About three months ago, a local chainsaw shop was going out of business.
For some reason they had a single pair of those blue gel insoles. Fabric topped. The entire insole is gel, not just pockets of gel.
I believe they were near to 20 dollars when at full price. But I bought these for 3 dollars.
Now… when these wear out, I will -gladly- spend the 20 dollars to replace them. They are very much worth it !!
These things have made a huge difference when it comes to work. Even more, I have noticed lately, when going for walks, that I am as comfortable now, with my work boots, as I used to be with tennis shoes. And the boots support the ankles better.
Anyone else have this experience ?
Anyone have recommendations as to which is best, etc ?
Just call me doodyhead.
Replies
I don't like the Dr Schoells as the tiny ribbing in the gel completely collapses and gives you less gel to stand on. I've found that cheaper store brands seem to work better.
And yes, I feel the difference too!
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
With mine, the entire thing is gel. There is no ribbing to collapse.I think they are a fairly old version of dr scholls. Maybe Dr Scholls makes them differently now...In fact, the reason I decided to buy and try them is because the boots I wear have a sort of waffle in the heel. Square holes in the stuff the heel is made of. That waffle REALLY hurts the foot !! (They were too cheap to put any kind of insole in them to separate your heel from that waffle design.) I keep thinking I should make insoles from countertop material, put that in first to bridge the waffle, and then use the gel inserts as well...
Just call me doodyhead.
Go to a shoe repair place, they should make something for you pretty cheap!Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I also considered filling those little square holes with something like bondo, or goop glue, er sumptin.
Just call me doodyhead.
Make some leather insoles out of a pair of old heavy leather cowboy boots. Dont use the ostrich or rattlesnake skin types. What are they thinking? I had a pair of boots that had those heels with the square holes, which was covered with something like a layer of cardboard that wore thru. Very uncomfortable.
Leather is an idea I hadn't thought of.But I would think that it would fairly quickly form to the square holes, and it would be no different than before.I also have some plastic that is about 1/8" thick. I may try that before I try plastic laminate.
Just call me doodyhead.
Luka,You might want to try just filling the square holes with clear silicone caulk. Fill flush, let dry, then apply a glaze coat under 1/8" thick. A small Bondo squeegee is the ideal tool to use for this.After it cures, apply the insole of choice.Silicone is surprisingly durable and comfortable in shoes. I used it many years ago to keep alive an ancient pair of Birkenstocks that lost some big chunks of heel cork while hiking. I used that pair as a beater pair for another year and it never failed. It stayed bonded to both the cork and the leather.Bill
That makes sense. And it was my first thought.But the waffle is made from some pretty hard stuff. If I fill it with soft stuff like silicone, then the silicone will squish, and I will still feel the waffle under my heel. I have to fill the waffle with something hard like bondo. Then I can put a layer of silicone over that if I still want to.It's a good thing I have another pair of boots to wear in the meantime. I have been doing other work, and putting the boots off to a time when I can't do something else.
I bet before you know it, babies will be sent home with a sticker warning them that living causes death~piffin '06
Silicone is surprisingly durable and comfortable in shoes. I used it many years ago to keep alive an ancient pair of Birkenstocks that lost some big chunks of heel cork while hiking. I used that pair as a beater pair for another year and it never failed. It stayed bonded to both the cork and the leather.
Bill
Doesn't Birkenstock fix old units like new? (for a price).
http://grungefm.com
Yes, I think Birkenstock offers a repair service. My sandals were very worn, and the cost of renovating them to like-new condition would have been several times the replacement cost! Besides, I was on a vacation, travelling light, and needed them right away.Bill
I love those things! I use the Dr. Scholls kind sometimes but I don't remember the price being up that high. I do think even the cheapo thinny non gel kinds are a help, too. Like you , I wear my shoes out till the scream for mercy, way past the point they have any support left, and the gel thingies are great.
I had a bad case of plantar fascitis a couple years ago, and I got a pair of arch supports for about 25 bucks at a hiking store. They aren't the soft kind, they are harder support, but they have been fantastic and my PF is gone now. I put the supports in whatever shoe I'm wearing except sandals.
We drove up to the San Juans earlier this week. I think I saw Mt. Index's profile off to the right there about where your highway heads off east. I waved! Could I really have seen Mt. Index? Man, the view along there is spectacular. I will never forget the scenery in this part of the country!
I was going to say... I think it is more likely you saw Mt Rainier, or something even further south. Not likely at all you could see Index.But then, I re-read. And yes, it is slightly possible you saw Mt Index from I-5. But still more likely that what impressed you was Mt Hood. Index is farther back, and you'd pretty much have to know what you were looking at, to be able to distiguish it from the mountains in front of it.I could have come and met youse guys at I-5 and had some coffee er sumptin.~~~~~~~I think the onliest way you could get insoles to work in sandals is if you glued them in. Same glue and procedure as used for countertops would work. In fact, I think that's how factory insoles are glued in anyway.Cheapest price I have seen for these is about 13 dollars. And the last time I looked they were between 17 and 20 bucks. (I round up when it is going to be money out of my pocket. LOL That way, I have enough when I get to the store...)I don't know what PF is, but I have a lot of pain in my heels. A kind of burning ache. That is, what part of my heel that is not numb.
Just call me doodyhead.
You have a problem with your plantar fascia! Horay! Months of pain and recovery!
What you need to do, besides getting the gel insoles, is start stretching your foot ALOT. It will help, it did for my wife.
