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  1. #1
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    Default Lone Peak 3.5 and Superfeet Trailblazers?

    After training our hardest trails Saturday for 15 miles and Sunday in the rain for 10, I was noticing some tight posterior tib tendon on my left foot and long toe hitting toe box on the right despite my usual lace locking. My LPs probably have between 200 and 300 miles on them, but 100 or so of that is just walking the dog. Stopped into REI and consulted my "shoe guy," while wearing them in last night. He pushed on the midsoles and they went up a considerable amount into my higher than average arches (as documented in my foot scan at Fleet Feet, my left is higher than my right by a good bit, but both are higher than the average population). He suggested the women's Trailblazer insole.

    I've never worn an insert. Well, that's a lie. I tried green Superfeet when I first starting running 10 years ago and it felt like running on an ironing board and I hated them. I have run in minimalist and zero or nero drop shoes since 2010 without insoles except factory. Obviously I'm a little apprehensive about going to a 5- or 6mm drop insole, but I also realize that when I'm running 5 or 10 miles that's a whole 'nother story than backpacking 15 a day with 20+ pounds on my back for X days straight.

    Anybody out there who runs in Altras or similar zero drop but still uses a similar kind of insole in their hiking shoes for backpacking? I know I can return them if they don't work (thank you, REI) but wondering if this may be way too much insole for somebody who's never used them before. I read online about wearing them a few hours a day and building up and I have the rest of this week and all of next to do that if I decide to take them to Georgia.

    TIA!

  2. #2

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    ML, I use a very thick custom insert with a similar drop. I was diagnosed with metatarsus elevatus (big toe does not flex as it should causing undo stress on the smaller toes and much pain).
    I don't run much anymore but I used to average about 15-20 miles per week of jogging trails on top of 20-40 per weekend of backpacking ; I used those same inserts for both for a long time. But I wound up getting another customer set of inserts that were a little more aggressive with the correction and chose to run in them but not backpack. My runs would last, at most, two hours and the aggressive inserts were fine but they were just too much when hiking all day.

    FWIW...

    Here is a side view of the custom set compared to the stock insert in the Vasque Breeze I normally hike in (I've had them rebuilt twice now):

    Last edited by PatmanTN; 04-24-2018 at 09:35.

  3. #3
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    Default

    Thanks so much, Patman! I am still seriously on the fence about what to do, but I figure 100 miles in Georgia give or take is not going to weaken my feet to the point of destruction and if it helps with my ankle and arch stability, it might not be a bad thing?

    I just walked the dog 5.5 miles in a new pair of Merrell Trail Glove 4s that was heaven. Like walking in bedroom slippers. My husband walked out of the Grand Canyon in them and uses them for water crossings (even though they don't dry super fast) and camp shoes. At 14 oz., they're not as light as vivo barefoot, but they are so comfortable, I may take them along for camp and a second option when I feel like my feet need a nice warm hug.

    I guess I'll put the insoles in my Altras and give them a few hours today. I wish REI had the Olympus in stock. I would have liked to try them for comparison. I may also slap the insoles from my newer Torrins into the LP 3.5s and see how that feels. I've got 10 days to figure it out. I am not thrilled with a 6mm lift and wouldn't try to run in it for fear of a heel strike, but it's not TOO much more than the 4 mm I had in other running shoes. I tend to overthink crap.

    Thanks again! Now back to weighing stuff and figuring out food!!

  4. #4
    Registered User kestral's Avatar
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    02-12-2011
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    Melbourne, Florida
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    Default

    Hey patman! Where did you get your custom insoles? Do they have a specific name? I have a fused right foot from previous fractures, now my right and left are not the same, problem if over 5 miles walking. Also, how long do these customs last? I’ve heard that inserts should be replaced with shoes every 400-500 miles, but this sounds very pricey. Thanks. :!)

  5. #5

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    kestral,

    Well the pair pictured was my first set made about 7 years ago. I went to a local podiatrist (Heather Sandburg in Knoxville TN) and she is the one that diagnosed me and recommended the inserts. They were made by her on-site guy who called himself a "podorthist"; he took molds of my feet, manufactured the inserts in materials that he thought would be good for hiking (most durable and waterproof) and then tweaked them based on watching me walk and my feedback from use (I came back for tweaks three times I think). The inserts themselves were $300.

    That same pair have been rebuilt three times and I don't think they can rebuild them again. I haven't counted the miles exactly between rebuilds but I've gotten more than 500 miles per build. I had the original podorthist rebuild them once for $150 then found a local orthopedic lab that would do it for $75 (Hosford shoes and Orthepedic lab in Knoxville) and they did the last two rebuilds.

    I also had Hosford build a set for me just for running and they too were $300. So yeah it's crazy expensive.

