Footbeds - what type do you use?

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Trail Trotter

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I've always wore the manufactures footbeds for all the boots I have owned. I was thinking a little more comfort on the feet would be nice. More so for the extended hikes. Who uses footbeds and which ones did you decide were the best fit for you. I would appreciate your comments. Thanks! :)
 
Green Superfeet, they work very well, the only issue is that plastic piece on the bottem falls off, BUT, I ducked it back on about 3 years ago and then its fine.
 
I have at least 3 sets of green SuperFeet - one for my sneakers, and one for each pair of hiking boots - they have worn fabulously well - no separation or problems of any kind.

Tim
 
Per the prior thread , I bought some heat moldable montrails fro my new balance trail runners, They take up a slight amount of volume and definitely has more arch support than stock inserts. They took a few hikes to get used to. I have bought two pairs and use them in all my shoes now.
 
Support needs for feet vary considerably--what works for some people can be a disaster for others.

That said, I personally need good arch support for which I use green Superfeet. I use them most of my shoes from street to hiking.

Doug
 
+1 for green Superfeet, although I like to wear my shoes a little on the large side so I always have to trim off a bunch of material off of the rim of the heel cup to have it be perfect. I switched to Brooks Cascadias and I find I don't need any aftermarket insoles with them.

On my thru hike I wore out two pair of NB trail runners in the first 1000 miles but had the replace the green superfeet every 250 miles, which got expensive! The three pair of Cascadias (with stock insoles) lasted 500 miles each.
 
I do not use footbeds personally, I've tried them, but I find all those materials tend to make my feet sweat way beyond normal, even taking countermeasures, like baby powder. My wife uses them however, and she has used Superfeet but not achieved the results she wished. She got sized for, and bought, a pair of Alines and they have done the job. They have even helped with her chronic knee pinch/pain. I think they are getting harder to find though. Here is the website if anyone is interested:

http://www.aline.com/
 
I do not use footbeds personally, I've tried them, but I find all those materials tend to make my feet sweat way beyond normal, even taking countermeasures, like baby powder.[/url]

I'll second that, although some of the replacement footbeds do feel very comfy.
 
Our personal preferences for boots vary widely, and with that the rigidity of the boot itself. Some boots have a full shank, others half, some quarter, and some almost none. Some boots have little torsional flexibility, others you can twist almost like a pretzel.

Personally, I like a full-shank boot, with little torsional flexibility. They protect my toes and ankles best - I can roam all day in the Northern Presis, easily finding a foothold on sharp rocks without concern of feeling the rock thru the sole. And on a long hike the soles of my feet don't ache. So, any footbed like Superfeet are redundant - the boot already provides that support so additional support makes it feel like I'm wearing plastic mountaineering boots. Sometimes the factory footbed is adequate, sometimes I prefer one with a bit more cushioning, or simply need to change to a thicker (or thinner) footbed to made the boot fit better. When ready to retire a pair of boots, I check the condition of the old footbed - sometimes they have enough life left in them to salvage. Over the years I've watched for sales at EMS/REI/STP for footbeds made by Merrill and Vasque, and between that and saved footbeds, have a 2-gallon Ziplock bag of spares that I have in reserve. Boots change - shrink or stretch, and depending upon the season my feet may either swell (in the heat) or shink (in the cold) so I swap insoles in and out.

Hiking/mountaineering is a big part of my life, and taking care of my feet is a priority. My feet like it when better when I rotate different boots on a regular basis, rather than using only one pair during a particular season. The exception is winter, when I wear STP's Avalanche nearly exclusively.
 
For what it's worth, I use green superfeet in my hiking boots, but didn't like how they worked in my New Balance trail runners.
 
I’ve used both green and blue SuperFeet, and then switched to custom orthotics after developing Plantar Fasciitis. So far so good. BTW, most over-the-counter footbeds like SuperFeet are effective for only about a year, then they should be replaced.
 
On my thru hike I wore out two pair of NB trail runners
Since you mention NB shoes, it may be worth noting that New Balance has a variety of styles designed to give different kinds of support for different kinds of feet. They used to have nice tables on their website listing the models and their support features. This made it pretty easy for me to select a group of acceptable shoes before going to the store. (They identify the models by number which don't mean much unless you have done your research ahead of time.) I took a quick look at their current website (http://www.newbalance.com), but couldn't find the tables (but perhaps I didn't look hard enough). I did find the following related info:

Shoe lasts:
http://www.newbalance.com/shoe-last-chart/shoe-last-chart,default,pg.html

Neutral vs Motion control vs Stability
http://www.newbalance.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-newbalance_us-Site/default/CustomerService-Faqs

In my case, motion-stability (a New Balance name for arch support) plus additional arch support from green Superfeet works for me. Otherwise my arch collapses under pressure ultimately causing lower-leg or knee injuries. (Been there, done that. Don't want to go back...)

While the above comments are about New Balance, similar info should be available for other brands of shoes. A good shoe/boot salesman should be able to give you similar guidance.

Doug
 
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the comments. You sure gave me a lot to think about and some valuable insight as well.
:)
 
Sue, be very careful with these products as many if not most of them change the position of your arch which could lead to symptoms of plantar fasciitis, tendonitis, etc. Padding vs support are 2 entirely different animals.
 
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If you decide to go with an aftermarket footbed, be sure that you try them on for size. Just because you take a size "X" shoe, doesn't mean the same size in a foot bed will work. Stand on several different sizes and get one that supports your correctly - you can always trim the front down if needed. I am between sizes so use custom orthotics and love them.
 
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