View Image
http://familydoctor.org/140.xml
http://walking.about.com/cs/heelpain/ht/pfstretch.htm
http://walking.about.com/cs/heelpain/ht/pfrolling.htm - this one would be funnier if you did it while standing on the foot you were stretching :)
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Edited 9/1/2006 2:21 pm ET by xxPaulCPxx
No I don't.Don't jinx me like that.I found out that I can't even afford to be diabetic, let alone have some other problem !!
Just call me doodyhead.
I had bad plantar fasciitis for a couple of years from playing sports and working on my feet long hours. After trying every type of over-the-counter foot support/gel/heel cup insoles, I broke down and went to a podiatrist for a custom orthotic. They were pricey- between $300 and $500 a pop- and the first two didn't help. But the third doctor- a sports medicine specialist- was much more thorough. He had me walk on this pad that analyzed weight distribution, and spent a lot of time observing my posture as I walked back and forth. Then he took a plaster mold of my feet and made the orthotic. Bingo. This one worked great. No more problems.
Well, we saw Mt. Baker for sure, can't miss that, but you also get a great view of a lot of lesser peaks. I was hoping one with a particular silhouette was Index...but I don't know for sure.It DOES sound like you have plantar fascitis, too. Heel pain? Especially in the mornings, aches like crazy when you first try to walk on it? Google on PF and see if that sounds right. It's about your arch and not enough support, and the pain comes from a tear the the tendon(?)or ligament that attaches to your heel.What I did to get rid of it without a doc, was, first, putting a 16 oz plastic coke bottle full of water in the freezer, then rolling my arch over that about 20 minutes twice a day.Also stretches where you point your toes back toward your body and try to stretch gently. Do it all the time as much as you can.Good arch support in your shoes. No going barefoot until this is cured and it takes MANY MONTHS to heal it up. Be patient, do the stretches and the icing and get the best arch support you can afford for your boots and shoes. If you can get a custom one by prescription, great. I couldn't afford it. It took about 18 months to clear up my last bout with this!I only had it in the right foot. I did it to myself doing aquarobics in the pool, and bouncing up and down on my toes, instead of putting my whole foot down on the pool bottom. I was really mad, the aquarobics were great exercise, and I hated quitting!
I think that at the junction of I-5 and highway 2, you have to look almost due south to see Index.I know the map shows highway 2 going west and east, and I-5 going north and south, but in reality, from index to monroe it gets increasingly north-south. And from monroe to everett, almost the entire highway is almost exactly due north.Gel insoles are the only thing I am going to be able to afford for a while. Well, except for the stretching, which is free. LOLInterestingly enough, I had already discovered that stretching my feet that way made it feel a bit better.
Just call me doodyhead.
Get an insert called Superfeet. Worked to cure my plantar faciatioijajfis. Check it out.
http://www.footsmart.com/Product.aspx?ProductId=2229
or
http://www.superfeet.com/content/index.html
Great for us types who are on our feet all damn day, every damn day.
http://grungefm.com
I'll 2nd the superfeet. Have them in all my shoes (they're a bit addicting) to inculde running, safety, hiking, climbing, & ski boots.
cured yur what???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
cured yur what???
......cured my inability to stand up for 8 hrs a day.......
http://grungefm.com
Will they work with sandals and/or clogs, since that's what I wear most of the time?
Oh yeah, almost forgot - you're a doodyhead..........
"Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.
GRANTT LOGANN - THE LEXINGTONVILLE COPPERWRIGHT
http://grantlogan.net/
I have one set in a pair of sandals.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I put your answer in Theodora's response. That's what I get for reading all the responses first, I guess. LOLYou'll have to try gluing some into the sandals.poopybreath !
Just call me doodyhead.
You see how annoying it is having doodyhead posts directed at you...
or something childish like that
I-CU-R a doody head.."The truth, when told does nothing but bolster a mans character."
NANANANABOOBOO
"Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.
GRANTT LOGANN - THE LEXINGTONVILLE COPPERWRIGHT
http://grantlogan.net/
I invented doodyheads.
"Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.
GRANTT LOGANN - THE LEXINGTONVILLE COPPERWRIGHT
http://grantlogan.net/
And here I thought I was the only one in BT that wore clogs most of the time...I'm in good company now : )
"seeyou invented proper footwear etiquette" Where can I find a man who has forgotten words?I would like to have a word with him.—Chuang-Tzu
>>>>.I'm in good company now : )Ya been in good company all along, you just didn't realize it. Clogs are my winter ware. I wear sandals when it's warm.
"Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.
http://grantlogan.net/
I constantly have "clogs" in my Ebay watch list. I get emails every morning to check. I don't think I've paid more'n $30 w/shipping for the clogs I wear. And thats new or as close as you can get to new.
I go through a half dozen or so a year.
Try the Ebay watch list with your size..comes to you automatically. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words?I would like to have a word with him.—Chuang-Tzu
How do you set up a "watch list"?
I'm not referring to an item you locate and then select "watch thiss item", but rather an automatic daily search that you described.
scott
It says towards the top on the right on the page your looking at "Add to my favorite Catagories". Click it. Alfred E. Newman for president (we'd be better off)
I have the Dr. Scholl's ones which have about a hundred little nubbies on them, and seem thicker than most. I have gone thru about 2 pairs now, and they seem to keep my feet from getting tired as easily, which is good when you're on them for hours at a time.
Hope this helps. Rich.
Sounds to me like you're "GELLIN" ...!!!!!!!!!!!
...a bad day at the beach is better than a good day anywhere else... :)
Just an addition to my original post:
The store brand gel soles I like were purchaced through Dominics/Safeway grocery chain, they might have other stores in their lineup. Their nubbies look like little triangles, and hold up better then the Dr Scholes waved gel pattern.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!