a guide to walking shoes

Walking Shoe Guide

The Best Shoes for Walking
By Wendy Bumgardner, About.com
Updated June 16, 2009
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board


Walking shoes are your most important item of gear. Our walking shoe gear guide will help you decide which to buy, where to buy, and reader reviews of shoes.


The Best Shoe

There is no one best shoe. The best shoe for you is the the one that fits you best, the one that gives you the proper support, flexibility, cushioning, and compensates for any stride problems you may have, such as overpronation. Each person's feet are different. Take all advice with a grain of salt and find a shoe fitting expert to help you find the shoe that is best for your walking distance, speed, style, and surface as well as your weight and stride.

Walking or Running Shoes?

Shoe manufacturers are putting the best design and technology into running shoe styles, while walking shoe styles are being designed primarily for market appeal rather than performance. Follow the tips on the upcoming pages to see whether that walking shoe you are interested really meets your needs, or if you should go with a running shoe design.

Essential Walking Shoe Qualities:

•Flexible: You must be able to bend and twist the shoes. When you take a walking step, your foot will flex as you roll through a step from heel to toe. If the shoe is too stiff, your foot will fight it with each step.

•Flat: Walking shoes should have a relatively flat heel.

•Heel Not Flared: Since walkers strike with the heel first, you do not want a big flared heel. In fact, a slightly undercut heel is preferred.

Boots for Walkers?

Many long distance walkers wear hiking boots. I noted over half of the walkers on half-marathon to marathon distance walks in Europe were wearing boots. However, boots do not provide motion control features that many people need, and may be inflexible and heavy. Walkers may discover that they need a boot for the trail but not for the street.
 
My thoughts
 
Had this article been available years ago, I could have saved my feet from a lot of pain.  How may times have we hurt ourselves with the wrong beauiful shoes.  We can wear beautiful shoes but we need to choose the right ones.