Diagnose my Socks…

Apart from the hideous smell… :-)

It looks as though your heel is moving a lot inside the shoe. But pure wool socks are not that strong anyhow, being more suited to casual street wear. It may be that you need to try a pair of wool/synthetic socks for comparison.

Many have had very good joy from the Darn Tough Vermont brand. I just threw a pair out after wearing them for several years of very hard walking. I was impressed by how long they had lasted.

Cheers

I've blown through tons of socks in the same way; in my case it's the orthotics I use. Do you use some sort of rigid footbed? I also wonder how old your socks are when they blow out… if it takes several years, that seems fair enough. And lastly, how often do you wear them? I tend to wear mine on a daily basis (what can I say, I love my feet) as well as on trails.

My vote is the back of the shoe. You say no matter which socks, but how about with your old shoes? To me looks too high-up to be heel wear.

If the heel is lifting because too big in the heel cup, you could line it with mole-foam, but can be hard to remove the glue residue after a while.

Is your heel lifting?

I used to have the exact same problem with a pair of shoes I wore to work. The problem for me was that my heel was lifting, and I would get some serious chaffing swells towards the bottom of my ankle — on the backside, obviously.

It didn't bother me at work since I didn't do a great deal of walking; but I couldn't imagine going through that while backpacking. Do you not have any sort of pain in your feet or ankles after a long day? If not, then it could very well be a poorly designed back lip on your shoe.

>>It looks as though your heel is moving a lot inside the shoe.

Yep, my thought as well.

>>Many have had very good joy from the Darn Tough Vermont brand.

I've a pair enroute for roadtesting as I post this.

>>Do you use some sort of rigid footbed?

Nope.

>>I also wonder how old your socks are when they blow out… if it takes several years, that seems fair enough.

I've a healthy mix of new and old. None are immune to this condition.

>>And lastly, how often do you wear them?

Everyday. I only wear wool.

>>My vote is the back of the shoe. You say no matter which socks, but how about with your old shoes?

The old shoes are gone to the trash, but this started with them. It also might be the NB brand but I can't find anything else I like this much. A trail shoe guide would help much!

>>Is your heel lifting?

Yeah a small bit. Mostly sliding.

>>Do you not have any sort of pain in your feet or ankles after a long day?

Always! But I have super flat feet as well…

Brian,
If you do have flat feet and you do have foot pain, do consider some $40 "cut to fit" orthodics like Superfeet or Downunders.

You will more be comfortable, be able to go farther, easier.
And longer (in terms of years).

See someone who does this every day (some at REI). They will try to up-sell you into custom moldables ($100), but the "cut to fit" will tell you if off-the-shelf will do it for you. Move up later if the need is there.

The home-moldable Sole footbeds are well well reviewed. So well in fact that TheBackcountry in Tahoe takes them back if you don’t want them! $45. LINK

Dean Karnazes pro model!
Sole model comparison chart

The SOLE footbeds really challenge my brain.

If you have "flat feet" and need an "arch support", how do you accomplish that by heating these and then standing on them?

Wouldn't you just squash them?
Or a least flatten them past where a neutral arch would be?

Not trying to pick a fight here… just want to understand how these can work.

Thanks.

I had thought just the foam would dent, not the arch support.
Could be wrong, this is something I’ve been asking Santa for, never tried them.

The arch support, they say, adjusts but does not flatten out.
LINK

May want to use them over orthotics?

I’d say call TheBackcountry and ask the shop guys or rental department for the inside scoop. 1-888-625-8444

I think you'd have a hard time flattening them out as the arch support is pretty stiff. I love mine and really notice a huge difference in comfort while wearing them. I've tried Superfeet and other types of insoles in the past but nothing I've tried previously has offered the same comfort and support as the Sole inserts. Pricey, but a great insert!

Ryan

Ryan,
Are the arch support an heel cup fairly rigid, and the heat moldable stuff the top sheet? Or is the arch formable as well?

g.

When I was a kid I went to a Podiatrist for custom-made orthotics for my flat feet. The cast was made while sitting down, thus capturing the natural, unweighted arch. They were expensive, and I kept outgrowing them, but they really worked. Now, as an adult, I find Superfeet work admirably well and for a fraction of the cost. The green ones were hyped by the REI salesman and I used them for years, but recently I tried the orange ones and found them preferable because of a built-in metatarsal support lacking on the green.

Hi Greg,

The arch and heel cup are fairly rigid. I tried wearing them without baking for about 15 minutes when I first purchased them, but found them too stiff. Once heated and "form fitted" I noticed that the arch wasn't nearly as stiff but still provided quite a bit of support. This leads me to believe that there's a bit of molding that can occur there, but I still think it would be hard to flatten these things.

Ryan

Ryan-
Thanks for the insight.
Glad they work.

g.

I see this discussion getting fairly off-topic, but I want to join in.

Monty, I too wear a rigid custom orthodic for my flat feet. I have nice new ones that were made recently, but those are for my "in-town" shoes. I use my older ones in my trail shoes, as I don't want to muck-up and abuse the newer ones.

I have been considering the Superfeet for some time, but never really tried them out. It's good to hear that someone with my similar situation has had some success with SF.

Hi Brian – you seemed a little unsure of your trail shoes, wishing for a guide. I can relate. It's definitely tough trying to figure out what works! (And I have the row of shoes that were only worn for about 30 miles sitting on my shelf to prove it!)

If I could suggest a few things: You said you're using a pair of NB 840's – I hopped on running warehouse.com and checked out the specs – these are designed for neutral pronation or supination. Probably, if you have extremely flat feet, you over-pronate. You definitely will not supinate – typically that only occurs with a very high arched foot. And neutral pronation basically means you have normal-medium arched feet. With flat feet I'd suggest looking for a stability shoe or a motion control shoe. Granted, you're hiking and not running (I assume) so the way your foot strikes may be slightly different. But in your case, with flat feet having more motion control definitely is not going to hurt.

http://www.runningwarehouse.com is an excellent place to look because it lists all the specs for the shoe – really helpful. You'll know how big the toe box is,and what kind of pronation the shoe is designed for.

this might help too:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-319-326-7152-0,00.html

I'd also suggest hitting up your local running shop – it's usually staffed by runners and they can be very helpful. But definitely the way the info is laid out at runningwarehouse.com is really helpful. Off hand, I might suggest the Asics Gel-Trabuco 11 WR – it's a shoe I loved in the women's version (and the specs seem similar to what you have now). But really your best bet would be to talk to some really knowledgable runners and look at shoes specifically designed for flat feet – both trail and road shoes – and see what the common theme is in the specs for them. Then base your shoe selection on that.

As far as inserts go – I use the Soles brand – they offer A LOT of arch support for me, almost too much – but I use them unmolded. The Dean Karnaze version might work for you. I'm really hesitant to push people towards a specific insole, though. I think that is one of those things where you definitely need to try them in the shoe and see how they work with your feet.

Good luck! I hope this was a little helpful.

Many, many thanks to all who responded. I definitely feel that it's the NB shoe that's failing. Poor design that is paired with my poorly designed flat feet. I need to find another brand, I've had bad luck with my last couple pairs of NB. The trouble is when the shoe is too hard, in the case of the Innov8 lines, it hurts!! Finding the right pair of shoes is murder…