Death by Greenfeet?

[Stibb]

I'm trying desperately to keep my old Scarpas alive with a bit of a make over. One (of many) issue is that I recently get blisters on my heals (manageable) and foot soles and generally get very sore feet. Looking at my pathetically ignored and worn inner soles I thought the "revolutionary" (and expensive) Greenfeet would help. Admittedly being sceptical about the level of impact innersoles could have I trotted down the hill to get the mail. Ignoring the initial pain until stumbling in disbelief to a fallen tree next to the road for a break. It was TORTURE. I managed to get to the mail box but dreaded the walk back up the hill (I had to get back home somehow ). I re-laced several times but the feet were cramping up in pain when I eventually, almost in tears, got back. WT *$&#?

It does say that they need a bit of getting used to, but this? Is this normal? When I just wear them around the house they feel super comfy as always but when I start walking they are k.i.l.l.i.n.g. me. After a couple of days I tried again with a little bit better result but I could not go for any kind bushwalk in these. Anyone else had problems with these? What to do? Toughen up? getting five-fingers and let my feet do what they're built for? They are supposed to be brilliant

[north-north-west]

I replaced a worn out pair of Orthoheels with them for a 4 day snowshoeing trip last year, because I couldn't find anyone open at the last minute who had the Orthoheels.
Big mistake. Never again. Feet were cramping up halfway through the second day. By the time I got back to the car I was ready to start a bonfire for the the things.

[Rob A]

Old boots on skinny innersoles all shaped to your foot, theres probably no longer any room for greenfeet.

I wear them (having never used any aftermarket inners for twenty or more years ... oh ouch, longer than that), and I wouldnt go back to not wearing them.

[Stibb]

I replaced a worn out pair of Orthoheels with them for a 4 day snowshoeing trip last year, because I couldn't find anyone open at the last minute who had the Orthoheels.
Big mistake. Never again. Feet were cramping up halfway through the second day. By the time I got back to the car I was ready to start a bonfire for the the things.

So I guess we wont see a long term use review from you then Would liked to see how you got along after a few more trips (but maybe you'd be crippled for life then)

Old boots on skinny innersoles all shaped to your foot, theres probably no longer any room for greenfeet.

Good point. I used to be able to wear two thick socks in them. The last few years only one pair of hiking socks. With Greenfeet I had to change to thin hiking socks and loosen the lacing slightly. But, after that I wouldn't say there was less space than before. I can still wiggle my toes and I can still move my feet in a normal way

[Rob A]

Take out your greenfeet and have a look at them. They are thin up near the toes and have quite a thick arch and heel cradle.
Your boots wind up a completely different shape internally. You might not have it in you or the space in the existing boot to wear the boots in around your foot and the liner again.
You also have to match the hard plastic length to your feet so the flex is in the correct position.
Ive only shoved them into new SLs, and I wore the boots in rather than wreck them by giving them a hard time out of the box.
Obviously if they dont work for you, hoist them.
Ive found them a bit of a revelation.

Ps ... My physio is ex AIS and does a lot with surgeons and first grade footballers and theyve been doing a lot of motion studies on runners and walkers. They were getting heavily into orthotics to keep expensive contracts in their boots with good joints. He had a good squiz at my greenfeet in the boots and liked what he saw, from a motion/angles cost and convenience point of view.

[wayno]

i prefer sofsol from running shoe shop
http://www.sofsole.com/mens/allsport

softer, mould to your feet better.
they have other models but the ones i've seen are thicker and heavier,, i need to size up the footwear to fit those other models in

[forest]

I put green superfeet inners into my Meindle boots a few years ago. Man they hurt like Hell. Felt like I was walking around with a solid golf ball under my feet.
Over the next few days I eased into them, using them at work (ie; not actually do a whole lotta walking). Then just short walks etc.
After a week you don't even realise they are there.
I know what they must have felt like. I too was wondering what was wrong, I even called superfeet and had a chat to them. Surely they must have been faulty ?? Man the discomfort
The lady said keep trying them. If I wasn't happy within 2 weeks of trying them they would offer a full refund.

I guess it was about day 5-6 they they just magically disappeared and now I notice when they are NOT in my boots.
It's weird eh.

I also tried them in my runners. That was a massive fail as they didn't fit the shoe well and rubbed a blister the size of tassie on both heels !!

[Wolfix]

They feel odd because the arch support feels too far back but that's because most people pronate (feet roll in) and their arch is pushed forward. The pronation control aspect is the far back arch. Over time it works like manual adjustment to realign your foot bones so you don't roll in. I wear prescription orthotics and I recommend that people see a podiatrist before wearing any kind of additional support inner sole but not everyone can afford that or wants to do that. My concern is that some may need more or different support and may do damage over the long term with the wrong commercial orthotics but I'm not a podiatrist so I can't verify this theory.

[wayno]

yup. the arches on the superfeet are pretty hard and unforgiving, if you've got a low arch you'll generate a lot of tension on your mid foot as the insole pushes into your foot. . stick superfeet in a flexible shoe and the plate in it makes it a more rigid shoe, thats not the answer for everyone, some people are better off in shoes with less support.
i was never completely sold in superfeet, not for long walks, just seemed too hard. i only had them for doing shorter jogs in in some floppy shoes i had that i needed stiffening in.

[Stibb]

Well, I'm gonna give them a few more mail runs this week and then we're off to Cape Pillar over the weekend. If I'm not crippled by then I'll bring them and some backups if it turns out they're better off in the bin. There seem to be some hope though that they magically "disappear" and do me some good.

