I can’t speak to your specific circumstances, of course, but you might not have made it through the break-in period. You need to allow time for the Birks and your feet to adjust to each other. When I first got my Birks, it felt like I had a pair of billiard balls taped to the bottom of my feet for a week, so if you have flat feet you may have had a similar experience only more so. After that first week, though, I thought the Birks were fantastically comfortable. And when I start wearing my sandals at the beginning of each summer, I inevitably get blisters–which then turn into calluses and I’m okay for the rest of the season.
HunterHawk,
You may well be right, in which case the important information Norinew needs is that Birkenstocks require a longer break in period than Eureka is willing to put up with. Whether that is because my feet are funny, or because I never liked the shoes anyway, or because I’m too impatient, is mostly immaterial.
I never liked them anyway because they were white, and purchased because they were the only white sandals I could find that fit my feet. I had one short afternoon to shop for white sandals for a wedding I was going to be in. Places like Payless had oodles of white sandals, but none that fit my wide, flat feet. They were pricy enough, and sturdy enough, to make me feel bad about not wearing them more, but they weren’t comfortable enough to make me wear them more than once a week for a few hours.
I’ve been wearing them for many years, almost exclusively, year-round. A doctor told me to get them for my plantar fasciitis because the cork compresses just the right amount. It took me a couple weeks before I got used to them, but I’ve been wearing them ever since.
I have a gripe however: I’ve had some bad falls in them. The sole does not flex, which can make you sort of tip, pitch forward, or twist your ankle if you tip sideways. Also, the tall edge in front bumps up against cracks and irregular surfaces easily, pitching you forward.
I wish I could find a heel-less shoe with arch support, the compression of cork, and a flexible sole.
Try Mephistos. They’re the only sandals that provide proper support for my high arches, and don’t leave me limping after an hour or two (old ankle injury). They are hideously expensive unless you find them on sale, but they last forever, and I swear by them. They will also fit narrow feet much better than Birkies.
They are worth every penny I have spent and pretty much all I wear 24/7.
I guess I’ve never been able to get through the break-in period, because every time I’ve tried Birkies, they’ve hurt my feet something terrible! I’ll try walking in them and the bottoms of my feet start cramping up on me. I have problems with clog-type shoes also - can’t wear them because I can’t walk any distance in them. Although I do have a pair of slipper-clogs (splogs!) that I absolutely love and are soooo comfortable - they have outdoor soles on them and I would wear them to work and everywhere - if I could, that is. I just “walk out” of clog-type shoes. I discovered Propet shoes online several years ago, and I’ve got a pair of white slip-ons that I’ve had for nearly two years now that show very little wear. And I’ve got large, wide feet (11 WW). I have a high instep too - that may be part of the problem with the Birkies - it’s my arch that cramps up on me when I try wearing them. Any solutions to this? Or is this just something that you’ve got to live with through this break-in period?
I have like 15 pair. I’ve worn nothing else since 1983. I have closed and open; black, blue, brown, green, pink, paisley, striped, psychedelic, aboriginal, and metallic silver. For the past several years I have bought ONLY online, usually directly from Germany.
I will never wear anything else.
Birkis have very high arches. If you have flattish feeth, they may not work for you.
I have these and I really like them alot.
They did hurt my feet a little at first during the “break in” period. Now they are comfy, look good with most of my clothes and they get me lots of compliments.
Eureka, Birks are pretty much contraindicated for flat feet. I’ve got feet so flat I walk on the insides of my ankles when I’m barefoot, and the podiatrist I saw told me not to even think about Birks. I tried a pair for myself when I went to buy shoes and it was like walking on rocks. I wasn’t willing to spend upwards of $100 on shoes that aren’t comfortable the first or second time I wear them, so I passed.
I’ve actually had good luck with Tevas. The soles are flexible and provide some arch support but not too much. The soles are soft enough to absorb a lot of shock, which is good for my knees and back.
Robin
Those are adorable!!
Interesting. One of the reasons I wear Birkies is because I pronate, as you describe. My custom orthotics are shaped very much like the Birkie footbed, so with Birkenstocks I don’t need to use my orthotics, like I do with trainers.
I have flat feet and love my Birkenstocks. It did take me an extra long time to break them in, though. (I’m used to this, so it wasn’t that big a deal.) I’ve had my current pair for five years and they’re in fabulous shape. I have some kind of shoe destroying superpower, so that’s really great for me.
I love this brand. 
My feet are a little on the flat side, and I think that is why the Soft Footbed is more comfortable for me. I know that my Soft Footbed pair had a shorter break-in period than my other pair, it is as if I didn’t have to wait around for the shoe to conform to my foot shape, the extra squishyness did it already.
Sorry, I’m replying without reading the entire thread…
To answer your Qs norine, YES they’re worth every penny. And they last. I’ve been a Birkenstock junkie for about 6 years, and my feet are very very spoiled. Tennis shoes kill me now. I have about 5 pairs of various sandal styles (Nepal is my fave), 4 or 6 pairs of Bostons, one pair of Provence & one Tokyo. For “dressing up” in khakis, I have 2 pairs of lace-up moccosin types, one suede, one felt. The Birks I wear day in, day out are my black Professional clogs. Those bad boys have been through mud, snow, rain, sleet, dog poop, everything. Best way to clean 'em? The carwash, of course!
I’m interested to know where y’all are getting your Birks resoled. I have a few pairs that need spiffing up.
Oh, and eBay is where I’ve been getting them here in the past couple years. I’ve found that the German sellers have a better selection of funky styles & colors. Much cheaper than the going rates here, even with the high shipping costs.
So I work at a hospital, and my job requires a lot of walking, making birkenstocks ideal. I have the Arizonas and haven’t been disappointed, aside from the times I’ve happened to kick a wheelchair accidentally while pushing a patient around.
Apropos soles: where can you get them re-soled? I live in Sweden so I’m betting on that such places aren’t as abundantly available as in the US.
I am very envious of all your 10 year old birkinstocks. I have yet to have a pair last much more then a year, though I just bought my third pair of ‘Altons’ last month, and I will buy another pair when those wear out.
I wear them as work shoes in a kitchen. They get abused in that enviroment, but I can withstand 10… 12… 16 hour work days on my feet and my legs and feet never tire. With other brands of shoes (dansko, ecco, rockport, etc) I have come home with soar legs and tired feet, but not with the Birks.
I will be thrilled if my newest pair lasts two years, but I am not counting on it. However, none of my other shoes have lasted that long in the kitchen anyway. Overall, I am happy with them, and recommend them to anyone who works on their feet all day.
I started wearing birks when I was getting severe pain in my heels and my lower back. They are fantastic. Just popped into this thread to make & reiterate a few points:
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Soft footbeds are amazing! The Boston and Milano style soft footbeds are all I wear now… (on my feet)
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If they feel horribly uncomfortable, its quite likely you have the wrong size. The size conversion charts from US to metric are only estimates, and can be off by 1 or 2 sizes.
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There are several types of birks sold. The classic birks have (IMO) the best footbed. They are the most supportive (with the exception of the high arch shoes, if you have high arches.) The other branches- Papillio, Footprints, etc., usually don’t have the same support IIRC. They are better than most ‘regular’ shoes, but not nearly as good as classic birks. If you want the classic footbed, make sure to check on that. The soft footbeds have the classic support underneath, but with a bit of cushioning on top.
Take note of widths if you order through QVC. They tend to just have narrow and medium, and wider feet will need the “regular” width.
I’ve got about 12 pairs (some through QVC, but mostly from birkenstockcentral.com) and love them all! I too used to think they were horribly ugly but they are the best thing for me at this point.