Footwear for walking

ripplyuk

I walk about 2000 miles per year, a mix of country roads, fields, dirt tracks etc. I wear Anatom boots as they’re the only ones I’ve found that stay waterproof for any length of time. I also have a pair of Brooks trainers which I wore during the summer when the ground was dry enough (which wasn’t much!). Recently I’ve had the beginnings of shin splints and after trying various (expensive!) insoles which didn’t help, I was advised by the physio that footwear should be replaced at least every 300 miles as the mid-sole will have compressed and will no longer provide any shock absorption. This makes sense as when I swapped to the Brooks trainers (which haven’t done as many miles yet) the pain went away. Problem is, they are not waterproof and I arrive home with soaked feet and mud up to my ankles. 

This footwear isn’t cheap. The boots were £175 and the trainers around £120. Replacing them every 300 miles will cost me a fortune. That’s over 6 pairs a year! Could anyone recommend a cheap alternative for either the boots or the trainers? One that provides enough support to prevent shin/joint damage? 

Emmia

I mostly do (less muddy)  urban walking (8-10k per day which looks to be a similar distance to you) and use normal Nike trainers for that, i think costing £50ish in the sale. I've also got one pair of running trainers (Nike) that have a "winter guard" upper, which makes them pretty waterproof - probably costing £75ish.

If I go somewhere muddier / wetter then its a pair of salomon hiking trainers - these were over £100 but as I wear them relatively infrequently they've not yet needed replacement.

georget84

I do lots of walking (two collies) and running throughout the year. If there is one thing in life that I have no hesitation on spending money on it's quality footwear, so whilst not necessarily moneysaving, it is worth it in the long run. I do try to buy as much as I can in the sales. In the Winter I currently have a pair of Scarpa GTX which are superb. I'll prob get 5000km out of them at least in dog walking so whilst they cost £200+, it's value. I doubt cheaper shoes would do that distance and certainly not in as much comfort. They genuinely make winter walking in thick mud a pleasure rather than a chore, as I've always struggled to find footwear that doesn't make you feel like you're on an ice rink rather than a muddy field. 

In the summer I also have a pair of Brooks (Adrenaline), which start as running shoes and tend to go to 500km (the 300 miles your physio mentioned), but then retire and repurposed to walking shoes, which I then wear until they literally fall apart (That's probably not ideal for my feet, but I eek every mile I can from them). Purely personal view, I'm not a professional, but I'd suggest your Brooks should be fine for over a year, the 300 miles applies to running, not walking. 

For your shin splints, get a gait analysis done if you haven't already. Also make sure your laces are not too tight. Simple thing, but might change your life. 

Manxman_in_exile

What are the expensive insoles you have been using?  Have they been prescribed by a podiatrist or have you just bought them from a shop and hoped they'd be OK?

If you suffer from shinsplints you really need to see a podiatrist and not a physiotherapist.

I do a lot of running and suffered quite badly with shinsplints and knee pain for about 10 or 15 years.  I pronate a lot (ie I'm totally flatfooted) and when I was younger I used to try to mitigate the problem by only buying motion control or stability running shoes.

But as I got older the pain and shinsplints got worse.  About 20 years ago I went to a podiatrist and he supplied me with prescription orthotics.  Since then I've run every other day (except when ill) and I have no shinsplints or knee pain at all.  The orthotics also seemed to fix some other problems with hip pain and lower back pain which I didn't realise were caused by my lower leg and gait problems.  Mine originally cost about £120 , and I'm still using them.  In fact I have two sets and they have both also been refurbished twice in that time.  About £40 each time.  Best running investment I ever made... 

You can find a podiatrist here:  Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists | IOCP | CPD Courses The Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists   or   Find a Podiatrist (rcpod.org.uk)  or  Find Podiatrists and chiropodists services - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Or your GP could refer you to a NHS podiatrist but likely long wait.

Just in passing, I also have experience of long distance walking.  I would never recommend using running shoes or "training" shoes.  The bio-mechanics of a walking gait are different from a running gait, and running shoes are designed to absorb impact from running, not walking.  I'd suggest you should be looking at a trail walking shoe - they will give your feet a lot more support and should help reduce shinsplints.

And yes - if you are using running shoes their expected usable lifespan is probably between 300 - 500 miles.  I would expect trail shoes and walking boots to last longer.

Edit 1:  You might be tempted to get a gait analysis done at a running shoe shop.  I would say don't.  Get it done properly by a podiatrist...

