Shoes, glorious shoes!

I am not much of a shopper. There are few things I could review here, in terms of products, other than food! I don’t buy house décor. I rarely buy clothes. My kids wear hand me downs. In fact, the world of shopping absolutely overwhelms me. I enter the world of stuff, feel overwhelmed, and leave empty handed. So, I’ve basically stopped shopping altogether.

However, the one item we are constantly trying to determine what to buy next is shoes.

The reason buying shoes is so fun for me is that shoes = motion!! In my active family, we love to play!!

You can’t be active without the right shoes. We are self proclaimed gear-a-holics with shoes being our biggest weakness. You can’t run, hike, bike, ski, or even do dishes ( I have found!) without the right shoe.

I will cover 2 “extremes” in body types and which shoes “work for us” (through much trial and error) for both types. My hope is that you can identify with either me or my husband as we have quite different body types and needs and that you might, discover a shoe that could be perfect to keep you active or get you going again.

I also hope that you are inspired to be active! If you have physical limitations, there may be a shoe out there that can bridge the gap you need to keep you going, and may even help correct the problem!!

ME: light weight, medium height (5’6”), gal with strong knees, back, and ankles. I have had left hip pain quite a bit over the years (that was corrected by shoes and my physical therapist). I have a normal width food but a AAA heel. I pronate – meaning I roll in on my foot, putting strain on my knees and hips. When you stand your weight should spread over your 5 toes equally. Mine is mostly on my big toe. If this is you, then you too are a pronator

SH: Weighing in at 200 plus pounds and 6’3” his shoe needs are totally different then mine. Through many years of soccer and basketball he is now the proud owner of weak knees and ankles. He has extremely wide feet (EE) and suponates – meaning he rolls out (more weight ends up on his pinky toes – this puts strain on his ankles and knees). Despite these setbacks, he stays extremely fit mountain biking, hiking, climbing mountains, XC skiing, snow boarding, and snow shoeing. But, he takes his shoe choice very seriously. We talk about what shoes he is needing months in advance as they are not cheap!!

Sprouts: so far, in their young ages of 5 and 7, we have found that Wal-Mart has shoes that last them as long as they need before they’d need the next size anyway! It’s truly about the only thing I buy at Wal-Mart and this little discovery was made by my SH one weekend that I was gone as I rarely enter the store to know that they have pretty decent kid’s shoes. I don’t spend much money on their shoes yet. They can hike in any good tennis shoe at this point. Winter boots have often been Sorrel boots. Sandals are whatever we get our hands on for cheap or whatever is handed to us from friends whose kids have outgrown theirs. It works for now.