankle as before. I didn't want to spend those bucks again, so I found a similar pair at Sports Authority in the clearance rack. They were almost as good and for a fraction of the price. Sports Authority no longer exists, so I , too, have switched to Sketchers. The lace-up running shoes by Sketchers work well, but I can only wear the slip-ons for short periods. My lace-ups are wearing out now, too, as they were not designed to stand up to gardening and cutting firewood and such. Perhaps I will have to get a pair similar to those recommended by @Holly Saunders earlier in the thread.
@Don Alaska While living in MO, terrible heel pain began, left foot, stopping my everyday walks. Got to where I hobbled painfully. This was before I had any kind of medical coverage, so I "toughed" it out. Studied "heel spur" and Plantar Fasciitis, and decided some of the info was, well......bunk. Dial-up internet was nearly useless. It took every bit of a year, but gradually the pain subsided, short walks, then long, resumed, several miles daily. At one point, early on, I could not stand the pain of putting on a shoe. Bought WWW width, went barefoot about the house. Today, there is no pain whatsoever, no medical intervention was sought, and I still go barefoot all around my usual haunts, in the house, shop, or patio. I can walk on the sun-heated concrete barefoot, without pain! (Would not walk hot coals, however!). Frank
So the pain just went away? I have pain in a number of places, but my right foot is the most persistent and I have had it the longest. It is the foot that had the torn tendon. It healed to function, and I went through PT, but it still gives me pain. It is traditional here to go sock-footed indoors since things are so messy due to the weather, but we seldom go barefoot. I did have plantar fasciitis when I worked on hard floors for years, but when I relocated, the fasciitis cleared up and has not returned, at least in the same form.
If you ever have Plantar Fasciitis ...trust me you will not have to look it up... unbearable pain, the brushing of sheet across the foot made me cry out !
Forgot to mention these earlier.. SASS shoes, expensive but worth every dollar for us. made in San Antonio Texas.. We both have hard to find comfort feet, but these work great!
Absolutely right...the pain is incredible...I had it in the last year of work after spending up to 11 hours a day on my feet... excruciating pain, unable to put my foot flat on the floor..and I'd always walked on bare feet at home, and could no longer do so..but even with any type of shoes on..I was in sheer agony after just an hour or 2. I searched for all sorts of remedies, using heel grips.. toes protectors etc..all which helped me continue to be on my feet at work, but at the end of the day my feet were still painful despite those aids, which is where in my desperation I discovered Sketchers memory foam insoled shoes.. . Since then I don't wear anything else, except for very short periods on my feet where I still like to wear pretty sandals or boots.. but for every day wear now I've retired I always wear sketchers , and my feet now have almost totally recovered...that said , when I do wear the normal shoes or sandals..boy can I tell the difference within a very short time. I can feel every little stone or crack in the path under my feet!!
@Holly Saunders ..I have had it several times...use a cane...when I can walk at all. I have high tolerance for pain...but that whips me hinney big time! One thing that does help...once the pain is not so severe. .take a plastic bottle...coke bottle..fill with water freeze...then move your foot over and under the arch....however long you can stand it.
yep I have 3 canes.. upstairs, downstairs, and one in the car.. ..although that's also to help when my back goes into spasm too... I've done that with the frozen bottle , it helped for a few minutes , but not for long. Your right it's extremely painful..I too have a high tolerance for pain.. but jeez that is agony, like walking on broken glass and burning coals at the same time.. Fortunately, all those things I tried, have made a huge difference and wearing the skechers have been like a miracle. Just 18 months ago, I really thought I'd never be able to go on my beloved walks again.. thank Goodness I did everything possible to help my feet recover and I can now walk again for a couple of miles easily without pain providing I am wearing the sketchers.. a few yards without them and I'm in pain!!!..
I used the same technique, @Gloria Mitchell. I still have a touch of pain in my right heel, but for the most part, that particular pain has subsided.
Except in winter, I generally wear flip-flops because I hate tying laces and stuff. Actually, I sometimes wear them in the winter too. I used to buy the more expensive flip-flops, with leather, or clogs, but they don't last much longer than the cheaper ones, so I generally go with the cheap ones now. Not the $3 Dollar Store flip-flops, they'd probably fall apart before I got home with them, but the slightly more expensive ones at BJ's or Wal-Mart.
My feet are the first thing to give out if I don't have well fitting shoes, but I need narrow ones. The few expensive ones you can find, that claim to offer narrow, aren't really. Once in a while I run across a pair of canvas sneakers that work, but then they usually have thin soles, and don't last very long. The good thing is they don't cost much. If they quit making those in narrow, I'm in trouble. lol
@Nancy Hart Have you ever tried "sneakers" consisting of non-existent "sneakers", for casually moving about when not out and about? Frank
I have been wearing slip on Merrell so called "Jungle Mocs" for over twenty years, they feel like walking on air and very comfortable, though the soles don't last as long as they used back in the '90s For this kind of hot weather and on vacation I go barefoot whenever possible, or use a very old pair of Clarks leather sandals with velcro/magetic straps, which are again very comfortable. I will never go back to lace-ups.