Walking shoes?

[LeslieR]

I need a new pair of tennis shoes (sneakers or whatever you call them) desperately. My feet went up a size during my pregnancy and my old ones aren't cutting it anymore. I really like the slip on kind since they are easy on and out the door. In the past I have tried Nike, Avia, Reebok, and Sketchers. They all hurt my feet.:( I really don't want to spend a fortune, but I might be willing to if I knew I could spend a whole day on my feet in the shoes and not be complaining at the end of the day. lol Any recommendations? TIA!

[chortles]

Not sneakers, but I =adore= Dansko clogs. Super comfortable, supportive arch, lots of cute styles.

[wander_woman]

I really like Naot and Merrell. Both are really comfortable and come in slip-on styles. They're not cheap, but they are worth it.

[pocket]

I must second the Dansko clog. I started wearing these in college, and they are beyond a doubt the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn, and cute if one likes the clog look which I do. They are not even in the the same category as other kinds of shoes.

[LeslieR]

Hmmm...are those Dansko clogs like what nurses wear?

[chortles]

Sure, nurses I'm sure wear them, so do a lot of restaurant chefs, etc. They're not what is traditionally thought of us nursing shoes, with the puckered tops and lacing, though. Seriously, I kid you not, the best shoes. 10+ years I have worn 'The Professional', and for work I sometimes wear 'Raphael' since it is a slightly nicer heel

http://www.dansko.com/Home.aspx

[sue-bert]

I second Naot shoes. They are super-comfy and come in all sorts of funky or low-key styles as well. I have 2 pairs of Not sandals and one pair of Naot winter clogs and they are all dreamy...

Edited to add a link: http://www.naot.com/cgi-bin/WMN.pl?action=show_sub&sub_1=CLG&sub_2=

[nicole]

I was going to post something just like this and searched first, thankfully!

I'm looking for walking shoes, but I probably won't use them that much. We're taking a trip and we're planning on doing some walking tours and things like that, but I probably won't use them much after that, so I want something inexpensive (definitely under $40) Any suggestions?

[Toonces]

You might be able to find a pair of Skechers for under $40. I've always thought those were really comfortable. Famous Footwear, DSW and Shoe Carnival all carry Skechers and usually have decent sales.

[nettreefrog]

The Dansko never fit my feet right -- but I love Born Shoes (http://www.bornshoes.com/) -- and Naot (http://www.naot.com/index.html) as well. Some Ecco (http://www2.ecco.com/ss2007) shoes are quite comfy too.

[mrs_pell]

You might be able to find a pair of Skechers for under $40. I've always thought those were really comfortable.

Depending on what kind of sketchers your talking about, I may really have to disagree. I had a pair of them and they RUINED my feet! Seriously, after wearing them to work all day for a few weeks, my feet had some severe plantarfasciitis. These (http://www.skechers.com/catalog/browse.do?function=displayProductList&gender=W&catId=-1&index=0&viewAll=false&sort=newest&prodId=8259) aren't the exact pair that I had, but same style. A few people at work have that style too and agree that they're horrible for "all day" shoes.

I bought a pair of the Dansko clogs and they have helped my feet tremendously, but they still bother me sometimes. The *only* thing I don't like about the Dansko clogs is that I tend to roll my ankles in them sometimes, and it seems like a lot of people at work that wear them do that too. I don't know what it is about them that make me do that, but I actually fell at work yesterday (well...I *was* running down the hall, but my ankle rolled in them and I very gracefully landed on all 4s! :o ).

As for regular old tennies, I find New Balance to be WAY better than Sketchers in terms of support and comfort (but maybe not the "cuteness" factor that Sketchers has).

[Foley42]

The *only* thing I don't like about the Dansko clogs is that I tend to roll my ankles in them sometimes, and it seems like a lot of people at work that wear them do that too.
Yep, this is me too. I never hurt myself when I roll it, but I feel like a goof. A friend of mine in nursing school that wore Danskos did it too. I had to "learn" to walk in them.

[nicole]

The cheapest New Balance walking shoes I found were $59, the Cheapest Born were $63 (and flip-flops at that) and the cheapest Ecco shoes were $85. I'm really not going to use these after my vacation, so I think $59 or more for 4 days is a little crazy. In fact the only shoes I'm finding under $40 are Keds and Crocs. :(

[laura]

What kind of shoes do you normally walk in? I mean, what is your daily, everyday shoe wardrobe like? I am failing to comprehend why you would *never* wear these shoes again and/or why you don't already then own a pair of shoes which would work for this purpose. I'm not really a sneaker person, but I have a pair of casual sneakers I wear once a month or so, slightly more when it rains. I mean 90% of the time I wear something else, but it's nice to have them.

And FWIW, I had bad luck w/ New Balance but I have a formerly broken ankle, so that foot is always hard.

[myshel]

Honestly, I've always found that a reall good pair of running shoes work best as walking shoes. That said, I'm not exactly a fashion maven, so I tend to buy the most obnoxious running shoes I can find. I tend to have a pretty sporty lifestyle though.

I highly suggest spending more money than $40 on a pair of walking shoes, particularly if you're going to do a lot of walking. In general, shoes are sort of a "you get what you pay for" product, and you don't want to potentially ruin your feet on vacation (and after) by wearing cheap shoes.

