UL CCF Insoles

[Brian Senez]

Here is some interesting information.
Insole weights for one pair US size 12:

Superfeet green 114g
Pearl Izumi stock 55g
MYOG 1/4" CCF 9g
MYOG 1/8" CCF 5g

About two years ago I started getting into minimal footwear. I ditched my superfeet and used just the stock insoles. Recently I have made some copies of the stock insole from CCF. The weight saving is pretty significant, and should provide some decent insulation from cold ground. I have not yet put a lot of miles on these but I suspect they will wear quickly. Comfort is excellent, I prefer the the thinner 1/8". 1/4" would be perfect if you needed to take up a little extra volume in your shoe.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Good idea. Lots of times I've gone without the insole completely, mostly when the shoes felt too small. At this point I think that minimalism–as in no heel rise, little to no arch, no high tech stuff in the sole–is actually more important than weight, but it's good to know that sometimes minimalism is lighter, too.

[drowning in spam]

I've gone without insoles before too, but because I'm lazy. I took out the insoles before I crosses a creek and just kept on hiking without the insoles.

[Keith Selbo]

I've tried some unconventional solutions myself and durability has proved to be the Achilles heel of most of them.

Doctor Scholl's memory foam inserts (on top of the stock footbed) have been the best so far for me. I hiked four days in Yosemite with them and it was the most pain free hike I've ever had. Unfortunately, they collapse to paper thin if they get wet so a spare set is recommended.

In my opinion, iron plates are a better solution than Superfeet. I don't know what people see in them. The best durable commercial footbed solution I've found are the gel insert. I'm also experimenting with running shoes with home made toe reinforcement. I'm taking them on a 3 day jaunt next weekend. I'll report back after that one.

[drowning in spam]

Superfeet blue insoles don't tear up my arches. Many insoles seems to try too much and cause new problems because of it. The heel is not padded, but that only bothered me when I first started hiking again. Now my heels are tougher and they still don't hurt when hiking even though I've gained 25 pounds from the weight when I started my thru hike attempt. That said, Superfeet are too expensive for what appears to be a very simple construction. It would be easy to replicate. I don't know what's taking the Chinese so long.

Plush cushioning would be nice when road walking to town though.

[Keith Selbo]

Sorry, I can't deliver the promised report. It was rainy and muddy. I wore waterproof hiking boots for the hike.

[drowning in spam]

I've been considering taking the insoles out of my shoes, although that may cause blisters due to the sharp edges and/or stitches. So I may try a CCF myog insole to smooth things out, although I'm still concerned about how the traction of CCF is going to change things. It seems like insole manufacturers take a good bit of pride in how slippery their insoles are. EVA foam is definitely not slippery. Blue pad CCF is slippery, but won't be once the top finish wears off…plus it's way too thick. I'll try in a few weeks after I get a few hikes out of the way…I don't want to risk messing up my feet with this experiment yet.

[Keith Selbo]

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