15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, solid shoe, January 30, 2010
This review is from: Brooks Women's Addiction Walker Walking Shoe (Apparel)
First of all, I would encourage anyone who shops for running or walking shoes go to a shoe establishment that analyses your specific gait. You really need to do this in order to determine the type and amount of support that your body needs, relative to footwear, so that you can select the shoe that will be most comfortable and healthy for your foot and body.
Then, you can order your shoes online. I did purchase the 1st pair Brooks Addiction in a brick and morter store and order 2 more online the same day.
Now, my story.
I needed a comfortable walking shoe. I was seeking a replacement because the sleek, shapely looking Rockports that I own and love have not only fallen apart after 5-6 years, but have also been discontinued.
Ok. Shoe shopping can be a traumatic experience for me because I have narrow, flat feet and small ankles. It is hard to find shoes that fit me well.
I shopped for walking shoes in the winter of '09 and they didn't work out, I returned them and just wore my old Rockport DMX-C APW33101 Walking Shoe, which were were so raggedy they were talking, and Columbia sandals.
After sloshing through water in 34 degree weather on Christmas Day in two pair of socks and my sandals, I was driven to desperation. I would be forced to enter the jungle that is shoe shopping.
So after Christmas, while in the D.C. area , I summoned guidance for my dilema from non-other than the reigning walking shoe queen of Fairfax. From there, she took me to a really good running/walking shoe.
After trying on a pair of gait neutral shoes (the brand is unknown to me), climbing up on a treadmill with a camera pointed at my feet and having the salesperson observe my gait, she picked 3 pairs of shoes for me. One pair was the Brooks Addiction walking shoe, based upon the type and location of support that she determined that I needed.
The Brooks Addiction shoe is the only medium width walking shoe that properly fits the width of my foot. No slipping heels or feet swimming in the shoes here.
The shoes are solid, sturdy and well made.
They are not the most streamlined or prettiest of walking shoes, but they are not the clunkiest looking or the ugliest shoes either.
I was looking for a fairly flexible shoe like my old Rockports. While the Broooks are not as flexible, the shoe gives enough. The Brooks are not so rigid as to cause pain, unlike a another brand (NOT Rockport) of walking shoe that I purchased in '09 and had to return due to the stiffness of the shoe and the ensueing pain from walking in them.
My only complaint is that the top of my foot where the laces are tied, as you go closer in towards the leg, feels a little squeezed in as the day progresses. I will try to play with the laces some more to see if I can fix that. The shoes are still new and I am still getting used to them.
The shoes are clunkier looking than my Rockport walking shoes.
Overall, the Brooks Addiction shoe has been reasonable replacement for the Rockport.
UPDATE:
That squeezed in feeling around the laces has ceased! My shoes are nicely broken in, though I still wish that they were a bit more flexible.
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