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Memory foam shoes: a journey
6 Apr 2022 10:33 pmA number of years ago I borrowed a pair of memory foam -soled shoes belonging to my sister and they were so comfortable that I immediately bought a pair. I wore them at work when I was at the Red Cross thrift store and they were SO much more comfortable than the sneakers I'd worn there previously that it was unreal. However, wearing them for more than a couple of hours at a time would invariably result in my socks being absolutely soaked with sweat, which was disgusting.
So I googled this issue and a year ago ended up replacing them with some "Air-Cooled Memory Foam" Skechers sneakers, which solved the problem neatly. (Skechers has multiple styles with memory foam soles, but they're not all the air-cooled kind.) They're incredibly lightweight and so comfortable that when I tried to swap in my pair of Asics gel trail shoes one day last winter (because they have a firmer structure and more insole support - they're really for walking outside, as it says on the tin, on trails) I suffered hours of unaccustomed foot pain that night! I raved about the Air-Cooled Memory Foam sneakers so much that my pal Lilah bought a pair too, and then she, too, became addicted to them, never wanting to wear any other shoes for walking.
Now I need some new 3-season sneakers, and I'm struggling because I don't really want to buy any that don't have memory foam too. It's not as easy to find memory foam in canvas sneakers - like Vans, for example - as in athletic shoes though. Vans has their own patented memory foam variant called "comfycush", but 1. very few styles have it, and none of the ones I want really and 2. I haven't tried it before (what if it's a lot worse??).
It's not the same as buying shoes for work; when I'm making this sort of shoe purchase I usually don't want to buy anything I don't absolutely love, like my late and much-lamented worn-to-pieces cat Vans, and before that, skull-butterfly Vans. (Wax used to have some Marvel comics Vans, also worn to pieces, and now has some tiger Vans from last summer, so hers are definitely awesome enough).
Vans doesn't have any designs I'm in love with right now though, and none of the ones I like a normal-ish amount come in comfycush. Roxy and Blowfish have styles with memory foam insoles too I think, and possibly some other brands - and now I'm having to do actual research, ugh. I hope I don't end up having to buy some plain solid-colored ones again.
So I googled this issue and a year ago ended up replacing them with some "Air-Cooled Memory Foam" Skechers sneakers, which solved the problem neatly. (Skechers has multiple styles with memory foam soles, but they're not all the air-cooled kind.) They're incredibly lightweight and so comfortable that when I tried to swap in my pair of Asics gel trail shoes one day last winter (because they have a firmer structure and more insole support - they're really for walking outside, as it says on the tin, on trails) I suffered hours of unaccustomed foot pain that night! I raved about the Air-Cooled Memory Foam sneakers so much that my pal Lilah bought a pair too, and then she, too, became addicted to them, never wanting to wear any other shoes for walking.
Now I need some new 3-season sneakers, and I'm struggling because I don't really want to buy any that don't have memory foam too. It's not as easy to find memory foam in canvas sneakers - like Vans, for example - as in athletic shoes though. Vans has their own patented memory foam variant called "comfycush", but 1. very few styles have it, and none of the ones I want really and 2. I haven't tried it before (what if it's a lot worse??).
It's not the same as buying shoes for work; when I'm making this sort of shoe purchase I usually don't want to buy anything I don't absolutely love, like my late and much-lamented worn-to-pieces cat Vans, and before that, skull-butterfly Vans. (Wax used to have some Marvel comics Vans, also worn to pieces, and now has some tiger Vans from last summer, so hers are definitely awesome enough).
Vans doesn't have any designs I'm in love with right now though, and none of the ones I like a normal-ish amount come in comfycush. Roxy and Blowfish have styles with memory foam insoles too I think, and possibly some other brands - and now I'm having to do actual research, ugh. I hope I don't end up having to buy some plain solid-colored ones again.
