Excellent inner soles

[Hiawatha]

Greetings and many thanks to the contributors of this forum , I have found it invaluable in planning my attempt at the Camino Frances in late May of 2017 .

While researching what shoes to wear I noticed a distinct lack of many references to the inner soles that can either make or break a good shoe or boot .
I have bush walked my entire life and wear boots and tough shoes at my farm in Gippsland Victoria , I have found the difference a good inner sole can make to footwear is remarkable .
I use Scarpa boots for serious bushwalks , mainly through the Alpine areas of Victoria and the Wilderness tracks of Tasmania . These are hard and unyielding boots that will break your feet before you break them in , and yet the right inner sole makes them wearable and more importantly bearable .
I bought Merrell Continuum trail shoes and found the inner sole to be , frankly useless , thin , not resilient and prone to fragmentation . Drawing on my bushwalking supplies I found a pair of ' Steel Blue ' work boot inner soles and used these .
These are the inner soles I use in all my walking and working footwear , they are called ' Steel blue Ortho Rebound ' and cost around Aus. $16 a pair . They are made for mens' work boots and are available from Industrial workwear suppliers , RSEA in Australia are one .
As they are made for arduous wear they are very tough and very comfortable , they transformed the Merrells and I now have confidence in their suitability .
If you feel that your shoes could be a little more comfortable I would certainly recommend that you try these .

 

[Deleted member 43780]

Good to know & thanks for the info.
Never heard of Steel Blue before.

I remove the inner sole that comes with boots and shoes. They are useless. No arch. No support.

As far as inserts, I am believer in SuperFeet. Green ones for boots.

Never a step taken without them in my boots.

A close twin to SuperFeet is Sole.

 

[NualaOC]

Thanks for this information - I've been looking for something like that. I just ordered a couple - they are really cheap in the UK (£4.35/pair). I'm sure they'd cost a lot more if they were branded as a hiking product and sold in outdoor stores.

 

[Saint Mike II]

G'day Charles - thank you; thank you. The Merrells that I bought back in 2012 to walk the VDLP (around 850 km), however the extremely poor quality of the inner soles provided absolutely no foot support. Result my Camino was over in 5 days - and 15-18 months of rehab followed. I will look at buying a pair of the Blue Steel inners. Thanks again.

 

[ranthr]

Innersoles have to be stiff. I they are soft, your feet will move them inside the shoe and make a glip that gives you blisters at the point of glipping.

 

[trevorcc]

Greetings and many thanks to the contributors of this forum , I have found it invaluable in planning my attempt at the Camino Frances in late May of 2017 .

While researching what shoes to wear I noticed a distinct lack of many references to the inner soles that can either make or break a good shoe or boot .
I have bush walked my entire life and wear boots and tough shoes at my farm in Gippsland Victoria , I have found the difference a good inner sole can make to footwear is remarkable .
I use Scarpa boots for serious bushwalks , mainly through the Alpine areas of Victoria and the Wilderness tracks of Tasmania . These are hard and unyielding boots that will break your feet before you break them in , and yet the right inner sole makes them wearable and more importantly bearable .
I bought Merrell Continuum trail shoes and found the inner sole to be , frankly useless , thin , not resilient and prone to fragmentation . Drawing on my bushwalking supplies I found a pair of ' Steel Blue ' work boot inner soles and used these .
These are the inner soles I use in all my walking and working footwear , they are called ' Steel blue Ortho Rebound ' and cost around Aus. $16 a pair . They are made for mens' work boots and are available from Industrial workwear suppliers , RSEA in Australia are one .
As they are made for arduous wear they are very tough and very comfortable , they transformed the Merrells and I now have confidence in their suitability .
If you feel that your shoes could be a little more comfortable I would certainly recommend that you try these .

Hi Charles, I take two pairs one a bit firmer than the other and also change to keep them in good shape, I wear New Balance Leadville and still take shoes off and refresh feet every two hours and let the insoles dry out as well as the socks,

 

[Hiawatha]

[QUOTE="Saint Mike II, post: 439952, I will look at buying a pair of the Blue Steel inners. Thanks again.[/QUOTE]

They really work Saint Mike , here is a link to them ,
https://www.rsea.com.au/work-boots/accessories/footbed-sb-ortho-rebound
Your rehab sounds dreadful you have my sympathy !
I hasten to say I have absolutely nothing to do with this company other than buying these inner soles from them . My neighbour and long term bush walking partner is an engineer with Bluescope steel and has these supplied to him via the company , it is through him that I first came across these . I have never had one bunch up under my foot even after the hardest of walks through the Goldfields in Victoria in debilitating 40'C heat . I find the arch support is brilliant , even with my unfortunately flat feet . The cloth cover never becomes detached and the support and cushioning under the ball of the foot is extraordinary . The newest version [ the sort I have in the Merrell Continuum shoes ] has a dimpled polyurethane base with air holes , it allows good ventilation and reduces heat and moisture build up . The soles are also treated to be anti bacterial and anti fungal .
Why Merrell put 2 cent inner soles into shoes that cost almost $300 is beyond me .

 

[FionaClarke]

Thanks for this information - I've been looking for something like that. I just ordered a couple - they are really cheap in the UK (£4.35/pair). I'm sure they'd cost a lot more if they were branded as a hiking product and sold in outdoor stores.

Can you tell me where you ordered them from? The only place that Gooogle threw up for me added a delivery charge so the final cost was closer to £12, which is a bit more than I'm willing to spend on spec - particularly since the largest size they had in stock was a Uk 6 and my hiking shoes are a size 8.

 

[NualaOC]

Can you tell me where you ordered them from? The only place that Gooogle threw up for me added a delivery charge so the final cost was closer to £12, which is a bit more than I'm willing to spend on spec - particularly since the largest size they had in stock was a Uk 6 and my hiking shoes are a size 8.

