Pikolinos Seattle WT01K-5579 SKU: #7902968

Brian M

from New York, New York

I really wanted to like these shoes. They were supposed to replace 5 years of Ecco Flexors, which were sadly discontinued a few years ago. Those were as comfortable as expensive sneakers, durable, nice enough for a casual workplace, and rugged enough for snowy sidewalks or a trail in the woods. They were so great I bought 5 pairs. Now I've finally run out. These Pikolinos are almost the same color, seemed to have decent treads, and are stylish enough for most occasions. And even better than the Flexors, they offer a leather insole, which is a big plus. (Note: despite the description of the shoe above, other than the insole, the inner lining is fabric, not leather.) Leather interiors last much longer, and are much easier to keep clean. I hoped I'd like these as much as the Flexors, and if they were comfortable, I was ready to buy spares. My feet are wide, so shoes that don't come in widths are often too narrow. These don't come in widths, but they're European. European shoes (such as Eccos and Borns) always seem to offer more room in the toe box than American sizes, so I hoped the standard width would be okay. Judging from the shape of the sole, they didn't seem narrow. When they arrived, I was happy to discover that's true. Unfortunately, there is a different comfort issue. My feet started hurting almost immediately after wearing these the first time. It got worse over the course of day, until I couldn't wait to take these shoes off when I got back home. These shoes don't offer enough cushion under the feet. I tried to remediate this with some soft gel insoles, which helped a little. But cushioning is not the only problem. The rubber soles are too rigid, and don't bend easily. And where they do bend doesn't seem to be in an optimal location. Wearing these a second day, with the additional insoles, I came to realize my feet were hurting was because the shoes were putting too much pressure on the wrong parts of my foot. Not only did the Flexors provide much better shock absorption, the soles were much more flexible, and in the right places. The sole used a rigid rubber like that of the Pikolinos, but only in a thin layer where the shoe meets the ground. That was complemented by a much softer rubber under the foot, which provided great cushion and flexibility. The sole of the Pikolinos is made of a hard rubber throughout. Because of this, these Pikolinos are not comfortable, not flexible, and they even make a "clump" noise with every step. Too bad. I was ready to get the ankle-boot version of these shoes, and spares. Not any more.

Brands I'd also recommend: Ecco, Born, Merrell