My running shoes of choice tend to be New Balance (http://www.newbalance.com/running/training/?filterFlag=true&cat=1&subcat=4&ptype=1&gsm_2=2)and Saucony (http://www.saucony.com/product_matrix.aspx?category=training&type=w). If you're looking at athletic shoes, please don't buy shoes marked "walking." Those types of shoes tend to be more stiff and less breathable than running shoes.

[nicole]

I have a few pairs of sneakers - one Sketchers and one Adidas, but they aren't really comfortable enough to spend two entire days walking in, which is probably what we'll be doing. Normally I wear dress type shoes for work and boots or casual sandals outside work depending on the weather. I generally don't wear sneaker-type shoes.

My options are to just wear the semi-comfortable shoes I have or buy a new pair, but from what I'm reading, a new pair within my budget won't be any more comfortable for loooong walks than the ones I already have, so what's the point? I'm not trying to take up a walking or running routine where I walk/run several times a week. If I do walk it's not for an entire day (like the walking tour we have planned) so the shoes I already have are perfectly fine for that. If I'm going to spend $100 on something, we might as well spend the $100 on an activity other than the (free) walking tour we were planning to go on, or just be a tad uncomfy.

ETA: I guess what I'm saying is while I would occasionally wear some kind of sneaker, I wouldn't wear them nearly enough to justify spending big bucks on a pair. I tend not to spend very much on footwear in general though.

[mrs_pell]

What about a pair of Clarks or Born sandals. They are very comfy (even for walking long distances, IMO) and then you can wear them more than just for your vacation.

[Hello Kitty]

Avia is a pretty good shoe for what you're describing. They're reasonably priced.

[laura]

I get what you are saying. In that case I would go with the most comfortable shoes you already own, be it sneaker or sandal, and just be aware that at the end of the day, your feet will be tired no matter what. I walked all over Italy in flip flops, though, so that's just my 2 cents.

[SingleWhiteFemale]

As for regular old tennies, I find New Balance to be WAY better than Sketchers in terms of support and comfort (but maybe not the "cuteness" factor that Sketchers has). I have had severe feet problems in the past, and Sketchers were murder on my little guys too.

To the OP, if you're looking for a sneaker, when I wore AFOs and needed "wider" shoes, my go-to brands were Adidas and New Balance. The Nikes always seemed a little tight. And they were always super light, which was a plus (Reebok always felt somewhat "heavy").

If cost is an issue, if you live by a Sports Authority, this week there is a $10 off $50 coupon in their sales circular...

[kalogrias]

Personally, I love Reefs. I know that they are flip flops, and may be less "structured" than what you are looking for, but they are the.most.comfortable.sandals. They were the only shoes I took with me on my 4 week trip to Africa (I took one pair of black ones and one pair of brown leather ones), and they were awesome and held up great.

I agree with Laura, though, that no matter what you wear on your feet, they are going to be tired at the end of a long day of walking.

[sublime311]

This afternoon, I purchased a pair of Earth (http://www.earth.us/index.asp) shoes. They are not THE most stylish shoes, but feel incredible on! These shoes have a negative heel promoting better posture, more efficient breathing and increased endurance! (Another benefit, is decreased back pain.)

I also bought a pair of Keen (http://www.keenfootwear.com/pdp_page.cfm?productID=242) sports sandals. These felt AMAZING on! Like butter, but with arch support.

[nicole]

Thanks for the ideas, I'll go check all those out!

If weather weren't an issue, I'd have no problem wearing sandals or even flip-flops - sometimes I think they're more comfortable than sneakers anyway. The average temps are 69-48 though. Not exactly bare toes weather, at least to me.

I also bought a pair of Keen sports sandals. These felt AMAZING on! Like butter, but with arch support.
Now you have me wondering what it's like to walk around in a vat of butter. I bet that would feel really weird but cool. :p

Here's another question. Would tennis shoes (actually made for playing tennis) make good walking shoes? I may need to buy a pair of tennis shoes if DH and I keep playing and since they'd get used a lot I wouldn't mind spending more on them.

[myshel]

Here's another question. Would tennis shoes (actually made for playing tennis) make good walking shoes? I may need to buy a pair of tennis shoes if DH and I keep playing and since they'd get used a lot I wouldn't mind spending more on them.

Actual tennis shoes have a fairly stiff outer sole, making them pretty stable shoes in terms of arch/ankle support. It's been my experience, however, that tennis shoes don't really have a ton of cushion to them, unless you're talking the higher end, performance based shoes.

I'm wondering how hardy your feet are when it comes to standing or walking for long periods of time. If you're pretty good at tolerating that, tennis shoes might be okay. I worked retail for three years (in an athletic equipment store) and worked many, many 12 hour shifts. I always wore shoes very similar to these (http://www.shopadidas.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2489999&shopGroup=R&cp=2039765.2019615&page=2&doVSearch=no&doVSearch=no&pageBucket=0&parentPage=family&colorId=12929), which started as Adidas' first tennis shoe (now, they're considered street shoes). I didn't really have too many problems with my feet in those days.

I also had pretty good luck with Crocs sandals and mary janes in my past walking/standing experiences. I walked all over Disney World for seven days straight in Crocs sandals-- not one blister or sore foot day. During my pg, I wore Crocs mary janes to work. As a HS teacher in a large HS, I walked and stood all day until my 40th week. I didn't have problems then either.