Re: [at-l] Boots, Shoes, and othermobiles

[markusmc@hom.net]

Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth on this great and very important
thread.

The comments on this subject about "what works for one may not for another"
about there being "alot of variables that effect the outcome for each
individual" are very true and can be evidenced by the 20 years I've watched
1000s of Marines hike the same routes all carrying the same load and
equipment and wearing the same foot wear and some of them getting blisters
so bad I had to put them on the truck while at the same time others had no
discomfort at all. As for myself peronally, what worked for me on one trip
maybe didnt on another, sometimes I took no special precautions and got no
blisters, while on another hike I actually got a blister "through" mole skin.

After all this I am convinced that the major factor here is not just in the
fit but in the "way" the shoe fits.  That is why the custom fitted Limmer
will really shine I'm sure for comfort.  (althought the weight might be
another issue) Everyones foot is shaped different, and our biomechanics
differ from person to person. Shoe companies make shoes to fit a particular
type of foot.  If your size 10 foot is in a size 10 shoe, if that shoe was
not built for your kinda foot, you will eventually have problems.  It may
feel comfortable, it may seem wide enough, you may have plenty of toe room,
but if it doesnt match the shape of your foot you will always be fighting
the shoe.

If you look at your bare footprint especially if you compare it with
someone elses, you will see that a human foot can be quite curved or
straight. Well shoes are built that way too, either curved or straight.  If
you try to put your curved foot in a straight shoe, you will most likely
start getting blisters on your big toe and/or the ball of your foot. That's
the problem I used to have, and I used to try to fix it by getting wider
shoes, which didnt work because I didnt have a wide foot I just had a foot
that curved more than the shoes.  They would be perfectly comfortable for
short walks or just walking around the house, but for a good long walk I
had all that extra room in there for my foot to slide around in and I would
start getting blisters on the bottom of my feet. And if you try to cushion
one area, you could quite likely just end up putting pressure on another
part of the foot.  Same kinda thing of course if you try putting a straight
foot in a curved shoe.  So what you want to know is, do you have a straight
or curved foot? So that you can look for shoes or boots that were built on
a straight or curved "Last". The "Last" is kinda sorta the frame of a shoe.
And dont forget you dont just want curved but the right amount of curve.
(if you have a curved foot of course)

One other thing to look at.  Look at a pair of your old shoes that are well
worn. Look at the heels from the back.  Are they worn on the outside more
or on the inside more?  If they are worn more on the outside, this is
called "pronating" (Spelling???) or something similiar to that.  But guess
what, they makes shoes for these conditions.  Some shoes are made for
Pronators and some are made for the other guys.  Have the wrong ones for
your feet and guess what? you will have problems.

Many years back, I was going through this program in the USMC that had a
particularly tough Physical Training (PT) program.  Much tougher than I was
used too at the time. Plus they PT'd everyday not just 3 times a week like
most units did. So I had no time to recuperate.  My feet actually had
blisters inside of blisters with blood blisters inside of those, and my
knees got to where they were aching everyday too.  A couple of runner types
told me that my problem was in my shoes, I said yeah B---S----!  Fortunatly
they persisted and convinced me that I needed to get rid of my $12 K-Mart
specials and invest in a pair of good running shoes, they even gave me an
old Runner type Magazine that had the article in it that described how to
tell what kinda foot you had as well as a listing of the shoe brands and
models and what kind of foot they were made for.  It had all the big brands
Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Reeboks.  It was very surprising to see that at
that time the different brands almost specialized in what kinda foot they
made shoes for.  

Anyway, armed with that info I went looking first for a shoe store that had
a salesman that knew the terminology and then started trying on shoes.  I
ended up with a pair of Nike Air Pegasus.  Not only did they feel great on
my feet but even though I had to keep doing that daily PT the blisters
healed and my knee pain went away and I actually started to enjoy running.
I've been wearing that same Model of shoe ever since (I hope Nike never
changes its conformation) and I've never had a blister no matter what
conditions or the distance.  Even when I began running without socks, which
became preferred after awhile. And it isnt that my feet got tough, infact
just the opposite.  Over the years even most of the calluses have faded off
of my feet. All because the shoe has the proper SHAPE as well as fit.

Now I dont know if hiking boots are built to take into account the
"pronating" or "nonpronating" thing but they are all built over a Last, and
the last will of course either be a straight or curved last and sorting
this out will make a big difference to your feet and eliminate a lot of
those variables.  You'll probably have to do some research to sort this all
out though but it will be worth it in the long "walk".  Of course you
couild just go to Limmers I guess.

Sorry this got so long, I hope it was worth the read.

Mark Pearce
GA-ME-GA 2000

 

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