[Strider]

Superfeet Green turned my current boots from OK into absolutely amazing. I doubt I'll ever own another pair of boots without then.

[north-north-west]

Well, I went onto the Orthoheels from standard insoles and they were a revelation. Never a moments soreness or cramping or discomfort, and they've fixed my pronation and the worst of the knee/hip issues. Now use them in everything, including workshoes. But those Greenfeet things . . .

[photohiker]

I've never used insoles, but looking around, I found this youtube series which is bery interesting.



This Podiatrist is basically saying our footwear is rubbish, and pronation is a result of cramming our toes into a narrow toebox.

[Wolfix]

Iyengar yoga should help with pronation or supernation. It's true, our footwear is not great. It's all weird shaped. I like my FiveFingers.

[wayno]

pronation and supination are also affected by your foot arch. how high or low it is...

[slparker]

My thoughts on superfeet..
The green version is their most controlling footbed, highest arch and deepest heel-cup. personally, as an overpronator, I find this the best product. It should be bought with the boot (IMHO) as it is a high volume, high heel, high arch product: trying to force it into a boot that you wear with a standard flat insole is probably counter-productive. I relegate my green superfeet soles to one pair of boots which has a high internal volume and is one size bigger than my standard boot.
I tend to use the blue version (still has good arch control but lower heel) in my walking boots and cycling shoes. There is a black version with a lower arch but it has poor pronation control due to being quite floppy. i use this inside my standard street shoes as the heel is also low in height and volume.

I've now gone to wearing boots that fit me and put a blue superfeet sole in them. I find that the combination of higher volume arch but shallower forefoot gives me heaps of toeroom and a firm fitting over my (usually) low flat arch, which helps prevent heel lift and toe slamming in boots. Green superfeet raise the heel way too high, in my experience.

[Hallu]

I tried the Superfeet Orange with my Zamberlan Zenith on my recent 11 days trip to Tassie. After 6-7 days I put back the Zamberlan inner soles : I felt absolutely no difference, even though averaging 4-5 hours of walking a day. I'll try sofsole and see if they help.

[Strider]

I tried the Superfeet Orange with my Zamberlan Zenith on my recent 11 days trip to Tassie. After 6-7 days I put back the Zamberlan inner soles : I felt absolutely no difference, even though averaging 4-5 hours of walking a day. I'll try sofsole and see if they help.

This is hard to believe, given I know how utter crap the factory Zamberlan insoles are. Did you get a refund on the Superfeet?

[Hallu]

No, I'm gonna keep them. Although I saw no difference (the Zamberlan are almost new I might add), I'm guessing the Superfeet will be more durable.

[Strider]

No, I'm gonna keep them. Although I saw no difference (the Zamberlan are almost new I might add), I'm guessing the Superfeet will be more durable.

So why take them out?

[Hallu]

Just to see if I felt a difference as you did. Also I had blisters (looks like I always do unless wearing bombproof boots) and wanted to check if the new sole was the problem : it wasn't. Walking shoes give me blisters, big boots prevent them but give me tendinitis. I have to find the right balance, I'm gonna try to find some tough but light boots.

[wayno]

mid height boots?

[photohiker]

i prefer sofsol from running shoe shop
http://www.sofsole.com/mens/allsport

softer, mould to your feet better.
they have other models but the ones i've seen are thicker and heavier,, i need to size up the footwear to fit those other models in

Tracked these down today. Sofsole is sold through the Athletes Foot. Wayno's 'AllSport' model is not available here aparently. They have some kind of thermal foot impression machine that determies the type of arch you have and which then recommends a suitable insole from their 'fit' range.

If I get a chance, I'll go check them out. The Salomon standard insoles are pathetic in terms of durability and cushioning.

[Hallu]

mid height boots?

I'm not sure what qualifies as "mid height" boots nowadays. Mine are Zamberlan 310 Skill GT ( http://www.campsaver.com/310-skill-gt-hiking-boot-men-s ), those probably already qualify as mid-boots. But I think it's the weight that caused my tendinitis. Lifting them up at each step made the stress on the tendon too great. At 610 g per shoe they're not the heaviest boots, but that was enough (and I'm guessing 610 g is for the smallest size : I wear a 45 EU/10.5 UK). I'm gonna try the Keen Targhee II probably. They're not known to be durable, but amongst the lightest around here and the most comfortable.

I'm also thinking that higher boots may actually help, as they're laced all the way up to the bottom of the leg, but it's a pricey gamble.

[wayno]

those zmberlains look higher than mid height.
i've picked up some salomon x-ultra mids,, 450gm each. better than average tread for mid height, not so good for people with wide feet though

[Hallu]

Yeah I also had my eyes on Salomon mid boots for a while. I need light boots with a thick sole. Rocks and rough terrain is what give me those blisters, and shoes never have thick enough soles (unless someone knows the exception ? The Zamberlan Zenith are too thin for me on rough ground for example).

[wayno]

x-ultra have more rubber than most mid boots i've seen for the weight. the ones with more rubber i've seen are heavier getting up towards the weight of your zamberlains...

[Hallu]

OK thx for the tip.

[corvus]

For what it is worth I had a bad heel spur ,purchased some Foot Logistics orthotic insoles and the problem was fixed may not suit all but worth a try as they are not overly expensive
corvus