Thursday, November 7, 2019

Footwear (again)

Not the post I was hoping to make.  My cart is still resting beside me and not adventuring along the roads (yet).

Since the last post there has been a seemingly never ending stream of unexpected events that delayed me.  The latest is back to my feet.

Also hoping that adding an update will stop the spam bots.  Maybe they look and see no updates and think the blog is abandoned and so try to post comments. Been getting a lot lately.

A tale of feet footwear sorrow follows.

Sadly I wore a hole in the sole of my Vibram Five Fingers. I returned to Barefoot Inc for another pair, but found their retail store has closed. The building is being refurbished. They are still in business online until they find a new location, but I'd rather try on shoes than do the order/return cycle. Specially as Vibram Five Finger sizing is all over the place. It is not the same size between models, and they keep changing the models. All the Vibrams I have had have been different sizes, and apart from one occasion, different models.  As much as I and my feet like Vibrams, it has been an the increasing hassle finding them. I also really want sandals, specially with summer on the way. Time to try something new.  Something more easily available.

Unshoes looked good. The Pah Tempe 2.0. I liked the strap placement so the toes can wave free, and the options for custom sole sizing. Ordered and they arrived quicker than expected. But I wasn't that happy with them.  The single strap adjustment is a compromise and the hold on the foot always feels loose. I'm still have them and continue to experiment with them, but the telling feature was I went back to wearing the Vibrams with the hole in the sole.

In frustration I tried on a pair of work shoes in Kmart. Heavy with the steel cap, but could work. Decided to look at hiking shoes just to get some shoes and get walking more.

Ended up with a pair of  Keen Newport H2. Pretty much a shoe with holes. I wavered on the sizing, and may have sized wrong with too large. Found out later there is a half size that might be a better fit.  Day one I walked 15 km in them and immediately had sore knees, feet and legs. Lesson: it takes adjustment after Vibrams, go easy.  That eventually settled down, and I was able to increase my walking distance. But now I'm working through blisters - heel, between the toes, and on the toe tips. I had preventative taped spots, but missed a couple - which did blister. Some might be because of callouses, but the heel blister is rubbing on the sandal. I'm not a fan of the moulded foot bed. Trying to decide if I sized wrong, or I just need to cut the moulding away in that spot.