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For more than 100 years, shoe manufacturers have been giving their customers ways to modify the way that shoes are laced. Just about all shoes come with a standard crisscross pattern. Additional loops, hooks, and related features allow us to modify that standard lacing, as necessary.     The eyelets at the very top of…

We currently sell shoes by Asics, Brooks, Saucony, Mizuno, New Balance, Under Armour, Hoka, and Adidas. Not one of those manufacturers claims that any of their shoes will make you run faster—or slow you down. But that doesn’t stop consumers, especially track racers, for making the claim that the lighter the shoe, the faster you…

Just about every shoe that we sell carries the same name in both men’s and women’s running shoes. The Saucony Guide ISO is called by that same name in both men’s and women’s, for example. But the same name does not mean the same shoe. Here are some obvious, but nonetheless very important differences.  …

Gait is a technical term. But different professionals mean different things when using it. If there is something common to all of them, it is that gait is observed locomotion. In this post, it means what happens in the foot and ankle, between foot strike and toe-off. When you land, which is equal to hitting…

On our wall, just about every shoe is made with some kind of etheylne vinyl acetate (EVA). During the history of the technical running shoe, EVA has become the preferred material for midsoles and sockliners. EVA is the prominent material in most technical running shoes. It’s a foam that can compress without flattening under large…

I have a 1970’s memory of my mom using the washing machine to clean my shoes. (Don’t ask me what kind of shoes they were, I didn’t know if I was wearing dirty running shoes or basketball shoes or tennis shoes–as long as they weren’t the dreaded bobo shoes!) They didn’t fit exactly like before…

I have a high regard for the companies that manufacture technical running shoes, which are shoes made specifically for running. There are not many of those companies that are recognized around the world. Under Armour is now among their number. Making a durable technical running shoe is hard because running causes forces that punish shoes.…

Here are the three kinds of insoles that are commonly put into technical running shoes, in descending order of importance: manufacturer’s insoles, orthotics, and off-the-shelf insoles. The manufacturer’s insole is the most common type. Manufacturer’s put insoles into almost all technical running shoes. Of the 62 different styles of technical running shoes that we currently…

HOKA ONE ONE, like every other shoe manufacturer, boasts a number of different technologies. HOKA shoes have one, very recognizable feature: a very large amount of cushioning underfoot. They also shape their midsoles to mimic a rocker, so that the shoe helps drive you forward.   The main advantage     But the technology that…

Arch supports probably don’t hurt your feet. Size and width explain much of what makes shoes comfortable and also explain much of what makes shoes painful. Pain, even in the arch, is most likely due to too little room, not to arch supports. A foot has three arches Biomechanists sometimes describe the foot as having…