OT: Shoe recommendations?

Submitted by FrankMurphy on May 10th, 2021 at 10:53 PM

My wife is insisting that I get a new pair of sneakers to replace my tattered 10 year-old Pumas. Does anyone have any recs? What are the kids wearing these days? Who is this Jordan fella I keep hearing so much about? What's a "swoosh", exactly? How many spaces are in the word "A     I     R"? Where on the map of Mexico is "Hurache"?

Budget is around $150. Thanks in advance.

UNCWolverine

May 11th, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^

thanks all, didn't realize I sort of knew what I was talking about. Here's more detail from my end.

Ultraboosts - Started medical device sales in 2010 and made pretty nominal money for the first 6 years. Seemed like every top rep wore Ultraboosts. But at $180 I didn't think I deserved them at the time. Then after my second good year I finally decided to treat myself. I'm now on my second pair and still love them.

allbirds - I don't recall who first mentioned these to me, but I'm glad they did. I think I have now purchased 5 pair, including one of their running shoes which I think are great. So lightweight. I even talked by surgeon friend into buying a few pair for wear in the OR and bought my mom a pair of slips for her birthday recently.

pasadenablue

May 10th, 2021 at 11:06 PM ^

I could really use some suggestions from other folks who have large feet.  I wear a 14/14.5.  Macy's (and pretty much any store not named Nordstroms) only goes up to 13.  I often have to buy online and hope that the fit works.

Any recommendations on brands/vendors?

mi93

May 11th, 2021 at 1:19 AM ^

A lot of sites will take them back no questions asked if the fit doesn't work.  I wish I could be more specific but I'm not in charge of procurement at my house.  I point to pretty pictures and stuff shows up.

Also depends on what you need.  Just dress or sports shoes?

UPMichigan

May 10th, 2021 at 11:12 PM ^

Adidas. The official sponsor of MGOBLOG and Michigan fans everywhere. Ask anyone on this blog how much they love Adidas. You won’t regret it.

ldevon1

May 11th, 2021 at 7:11 AM ^

Yeah, but they look better than they actually feel. I made a mistake and went on vacation with only Stan's and sandals. My feet paid the price after walking 4 - 6 hours a day for 5 days. Maybe it didn't matter what shoe I was wearing, but in my mind it was those damn Stan Smith's.  

ckersh74

May 10th, 2021 at 11:18 PM ^

I’m very cheap. I squeak when I walk.

I have a pair of black Under Armours, with the white logo. Simple design. Wear them to the office all the time. They’ve held up pretty well. I also have a pair of black Nikes that I wear casually, that have not held up quite as well, although still acceptable. I’m out ~ $105 total between the two.

PerfectPair

May 11th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^

I'm not cheap, but I am curious about the OP.

Getting new shoes after giving up his 10-year old Pumas and his budget is $150?

You could buy 3 pairs of ckersh74 or my shoes with that kinda scratch!

What is this, House Hunters?  lol

Ronswanson13

May 10th, 2021 at 11:18 PM ^

If you get Nike, size up one. At least that’s been my experience with my last two pairs. They run rather narrow as well.

I’ve currently got a few pairs of Nike, a pair of Adidas, and a couple pair of Ugg chukkas which I wear and like the most.

I’m curious if anyone has worn Sketchers lately? I never have but some of those commercials make them look fairly comfortable.

The pair that I’m most interested in right now is slightly above the $150 you’re aiming for. But Wolf and Sheppard sneakers for $189 look great and most reviews say that they’re crazy comfortable. Obviously a lot would depend on your usage though. If you’re looking for something that you can beat up those would seem out of the picture unless you’re money bags.

UNCWolverine

May 11th, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^

I don't like Sketchers, but because of a totally unrelated reason. They are based in Manhattan Beach. While they do give back to the community a bit, they are also trying to turn downtown MB into a Sketchers mall, pushing out mom & pops to take over an entire block thus far right next to the pier. Who the fugg wants an entire block of an athletic shoe store right next to the ocean? It really sucks for the community.

Oregon Wolverine

May 11th, 2021 at 1:17 AM ^

I’ve been rocking the Altra Escalante for years, and the latest version is A+.  Granted they will take some time to get used to as they have zero drop (toe and heel at same elevation, just like walking barefoot) and a wide (natural) toe bed.  I moved to zero drop years ago for all shoes and it greatly improved my calf and foot pain, and keeps the arch high — heel elevation drops the arch.  

I find most running shoes (and all dress shoes) are way too narrow and resulted in cramped toes and nerve pain (imagine your hand being bound all day w/your fingers held together, or as my toes were, tucked very tight).  Wide toe beds help recover natural toe “splay” or spread.  I had cronic foot pain, which “miraculously” went away during the summer wearing flip flop Chacos (head quartered on Wolverine Drive no less!).  I realized that the foot freedom of flip flops shouldn’t stop at the end of summer.  Now I  just see “normal” shoes as torture devices.  Cannot even get my feet into my sweet Frye motorcycle boots since my foot has “opened up.”
 

Sidi Genius are nice for cycling for certain, but their wide is not wide enough for me.  BONT Vapor S has a moldable carbon sole, comes in wide, and is incredibly comfortable.  It has a great heel cup which grips the heel, holds the foot in a consistent spot even on serious climbs and w/the front BOA loose, and this makes long rides much easier on my old bones.

Wal-Mart Wolverine

May 10th, 2021 at 11:44 PM ^

My wife runs every morning and she researched the hell out of all brands out there. She now has two pairs of "Sauconys" that she switches between the two. The problem is they are $200.00 per pair but sometimes you can get a coupon from the company for $20.00 off. I think runners magazine rates them very high. 

nowicki2005

May 11th, 2021 at 12:01 AM ^

I'm someone who bots show sites and this has to be the least cool list of shoes I've ever seen. Ultraboosts were in like 5 years ago...Stan smiths are not timeless...

 

Your best advice, is a pair of new balances. A pair of 990s or 992s. New balance has ironically had a fee hot releases the past year and a half and depending on the region you live, they carry some clout now.

 

Actually the Jordan 11 low legend blues just dropped last week. They're a nice colorway and an 11 so it's a sold general release shoe. Prices are about 250 right now but will cpntinie to drop. It's a hot summer shoe. 

 

Want to stay cool? A $115 jordan mid that most people think is a 1...

 

Oh and $150 doesn't get you much, it doesn't even get you a pair of yeezy slides lol. With that said, 350s are great. They have the ultraboost in them but are actually still in. I rotate through about a dozen different colorways as an everyday shoe.

Lakeyale13

May 11th, 2021 at 8:59 AM ^

It means they use "apps / bots" to gobble up new releases before anyone else can get them.  I don't think it is illegal at all, but it is a douchey thing to do.  Essentially the program allows them to jump to the head of the line and purchase multiple pair of rare new releases before people waiting in the que can get even one.

njvictor

May 11th, 2021 at 10:02 AM ^

It means he uses a web app that essentially instantaneously buys shoes (usually in bulk) from websites that don't have certain protections on them and prevents normal buyers from buying them manually in order to resell them online above the retail price. Many popular shoes releases are almost impossible to get for the average consumer nowadays on sites without bot protection because dicks like this guy