I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t like the Ortholite insoles provided as stock by many shoe manufacturers. It’s particularly bad when a shoe is advertised as having plenty of cushion. Usually this seems to mean that there’s a thicker than usual Ortholite insole. I find them too squishy and would like a denser material that still cushions, but with less give.
In shoes with an EVA(?) midsole I’ll usually just take the insoles out and the midsole provies enough cushion. But for shoes that have a stiffer and/or thinner midsole, I need some kind of auxiliary cushioning.
Superfeet are no good. I found out the hard way that structured insoles give me pain. I used to use Wolverine Durashocks, but they increase the drop in any shoe they’re in and I’m trying to move away from that. Ideally I would want something similar to the material in the Durashocks, but thinner and flatter. If you’re not familiar with them, they have a dense, firm-ish foam for the bulk of the area and under the heel and ball there’re patches of slightly softer gel-like material.
The athletic insoles at the local store (Spenco, Dr. Scholl’s) are all Orthlite as far as I can tell, some with gel and some without. The actual running store is 40 minutes away and doesn’t have inventory on their website, so I’ve no idea what I’ll find there. Does anyone have suggestions for what to try?