    Right now I'm experimenting with off the shelf inserts just because it so darn expensive to have customs one made. Never liked Superfeet much, I have found a brand that seems to work OK but the materials are not waterproof at all, in fact they are like sponges and I have to stop and literally wring them out in really wet weather hiking when I can't take the squishing anymore. So I'm still looking for that cheap alternative.

    But for me the correction is critical. I can't hike any distance at all without them lest I wind up in serious pain.

  6. #6

    Default

    The thing with my experimentation is that if I keep buying and trying, at some point I'll be washed with the cost of having custom ones made....

    Now I see there are some on-line companies that make custom ones like upstep.com ($200) but I guess tweaking those via mail order would not be a good option, so they need to get them right the first time?
    Last edited by PatmanTN; 04-25-2018 at 15:06.

  7. #7
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    Default

    Just an update to anyone who finds this in a search or may have been interested in the topic. The Trailblazers were not for me. After three days of breaking in/wearing them, my entire left leg was starting to give me a problem. Since our AT section of Georgia begins 5/4, I officially started to freak out. I decided to get a deep tissue massage lined up (the Music City Rock & Roll marathon was today, so they were busy but I got on their schedule for this past Thursday).

    In the meantime, I tried to figure out what in the heck went wrong. The only thing I kept coming back to was the shoes were shot. So I called REI and they didn't have LP 3.5 in my size. I'm sure inventory is dwindling with the 4.0 coming in August. BUT Fleet Feet had them. So I went and got my massage, decided to swing over to the sports chiro I've used in the past when I had a problem and got an adjustment and some acupuncture in the tight spots, and then went to Fleet Feet and put on a new pair. The girl who helped me, a trail runner, said immediately that was the problem. See the attached photo. The old pair may LOOK fine without anything to compare it to and the tread is hardly worn at all -- but the entire upper is stretched out and the midsole flexes like a rubber band if you push on it. I was sloshing around in them like crazy. They also had ProTech ankle sleeves on sale, so I grabbed a pair of them.

    Today I went 7.5 on our rocky, hilly trail in the new shoes and a sleeve on the left foot. Although I had some tingling and twinges, the difference was night and day. I could actually FEEL the support around my ankles and in my arch again. Just wow. I resisted the urge to do a second loop and called it a day. We'll go back tomorrow and do another lap. I'm going to keep a very close eye on the breakdown of this pair. Thank heaven it happened the week before we left instead of the first day on the trail! The breakdown was so gradual, the only thing I really noticed was it was harder and harder to lace them tightly.


    2018-04-27 13.27.21.jpg
    Last edited by Mountain Laurel; 04-28-2018 at 15:36.

  8. #8
    Leonidas
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    Crazy! Hard to believe they would be shot by 2-300 miles but I guess we all wear shoes down differently. Glad you were able to get it sorted out.
    AT: 695.7 mi
    Benton MacKaye Trail '20
    Pinhoti Trail '18-19'
    @leonidasonthetrail https://www.youtube.com/c/LeonidasontheTrail

  9. #9
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    Thanks, Leonidas! Me too. It's hard to say. I didn't log when I was wearing them on walks with the dog, etc., versus my other shoes and I go anywhere from 5 to 10 miles a day if the weather is not horrible. It could be a good number +/- miles more of that type of use. Altra said to expect 300 to 500 miles somewhere I read, but now I can't find it. I've inputted this new pair into Garmin now and will record every step so I can see how long they go.

    I am actually really thankful in retrospect it happened last weekend instead of next weekend! We're heading back out to do another loop with our packs and then quibble every ounce for a week. Called the visitor's center and found out we can't pay to park until 8:30 on Saturday so we'll get a later start than we had planned, but it's all good. Can't wait to be there!

  10. #10
    NOBO Mar '21 BowGal's Avatar
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    I used one of those Dr. schools foot mapping machines at Costco. Ended up getting the 420 insets as I have a low arch. I like these inserts as they are one size...fits nicely into my two pairs of 3.5’s
    We don’t stop hiking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop hiking.
    - Finis Mitchell


    https://lighterpack.com/r/6yyu2j

  11. #11
    NOBO Mar '21 BowGal's Avatar
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    *Scholl’s ....darn spellcheck
    We don’t stop hiking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop hiking.
    - Finis Mitchell


    https://lighterpack.com/r/6yyu2j

  12. #12
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    Default

    I know for some people they really work well. Glad you found what worked for you! I actually have high arches. They mapped my feet at Fleet Feet when I got my running shoes a few months ago and said I had really strong feet for an old gal (I may have added the old gal part).

    My feet are back to very happy with the new shoes. I'll see how they do and hopefully have no more problems!

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