Rockport shoe idiots

[unclviny]

Ok,
So I am looking for a good pair of walking shoes (going to Europe for 2 weeks and I wanted to break them in before I left), so I go to the Rockport website but you can not simply scan through the shoes, they are listed by the cute little names that the marketing weasels thought up and you have to click, look, click back for EVERY SHOE, OK I will try this another way, they have this nifty neato "shoe selector" thingie, you answer some questions and it is supposed to help you make a choice, OK, this is a good idea except IT DOES NOT WORK, you answer all of the questions and NOTHING happens AAARRRGGGHHH!!!, so it's nasty gram time, I tell them that I WAS going to be a Rockport customer but since the website sucked so much they had been bumped to the bottom of the list of shoe companies.

breathe, braethe, breathe... OK on to part 2

I get 2 emails (1 automatic response, 1 real one) and the real one says (actual paste from the email here) We will assume your issue has been resolved if we do not hear from you within 24 hours, now I am fuming, I highlight this statement and email them back asking "if I go away mad and never return you ASSume that everything is fine?, how do I get one of these jobs?"

OK, venting over, so do any dopers have suggestions for walking shoes?

unclviny

[hajario]

I like my Merrells a lot. Good luck.

Haj

[Homebrew]

I'll second Merrells

[Tapioca Dextrin]

[b]Are you mad[b]? Buying shoes over the web?
Get thee to REI when you get in and buy a pair that fit!
Can you imagine the length of the Pit Rant where you go on and on about how these web-based shoes looked nice in the picture but were four sizes too big when they turned up after three weeks and how you could only get a refund by selling your own grandmother into bonded labour?
Pony up the extra $20 or so and go to a real shoe shoe that sells real shoes (not pictures). And don't forget to go in the late afternoon. Take socks.

[Ferret Herder]

Are the Mephistos any good? Do they last at all? I saw those in a shoe store and was reluctant to shell out the serious amount of cash they were being offered for, but they looked nice.

As for the sucky interface mentioned in the OP, when I was job hunting one particular employer had a similar type of setup as well. It was some kind of Java layout, not links or simple lists on a webpage. You clicked the location, then the job type, then picked one job out of the list. When you were done with this and hit the Back button, it sent you all the way back in the menu, so you had to choose the location and then the job type again to see the list of jobs that you'd just been looking at - very frustrating, and not at all user-friendly.

[jane_says]

Get some Birkenstocks. No, really! I work with mentally retarded adults 12-14 hours per day, and I have a bad back. Nothing feels better than my Birks. I tried to wear my favorite New Balance sneakers one day last week and thought I'd die before I got home.

Also, Mr. Jane bought me a pair of rubbery Rebound bicycling clogs at the bicycle shop a couple of months ago and they are great too. I wear them to work, at home, and everywhere else I go. They're ugly (similar to Birks in shape, but made of vented bright green rubber) but ugly shoes are sort of my signature. I managed a shoe store for four years in college, and the less ordinary shoes look, the better.

[unclviny]

Originally posted by Tapioca Dextrin
[b][b]Are you mad? Buying shoes over the web?
Get thee to REI when you get in and buy a pair that fit!
Can you imagine the length of the Pit Rant where you go on and on about how these web-based shoes looked nice in the picture but were four sizes too big when they turned up after three weeks and how you could only get a refund by selling your own grandmother into bonded labour?
Pony up the extra $20 or so and go to a real shoe shoe that sells real shoes (not pictures). And don't forget to go in the late afternoon. Take socks.

TAP,
I would never buy shoes over the web, but I wanted to see if I couldget a shoe in my size (12 1/2 EEE) that I liked from them.

I have never heard of Merrels before, but I will check them out.

unclviny

[Barbarian]

I went through Europe in my Doc Martens. Suitable for hiking the Alps, or dancing in a Paris nightclub.

But buying shoes over the web is stupid.

[Tapioca Dextrin]

Originally posted by unclviny
TAP,
I would never buy shoes over the web

I know, but expecting a rational response in the pit????

Oh, OK Zamberlan if you must have an answer

[teela brown]

Ferret Herder, I asked for and received Mephistos for Christmas last year, and they were worth every penny. I wear them constantly, but they still look new. And they are very, very comfy.

[MikeG]

Ecco

Ecco

Ecco

Ecco

Ecco

I tell ya the Track shoes, both high and low top are the single most comfortable shoes ever.
True Story:
I bought a new pair, put them on, drove to the airport and spent 6 months travelling through Europe. I kid you not there is NO break in time at all. The black Tracks look great with jeans or khakis, casual or dressed up )as dressed up as you will usually get on vacation)

Eccos are the only brand I own after years of crapped out Merrells, Rockports, and Mephistos. Shoes are the one place where I absolutely will not skimp.

