UKC

I just boot my first pair of stiff mountain boots for a long time(*) - Scarpa Triolets. Did an alpine hut walk last weekend to get used to them, found them generally fine but the stock insoles a bit slippery. And I notice that people - e.g. Andy Kirkpatrick, Dane at coldthistle - seem to recommend aftermarket insoles.

So I went and looked at the price of things like Superfeet and Sidas and was a little taken aback. Are they really essential / worth it? Any alternatives that are better than stock but cost less than an entire pair of decent running shoes?

* the last ones were Koflachs.

In reply to AlanLittle: It may be off the mark, but I wear sorbothane insoles in every pair of shoes I wear, including mountain boots.

In reply to AlanLittle:

£35 doesn't seem too bad for a pair of superfeet. I've had a pair of the green ones for 6years. They started off in my mountain boots, but are now in my work boots which I use almost daily.

In reply to AlanLittle: I use black superfeet in my Trango extremes. Comfiest of the superfeet for me as I'm quite flatfooted so I find the orange and green ones too much. the black ones are lower profile so take up less room and don't rub on my midfoot/arch. Superfeet offer a 60day moneyback guarantee which is something their counterparts don't offer. It's a no brainer in my opinion as if you find they don't work for you, you'll get your money back!

In reply to sharpie530:

You're right. I made the mistake of looking in ski shops where Superfeet are more like 60 Euros over here, but then I found I can get them online for quite a bit less.

In reply to AlanLittle: I was getting a pain in the ball of my foot with Nepal Extremes. Superfeet insoles, if they are the ones that you warm in the oven and then stand in for several minutes, worked wonders but they do affect the sizing a little so you need to be careful.

In reply to AlanLittle:

Another vote for Superfeet. They are fairly pricey, but if they help then it's probably worth it. And if they don't, you can get a refund, as mentioned above (though they can take a bit of adjusting to, so it's worth gradually trying them for longer and longer periods over the 60 days)

In reply to AlanLittle:


I remembered that I have a fancy pair of Sidas insoles in my snowboard boots, to I tied an experiment. One sidas insole, one standard issue scarpa, ten hour via ferrata outing.

In the morning I definitely thought I could feel a difference - sidas softer and with less heel lift. And in the evening my left foot was a lot less tired than my right, which had also ha cramps on the route. Only: the left was the one with the stock scarpa insole.

So that's a bit of money saved then.

In reply to AlanLittle:

Sole's are also superb.