Suggestions Please!
Does anyone have a particular insole they love to wear for walking? Our trip is in 48 days and I’d love to give a few insoles a shot before we go.
Also, any other tips would be great!
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I swear by Sketchers and their memory foam inserts. I have a “Lite weight” sneaker type and the slip on type. The comfort beats many other brands I’ve tried.
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My wife and I like New Balance walking shoes. May I also suggest if your older to look into compression socks. They help your legs from tiering out.
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I do like Sketchers too! I didn’t know they made inserts. Definitely trying them. Sketchers with the air cooled memory foam are the only sneakers DH will wear.
I’m older than some, lol. I’ll try it, definitely. I’m starting a walking routine this weekend in prep for trip. Since my back surgery I haven’t done a whole lot of walking. My feet and legs are out of practice.
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I swear by “feet up the wall” when I’m at Disney. Every night when I get back from the parks, I lay on the bed with my butt against the headboard and my feet up the wall (shoes off as soon as I walk in the door) for 20-30 minutes. Then a warm bath or shower (I prefer bath, but if my room only has a shower that will do).
That helps more than any inserts could. (And I’ve used the ones I used when I was doing run/walk)
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Everyone has different tastes for different feet. I do not like memory foam insoles. I find once you stand a minute, they are as hard as a rock.
My favorite shoes are New Balance. I do have a pair of Sketchers slip on shoes, which are fine, but not nearly as comfortable as my New Balance. My wife loves her Sketchers, though.
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I had 1 pair of New Balance but I didn’t care for the way they fit. They were comfortable though.
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You know what, they’re actually not inserts. They’re attached, in the sneakers anyway.
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Ahhh! I did find some on ebay and on insolesgeek.com. I think I will order some and see how I like them in my non-sketcher shoes.
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Putting my feet in ice water for as long as I can tolerate it every evening really helps. I get a bucket of ice from the ice machine and dump it into a shallow cold bath, then dip my feet into it. It seems like it helps keep my feet feeling like Day 1 every morning, instead of getting progressively more sore and tired every day.
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I swear by “feet up”, too. When I go to dance events it’s the first thing I do when getting back to the hotel at night.
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Re:insoles
For me outsoles / the shoes themselves have always been a priority - I can wear a good sneaker without any insoles, but a bad shoe won’t be comfortable with any insole.
Most major brands have pretty good outsole technology and it depends on what you prefer and what fits the best. I swear by Adidas because the fit is better for me then other sneaker brands and the Boost soles are great, perfect amount of bounce for all day walking.
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I agree that the best insole won’t save a shoe that is not right for your feet.
If there is a running store (I’m not talking Dick’s or other generic sporting goods stores) in your area, I highly recommend that you go there to get fitted. Explain that you are looking for walking shoes. They will watch you walk - on the floor and/or on a treadmill - to see how your feet move and recommend shoes that will work best with you. You can then try them on and walk around on the floor and/or on the treadmill to see which feel the most comfortable.
The biggest thing I learned when I was doing run/walk is that shoes really ARE highly personal and what works best for one person may cause major issues for you. (Prime example - I have tried Sketchers of all types and ended up with foot issues when I have. They don’t work for me.)
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@drvillarejos I second what @lizzieanne771 is saying. Especially as we age.
Skechers and New Balance make different shoes for different sorts of feet/walkers. An example is my shoes wear at the outside of the back of my heel way more then any part of the front of my feet. Left foot is more along the outside edge than right foot. DH’s shoes are worn more in the ball of his foot area. We’d want different things in a shoe. A good running store will know this. The right shoes are amazing.
Perhaps use a walking stick as you begin your walking regime, to help your back as you get stronger.
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Again, YES! And know going in that a good quality pair of shoes that is right for you WILL cost some money.
My dad got some new shoes - a name brand he had never worn before, but “they were on sale” - and they really caused issues with his knees - to the point when he was walking in their neighborhood, he ended up sitting down at the pool area and calling mom to come and get him in the car. He’s actually seeing the orthopedist who did his hip replacement about it currently.
I’ve told him if it’s better when I’m home in a few weeks, we are going to go to a running store for them to fit him. And when I was home for Christmas, we were in Dick’s for something else (I think wool hiking socks?) and I took him back to the shoe area not to get him fitted, but to show him the costs (because they did have some of the running shoes I wear at their standard pricing) and explain that you really do get what you pay for with shoes. And a quality pair of shoes for walking or running likely will cost money.
Once you know what works after visiting a running store (and please, as long as they have what works for you, buy a pair from them after they do the work of fitting you) and have that first pair, you can get them elsewhere.
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I know we have “the good feet” store. The shoes they recommended, $219.00, were terrible. They were suposed to be an Orthopedic store but regular walking was worse than with my Sketchers. They took them back but didn’t give me a different recommendation. I also didn’t ask… My mom had the same experience there, not a good fit either. I’ll have to check to see if they have a “running shoe” store around here. We’re fairly populated so you would think so…
I agree with the legs up the wall yoga pose as well.
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The right store will have you walk. They should talk to you about pronation.
That was my thought - you’d think there’d be a choice of stores in your area.
Good luck! 
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I even put one of the extra pillows under the mattress about where my knees would be.
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