Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In the past 5 years I have most likely spent about $300 on arch supports. Yes, I have flat feet. I got these today and they appear to work rather well. Much better than 90% of the ones I have tossed out or are in my drawer waiting to be tossed out. As an amateur expert on these things let me suggest a few ideas. I prefer full shoe inserts. The half ones have a certain logic in terms of giving your toes more room, but the ball of your foot and inner pad also need support. These are the full length. These are unusual to me because they have a hard bottom shape and a soft rubber top. They seem awkward at first, but after wearing them most of the day I noticed a real sense of support in a pair of basketball shoes. If you are still with me I have some buying suggestions. Look at the shoes you plan to put these into and use the euro number - not the American size. Your shoes may have a range so pick something in the middle. Buy the one that best describes your foot - high arch, normal or flat. Here is the "secret". This insert will fill up the shoe or sneaker near the toes and push the foot up into the top of the shoe. Most of them do this. Don't wear inserts with jammed up feet. Next: if you don't have shoes that handle full inserts go to a discount store with name brands at a discount. This is what I do. Take the inserts with you. Tell the clerk. Now, start trying on different designs without and with the insert. Find the design and size that allows room for your toes and the top of your foot. Cramming your feet into a shoe is never a wise thing. I got lucky and found a pair of gray basketball sneakers that accommodated the insert and my foot! Gees! What a difference. I have a pair of boots with high toe room, but I could not remove the glued insert in the boot. No good. Another pair of basketball shoes also did not work. But, the ones that worked did allow me to remove their insert and replace it with this one. Voila! I have a most comfortable pair of shoes. Over the years I have visited a podiatrist twice - completely useless visits. He would recommend some sort of happy feet stuff or other. He was useless. Experiment around. I will say that I have been wrong to expect too much. It is critical to be picky about having reasonable comfort. In my experience if the shoe feels comfortable in the store, it will work. I hate it when someone says, "Oh, those will stretch." Naaa! Yes, you may have to compromise on style and color. The objective is to have comfortable feet. If you do have foot problems I have had great help from exercise. Hold onto 10 lbs and hang your heals out over a board or step. then raise and lower yourself on the balls of your feet. This has certainly helped my balance and walking. There is no free lunch. Compromise. If your feet are not comfortable, keep working at it. One of the most ugly pair of cross trainer sneakers I owned had the best darn arch support. comfort wise they were great. Hardly fashionable looking. No, I did not wear them with a tuxedo. For working out they were awesome until they completely rotted out. Nike stopped making them!!!! so much for great design and lousy look. Hope this helps. A Week Later - Fantastic. The soles have settled into my basketball work out sneakers and my feet are far more comfortable. I have great stability. My plan is to follow my own directions above and get another pair of sneakers. These supports really work for me.