[Hello Again]

Merrell is a hiking boot company (why you've never seen them at the shoe store). They also make some of those "hiking sneaker" hybrids which don't look half bad to my eye, but they might not be your thing.

[Global Citizen]

My Rockports are the best pair of shoes that I've ever owned. The problem is that I've worn them so much that I now need a new pair.

[Eva Luna]

Originally posted by Ferret Herder
Are the Mephistos any good? Do they last at all? I saw those in a shoe store and was reluctant to shell out the serious amount of cash they were being offered for, but they looked nice.

I've never tried the lace-up shoes, because I just can't make myself shell out the cash, but the sandals are AMAZING! They are the only ones with enough support that my left ankle, the one with all the hardware in it, doesn't hurt after extended periods on my feet.

Of course, a lot depends on how your feet are structured. I know people who swear by Birkies or Eccos, but they're just not shapred right for my feet. Of the not-so-hideously expensive ones, Rockports are pretty darn decent.

[tiggeril]

Mephistos are fantastic if you've got wide feet. I've got a pair of boots and a pair of clogs from them, and they are by far my most comfortable shoes.

[E-Sabbath]

I have to vote for Eccos myself. Comfortable and with traction. I favor the SeaWalker design. Nice broad shoe, exactly the right size for me, and extremly durable.

[jackelope]

What did the real response say?

I've bought shoes over the Web: Chuck Taylor high-tops. I'm a size 10 and will always be. That's a very forgiving shoe, though. You wear them for about three weeks and they conform to your feet and after that it feels as comfortable as wearing a pair of socks.

(Thank heaven for preview: Originally typed "a pair of sicks.")

[jackelope]

Sorry, you already told us what the real one said; I thought that was the automatic one. I swear, I'll learn to read one of these days...

[cherry]

What about Mags? My sister wore those to backpack around Europe.

[hajario]

This thread might make the rare transition from the Pit to GQ!

When I bought my Merrells, I went to a store that had many brands of shoes. Most if not all of the ones mentions in this thread were there. I tried them all on and the Merrells were the most comfortable for me. You're going to have to do this. Different brands work better for different feet. Once you know what you like, you can order replacements off of the web.

Haj

[Ferret Herder]

Originally posted by tiggeril
Mephistos are fantastic if you've got wide feet. I've got a pair of boots and a pair of clogs from them, and they are by far my most comfortable shoes.

Damn, I have narrow feet. Guess I should check some of the other cited brands first.

[YWalker]

I have some Merrell mocs that I really love. They have a history of being a hiking boot company, but are now branching into the popular shoe industry. I got some Merrell slides (clogs) last year to wear to my Tae Kwon Do classes for easy take-on/off, and fell in love with them, and went back to get the full shoes (mocs) shortly thereafter. I second REI as a good source for them (REI.com, if you trust buying shoes over the web. I have been quite happy with REI service, by the way.)

If looks are not important, (that is, you can get by with wearing a walking shoe that looks like a running shoe), it is often easiest to find a good healthy shoe for your foot in a running shoe. I would recommend going to a good, full service running shoe store, and telling them what you're after. By a "good" one, I mean one where they have a staff member who looks at your foot in your stocking feet, measures it, takes a look at your natural stride, etc. Expect them to ask questions about whether you overpronate, or supinate or whatever. (As opposed to whether you want the blue and grey or the white ones, and what size.)

Nike and Reebok et al make "Walking" shoes which are OK, but, in general, I have not found them to be superior in performance to running shoes for most people. (BTW, I teach fitness walking classes.) The most important thing is to get the one that works best for your particular foot shape and walking mechanics. (E.G., I am a high-arched supinator, which means I do best in a shoe with a semi-curved or curved last. If you are a low-arched pronator, you'll be better off in a straightlasted shoe.) Rockports, while well made, typically don't work for my feet --- I find they don't have enough room in the toe box for me.

Breaking them in before you go is a very, very smart idea, by the way. You can find out a lot in the first couple of miles.

[ElvisL1ves]

Rockports, definitely. Most comfortable walking shoes I know of. But don't wear them to the airport, or, if you do, take them off and send them through the conveyor at the security checkpoint. They have steel shanks that will set off the detector and cause you to be diverted to the strip-search area.

[Apricot]

Born, definitely.