Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsQuite Different than a Birkenstock, comparasion
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2019
In the 90's and early 2000's I had multiple pair of birkenstocks. I purchased another pair several years ago when I had plantar fasciitus. The birkenstocks fully healed the problem several years ago. The pain came back. I didn't keep my old shoes. sadly. Recently I ordered Betulas because of the price difference. I fully assumed the footbed would be the same kind of support At the end of the first week wearing my Betulas, which I liked I was given a new pair of Birkenstocks. After a few days and looking more closely I found quite a few differences in comparing the 2 shoes. If a person has no foot issues I would highly recommend the Betulas. If you have foot issues I would highly recommend Birkenstocks. The footbed, bottom rubber portion and outershape of the Betula is different. The toe bar in the Betulas is slight compared to the Birkenstock. The inner and outer arch gives much less support in the Betulas. The heel support does not hug the heel like the Birkenstock. Also other differences that were not really important to me were that it was not made out of leather (knew that), the outer shape had a more straight up and down cheaper looking shape, attention to detail was not there. The leather of the Birkenstocks comforts nicer to the foot than the synthetic manmade of the Betulas. Also the feel of the footbed seemed different, it didn't seem like suede. The rubber or rubber like bottoms look and feel different. I was wearing nicer flip flops all the time, so Betulas and Birkenstocks are much nicer and offer better support. One thing to mention is that with both Betulas and the Birkenstocks your foot needs time to get used to wearing these shoes. Do not buy them and walk long distances right away. Take some time to get your feet used to them. For the plantar issue, the edge of the pain is going away. I hopeful in another month maybe it will be better. After a few weeks of wearing these shoes at least a few hours daily I still cannot wear them all day long. These definitely are a nice shoe to have. I would suggest if you have foot issues to order the birks and a good pair of quality athletic shoes at the very least. I would highly suggest getting fit for the correct size locally for birkenstocks or betulas before ordering online. I do think there is a difference between a N and a normal size footbed. I do not think everyone can wear a N, they do not feel the same at all.
