Does anyone else have feet that hurt all of the time because of bunions or any other foot problem that’s been amplified by standing on concrete for 9+ hours everyday? Just me? OK.
What foot gear do people use for birding? I’ve seen a few wear hiking boots for birding. Some opt for muck boots when things get a little deep. Other than that, I don’t hear much mention of birding footwear. I just wear the same shoes I wear for everything else, mostly. I do have a couple pairs of muck boots. Birding can involve a lot of time standing and walking or hiking so naturally footwear can be very important. As a former running athlete, I’ve put a lot of thought into my feet already.
I work long hours on a concrete floor. The only time I sit down is when I get in my car to drive from one location to another. Other than that I can be on my feet anywhere from 8 to 18 hours at a time. I have on my feet what are called Tailor’s bunions or bunionettes. My little toes point into my other toes on both feet which causes my bones to stick out a little. From standing on hard floors all day, my feet have formed painful bumps around the bones on the outside. Bunionettes are more common in women in men. I have skinny feet like a girl, so I guess it makes sense that I too have this problem.
I have spent a lot of time and money trying to treat the painful bumps on my feet. I do not want to have corrective surgery so I am left to find footwear that do not agitate the outsides of my feet and pads to cushion them while also removing the callus. After doing enough research, I was finally able to correctly diagnose this condition and decided to try and find shoes that have a wider toe box. (Toe spacers not only hurt my toes but made my whole feet feel like they were breaking).
For the last few years, I have worn Asics Gel Kayano as my goto shoes. I have owned two different versions of them so far. I started wearing them after a podiatrist recommended them for my foot type while I was running. I chose shoes based off of my arch height and how I moved my feet when I walked or ran. This caused me to buy “stability” shoes which included the Asics as well as Brooks’ Adrenaline which I bought because I did not feel the bunionettes in them so much when they first started to bother me. They beat out the Mizunos at the bike shop which was too bad because they looked really cool. I needed to replace my current Kayanos because they were almost a year old and started to smell bad because I got them wet during a bike ride where it poured rain. I bought the latest model online a half size bigger because I thought it would afford more room for my toes. I was disappointed in this new model because even a half size bigger it was too tight around the top of my foot and did not feel as supportive at all around my feet. I had already worn them out and to work so I was kind of stuck with them.
I stumbled upon some new shoes on the internet that were different than conventional shoes, boasting a wider toe box and low heel to toe drop. There was a 30 day trial run, so I went ahead and ordered a pair. When they arrived, they felt like a pair of shoes that had already been broken in. I liked the bigger toe box, although the outside of my feet still rubbed. The shoes felt true to size. I did not need a bigger or smaller size. The low drop in the shoes was strange but I got used to it quick. After wearing the shoes to work for a couple of weeks, my feet hurt really bad with them on. The bottoms did not provide enough cushioned support for my bunionettes which felt like they were connecting straight with the concrete. After a while the wider toe box seemed to be more of a problem than a solution as my feet rolled all over inside of them making me feel like I could roll an ankle inside of them. So, I am most likely going to send these back. I liked the ideas from these shoes, I just needed my feet to be more removed from the hard surfaces I stand on all day. As far as birding, I need the same type of support especially for the days of hiking stony cliffs.
I’m going to try another brand and will update this post with another review. For now, I’ve been wearing my new Kayanos and don’t think they are too bad. I still want to try and prevent the squeeze on my toes with a wider toe box. Got a birding foot wear comment or story? Leave it here in the comments.