Edit 2:  The beauty of prescription orthotics is, if they do their job properly, you might not need such expensive footwear in the first place.  See a podiatrist and discuss it with him or her.

Edit 3:  You can buy "hi-cut" fabric walking boots that are more like a trail shoe for summer uuse and reduce wet feet and ankles etc.  Innov8 do some but they are quite expensive.  I'm sure other trail shoe manufacturers will do more affordable ones.

Edit 4:  As georget84 says, if you do a lot of walking it's impossible to spend too much on your feet, whether it's shoes or boot, orthotics or socks.  Get the best you can afford!

No - I'm not a chiropodist and I'm not paid by one.  I just know they can work wonders!

BigSpenderLittleSpender

You shouldn't need to replace proper walking shoes or boots after only 300 miles, they should last much longer/further than that.

jamesmorgan

I used to use walking boots, but moved over to walking shoes a few years ago and much prefer them for their lighter weight.  The boots were great when fell walking on the mountains, but most of my walking is now on lower level hills (up to 1500 feet) on reasonably good paths.  My favoured shoe is the following:

https://www.grisport.co.uk/walking-shoes-c79/dartmoor-black-walking-shoe-p924

They are very comfortably and waterproof (although obviously would suffer if walking through deeper streams/puddles that come over the top of the shoe).

I find the soles wear down after about 1500 miles - I think anything over 1000 miles is acceptable for a walking boot, although it does depend on how much road walking you do.  When the soles wear down I relegate them to be my next pair of gardening shoes.

I use the following insole as I used to suffer from achilles tendonitis which seems to work well.  It says they are also useful for shin splints. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ORUSRVS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Martin_the_Unjust

Best cure for shin splints is to not use the top set of lace eyelets.

suep283

Never had any, but sealskin socks are supposed to keep feet dry. Might be useful for non waterproof boots. 

Manxman_in_exile

BigSpenderLittleSpender said:

You shouldn't need to replace proper walking shoes or boots after only 300 miles, they should last much longer/further than that.

I agree with that.  I assumed that when the OP said:

ripplyuk said:

... I was advised by the physio that footwear should be replaced at least every 300 miles as the mid-sole will have compressed and will no longer provide any shock absorption. ..

that the physio was talking about running/training shoes like the Brooks pair the OP mentions.

I would expect the OP to need no more than one or two pairs of "proper" walking boots or shoes per year.  Perhaps not even that many.

I would suggest the OP check the mis-soles on shoes by trying to squeeze or compress them.  If they still have some resilience and can "bounce" back after compression, I'd suggest they're OK.

Just to add, I've just realised I switched from podiatrist to chiropodist at the end of my previous post.  As many people will know, they're basically interchangeable.  It's just that I think of chiropodists as dealing with corns* and cutting toenails whereas podiatrists specialise more in lower leg gait analysis and other bio-mechanical foot and leg problems.

*My podiatrist of 20 years removed a corn for me last March.

Manxman_in_exile

@ripplyuk -  I'd never heard of Anatom before but I've looked at their website and they definitely appear to be "proper" walking boots.  As they're made in Edinburgh, why don't you contact them and ask them what sort of life-span they have in terms of shock absorbtion etc?

Did you change from boots to the Brooks trainers because your physio suggested the boots were past it?  If the boots are otherwise OK, I'd see a podiatrist to see if they can work out a solution for you to stay with the boots (which should far outlast 300 miles!) and save you money in the long run.

Also one of the best (but most expensive!) pieces of advice I got from my podiatrist when I had problems with my walking boots was as follows:  "You don't have to lace them all the way up to the top, you know."  And he was right - although I'm not sure that @Martin_the_Unjust is correct that it can prevent shinsplints.

How you knot your laces can make a difference too.  I've referred previously on this board to a website that shows you how to knot laces.  It was well received by many posters who were having problems getting running shoes to fit properly.  I'll see if I can find it again...

Manxman_in_exile

Can't find anything about knots for shin splints or specifically for walking boots.

But if anyone is interested (Yawn!   ) I use lock-lacing on my running shoes to ensure a perfect but comfortable fit

Ian's Shoelace Site – Lock Lacing (fieggen.com)

Also this is good  Top 12 Shoe Lacing Techniques [Images + Video] | RunRepeat  (the heel slipping one but also knots for wide feet, narrow feet, high arches, flat feet, etc etc)