Hi Fiona, I ordered them here https://www.boconlineshop.com/shop/en/uk/steel-blue-ortho-rebound-insole. However, the sizes are very limited. I was lucky as I wanted a UK size 5.

 

[FionaClarke]

Hi Fiona, I ordered them here https://www.boconlineshop.com/shop/en/uk/steel-blue-ortho-rebound-insole. However, the sizes are very limited. I was lucky as I wanted a UK size 5.

thanks! that was the place I found as well. I think I will have to go back to superfeet as I know that they work for my feet.

 

[grayland]

I originally used Superfeet (green model) for many Caminos. They were excellent and I had no complaints.

I went to my wife's foot doctor for a very small problem.
He liked the Superfeet brand but made a suggestion that I try the "Sole" brand.
You actually put them in the oven for several minutes then quickly install them in shoes and stand on them for several minutes.
They mold to your arch and foot bottom.
I have used them now for the last 3 or so Caminos.
I am very happy with them and recommend them to any one who is looking for a change.

These are U.S. Brands and may not be available elsewhere, as I suspect the insoles mentioned in the OP may be available only in Oz....at least I am not familiar with the brand.

 

[GreatDane]

I've mentioned it elsewhere here on the forums but I am pleased (and so is my orthopedic surgeon) with SuperFeet. I had been a Dr Scholls gel insert fan until I tried SuperFeet the summer before my first camino. I was working a job that required me to be on my feet for 8 hr/day in 45C heat on even hotter concrete. So I used this time to try out sock and insert combos with my boots. One week I'd wear the gel insert in my left boot and the SuperFeet in the right boot. The next week I'd switch off. All summer. And the SuperFeet won!

 

[Carol06]

I originally used Superfeet (green model) for many Caminos. They were excellent and I had no complaints.

I went to my wife's foot doctor for a very small problem.
He liked the Superfeet brand but made a suggestion that I try the "Sole" brand.
You actually put them in the oven for several minutes then quickly install them in shoes and stand on them for several minutes.
They mold to your arch and foot bottom.
I have used them now for the last 3 or so Caminos.
I am very happy with them and recommend them to any one who is looking for a change.

These are U.S. Brands and may not be available elsewhere, as I suspect the insoles mentioned in the OP may be available only in Oz....at least I am not familiar with the brand.

I am unsure of the brand I had but they sound similar. The shop where I bought my boots had insoles that they heated and then put into my boots. I had to stand in the boots for a minute as they moulded to my foot shape. They were wonderful. On my last camino I took a spare set and put in new inner soles half way to Santiago.

 

[cher99840]

Good to know & thanks for the info.
Never heard of Steel Blue before.

I remove the inner sole that comes with boots and shoes. They are useless. No arch. No support.

As far as inserts, I am believer in SuperFeet. Green ones for boots.

Never a step taken without them in my boots.

A close twin to SuperFeet is Sole.

I'm with you on this, except my feet like Sole just a bit better. I wear one or the other in all of my shoes and boots.

 

[Dinkumdigger]

thanks! that was the place I found as well. I think I will have to go back to superfeet as I know that they work for my feet.

I have just found them at www.supplydirect.net
They have all sizes,£7.99 post free

 

[Annie Little]

I bought Merrell Continuum trail shoes and found the inner sole to be , frankly useless , thin , not resilient and prone to fragmentation

Charles thanks fir this thread .... I also bought merrells and didn't think about the inner soles previously ......

Good to know & thanks for the info.
Never heard of Steel Blue before.

I remove the inner sole that comes with boots and shoes. They are useless. No arch. No support.

As far as inserts, I am believer in SuperFeet. Green ones for boots.

Never a step taken without them in my boots.

A close twin to SuperFeet is Sole.

I just bought these yesterday .... I am running out of time to look to far and the super feet green were at an outdoor store near me

Currently fluctuating between being very excited / very anxious / very excited / very anxious

Anne

 

[MTtoCamino]

I have tried both super feet green & Sole blue, for my feet it is sole still using them from 2 years ago but it is time for new. By far reduces the pain when walking 15-20 miles a day for a month. Don't leave home without extra soles of any kind you can cut the running shoe type in half to use as filler or help out a pilgrim getting blisters, if you can find some wool ones in Spain they are fantAstic

 

[grayland]

Charles thanks fir this thread .... I also bought merrells and didn't think about the inner soles previously ......



I just bought these yesterday .... I am running out of time to look to far and the super feet green were at an outdoor store near me

Currently fluctuating between being very excited / very anxious / very excited / very anxious

Anne

The green superfeet are excellent. I still use them in one pair of shoes. I have been using red Soles....but would use the green superfeet without hesitation.
You did good and can cross that off your worry list. Just don't forget to install them in your shoes before you go.
My wife did forget and had some really poor insoles in her shoes for a whole comino. Lots of problems.

 

[Annie Little]

The green superfeet are excellent. I still use them in one of my pair of shoes. I have been using red Soles....but would use the green superfeet without hesitation.
You did good and can cross that off your worry list. Just don't forget to install them in your shoes before you go.
My wife did forget and had some really poor insoles in her shoes for a whole comino. Lots of problems.

Yes I recognised immediately that I might forget to install soo did it as soon as I got home ....

Last minute preps underway .... Intending to have a few weeks in Italy before returning home so have to consider .... Might take light suitcase carry on with pack etc inside and then get light small suitcase sent from st Jean to Santiago .... Any input about that ????

So excited I feel I could get on plane with nothing at all .... Well that's how I feel right now .... Tomorrow morning I could be in melt down mode again .... Hard to concentrate on work right now

Cheers
Anne