Walking shoes for Men. Suggestions??
 

I know this subject was brought up a couple of weeks ago. It was not gender specific and I am still not sure which shoes to buy. I am very active and will likely walk 8-10 miles per day and I am looking for shoes that will provide me good suport for my arches.I won't be doing any off street walking so I would like something that is ok for day tours and dinners also. Thanks to all of the fodorites for your wonderful help with my trip planning..<BR>Happy Travels,<BR>Gary Woodall

Rockports or Clarks are my suggestions.

My husband finds SAS to be the most comfortable for him.

I use Ecco shoes in Europe. Very comfortable, not cheap, but well worth the money. They are sold at most up scale department stores.

Mephisto are the best I've tried, but too expensive IMO. Eccos aren't cheap but are worth their price, and have good arch support. Clark are comfortable but I don't care for their styling too much.

On the advice of aposter here a couple of years ago, I bought a pair of Rockports for a trip to the UK and Paris. They were great for all the walking we did. So comfortable and still nice looking that I took them to Italy the following year, Good arch support, thick soles, good looking. About $100 USD. Widely available, unlike some other brands you will find mentioned here.

Taste vary (e.g., chocolate or vanilla)and Rockports are not my taste. I believe that form follows function. I have found that Johnson &amp; Murphy &quot;Passport&quot; shoes meet both my tassle and comfort requirements. I just bought my 2nd pair ~ they are the only shoes I take on our overseas vacations.

My husband swears by Rockports. He walks 6-8 miles every day for exercise and wears their regular styled shoe, not an athletic one and has never had the first bit of trouble. <BR><BR><BR>The ones he takes on trips are a smooth leather, not the nubuck, and they look fine with khakis

Merrell's are my husbands favorites and he recently bought a pair of Borns which he also loves. He use to swear by his Rockports until he found Merrell's. Now he has several pair of Rockports that are never worn!

It would be hard to try every brand so let me give my praise to Mephisto. My office floor is concrete covered by carpet. It's worth the cost not to have tired feet at the end of the day. Mephisto's may be bought in France at a substantial discount to the US price (30-50%). They wear very well and may be refurbished for $90.

Gary-<BR>My fiancee loves his Borns although they might be too casual for a nice dinner out. <BR><BR>He also just bought a new pair of Cole Haan Nike Airs (they are made by Cole Haan with Nike) and swear that they are very very comfy...just walked around all of Las Vegas with them. They are also dressier than some of the other shoes mentioned.<BR><BR>Jane

Since my husband switched to Mephistos he doesn't wear his other shoes.

Definitely Blundstone's (www.blundstone.com). They're very cool slip-on boots that I wear all the time. In fact, I have two pairs. I'm a product designer and look and feel are very important to me. They look great in jeans, khakis, and whatever!

For decades, my Rockports have served me well on 4 continents. BUT only your feet can determine what brand is best for you--Clarks and Merrells are wonderful shoes, but I just can't wear them without chaffing. Other people will have just the opposite.

I guess I just had some bad luck with Ecco's, but it was really bad!<BR>I had worn this pair of shoes for the first time on a trip to Rome for a week. They were great. I didn't wear them again for about 6 months when I went on a trip to Ireland. My first half mile out of the hotel and one of the shoes split all the way through the sole, from one side clear to the other. A few steps later and the other did the exact same thing! It was all I could do to shuffle to the Clarks store on Grafton St. for some real shoes.<BR>Ecco=bad

SAS shoes are great. They are comfortable right from the start. I have put on a new pair and walked 6 miles without any discomfort. They are especially great if you have big, wide feet as I do.

I was sold on SAS till I put on my first pair of Mephisto's. Buy them in Europe as they are much cheaper than in the US. Also, you find them on sale more often in Europe. Every pair I own was bought at least 1/2 off the European price. I've never seen 1/2 price sales in the US.

Roadeyes,<BR>I guess you can have a bad experience with any product.<BR>However, with Ecco shoes, they will repair them free of charge for any defect for as long as you own them.<BR>Not only that, they supply free plastic Priority mail envelopes to their factory and after making a repair send your shoes back to you post prepaid. Ecco=Bad--NO WAY!!<BR>Can you say that for any other shoe manufacturer-not that I know of.

Thanks you all for the great replies.I am cheap when it comes to shoes and would hope tospend 100.00 or less???<BR>Any ideas??

I read a post on here a couple of months ago recommending Deerstags shoes for men. We found them on the internet, ordered them and they were delivered within a week with a total price (including shipping) for $49.99. My husband was very satisfied with their comfort and support and says he would recommend them for people (like us) who have to watch their $$$ in order to travel.