Customer Reviews Birkenstock Arizona Soft Footbed - Oiled Leather (Unisex)

These are my first pair of Birkenstocks. I really like the natural feel of the sandal and look forward for when they are completely broken in.

Im a long time Birkie fan. The secret to comfort with these shoes is to wear them much looser than regular sandals. Adjust them how you think they should fit, then add one more hole before buckling. The foot bed is nice, it feels good on the foot. The leather strap across the toe is a little stiff, I usually get the ones with suede. I hope this particular type of leather will unstiffen a bit with wearing. Well made, Birkenstock\'s quality is still topnotch.

As a repeat Birkenstock buyer, I was interested in the soft footbed. They are really comfortable, but the footbed is not as raised in the toe area as they are with traditional Arizona\'s. However, the soft footbed is very comfortable, and I would recommend these sandals.

I love the new soft foot bed option. I do not think I will ever buy the original foot bed again. Please be aware however, my only issue with this shoe is the stiffness of the upper leather strap that is closest to the back of the shoe. It has taken a lot of work to get it soft enough to wear. This has not been a problem for me with my previous pairs of Arizona Birkenstock shoes. This really surprised me and now I have scabs on each foot where my skin was rubbed raw. I will definitely continue to buy this shoe, but will be more aware in the future.

This is my first pair of Birkenstocks. They are very comfortable; the only issue for me is that my feet are quite narrow and of slightly different sizes. I think because of this, the left sandal fits perfectly but the right one tends to slip off occasionally, even on the tightest strap setting. Next time I would probably look at the Milano, which has a heel strap, especially if it had a soft foot bed.

As directed by the Birkenstock company I purchased 2 pair of sandals in a 6 Regular. They were so wide, I couldn't keep them on my feet. When I called Zappos one of their sales associates informed me that I needed the narrow and sent 2 more additional pair to me. She was right and, although I have not had a chance to wear them, they seem perfect. These sandals were recommended by my podiatrist as being ergonomically correct. I'm taking his word for it and will start wearing the shoes in Florida.

Comfortable but bulky - These sandals are really comfortable for me, but my husband feels that his slide forward and cause him to step on the back edge. I don't have that problem and think I will be able to wear these sandals throughout Europe. My only criticism is they look somewhat bulky on my narrow feet (even though I bought the narrow width model).

First Comfortable Pair! I've tried to wear Birkenstocks in the past, although none of them were comfortable. Now with the new soft footbed, there is not a tough breaking in period. My foot is super narrow and I ordered a narrow 38 and they fit great with slight room to spare.

Wow - I already owned one pair of Birkenstock Arizona Soft Footbeds in mocha brown and I wear them almost every day. I have heel spurs in both heels which are very painful and these shoes, once broken in, are the most comfortable I have found. The soft footbed is a must for me. These are great and go with everything. I ordered the cashmere color and the slate color (which is actually black) and they look even better in real life than they did online. Furthermore, I am very particular when it comes to choosing and staying with a company. I am very intolerant toward what I deem unacceptable customer service and I must say that Zappos customer service is everything it should be. I ordered my shoes Saturday night and received them Monday afternoon! Also, when they make a mistake, you don't even have to ask for the problem to be rectified. They are completely "on the ball" and provide the customer with respect and just outstanding service. From now on, I will only order from them. Even if an item costs a bit more here, I will definitely order from them anyway. Just the best!

Soft Footbed the way to go - I’ve worn both the soft footbed and the hard bed Birks and the soft footbed is way more comfortable.

Comfort - Good arch support. I have nerve and tendon issues on both feet; however, this shoe feels very comfortable.

I never could wear Birkenstock shoes because the arches are just too hard for me. I had an accident with my foot and I think I broke some toes and maybe some nerve damage and have not been able to wear shoe on that foot for weeks. I have been wearing flip-flops or a post-op boot on that one foot. Well anyway I thought I would give these Soft Footbed shoes a try and they are quite comfortable. Haven't worn them to work yet where I constantly stand and walk (retail) but I think they will be ok. I am just happy to find a shoe that I can wear without hurting my toes. I followed the other recommendations and ordered a narrow width even though I am med width. The shoes fit me perfect. The straps do fall down but I don't care, they are soft and don't hurt my feet. As always Zappos delivered my shoes in record time. Thanks Zappos!

Just the Ticket - I have been having problems with great toe pain and these were recommended by a poditrist. They have worked great.

A toe wiggler slip-on - You got to wiggle your toes to slip this shoe on. The straps are not firm enough to just slip on. It just falls and rest on top of the foot bed. I refuse to bend over to help slip this shoe on. This shoe is very, very comfortable. I tried this exact shoe on at a store and the straps did not fall down; it had some body to it. They did not have this color so I decided to buy it from Zappos. Birkenstock should make their shoes identical in the same model number. I may return this shoe and try finding the one I like--the straps that does not fall down.

Birthday Husband - 56 yr. old male - All in all - very pleased. Took 3 tries to get the size right. Size 41 in Ecco shoes worked out to be 39 in B'stocks. Very comfy w/ good cushion. Just wish the straps were stiff enough to hold their shape & not flop so one could just walk up to them & slip them on. Exchanging sizes with Zappos could not have been any easier. Will certainly do business with Zappos again. Thank you.

Too Early to Tell? I enjoy wearing sandals and have always worn the "back strap" type--which stay firmly on my feet. This is my first pair of "slide" sandals, so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of comfort. I was attracted to the idea of being able to slide them on and off of my feet with ease. My first impression was how comfortable the soft bed footbed felt on my feet. However, I was disappointed that the sandals felt very loose, even at the tightest setting. The footbed seems to fit my foot properly. I ordered the 11-11/2 size despite the fact that I usually wear close to a 12. So, I punched an additional hole in each of the loops to make the sandal fit a little tighter. I ended up having to punch another hole on the right sandal to get them to fit tight enough! I was very hesitant to start punching holes in my new sandals since I assumed that doing so eliminated my return option. However, this simple procedure seemed to do the trick. It's too early to tell if I will love these sandals as much as my previous "back strap" ones. However, they are very comfortable right out of the box and I expecting that they will get more comfortable with use. The only reason that I've given these sandals a 4 star rating is that I didn't expect to have to add additional holes on sandals at this price.

Birkies Are Great! My first experience with Birkenstocks, and I'm pleased overall with them. I usually wear a medium width shoe, but probably would be more comfortable in the narrower width. Excellent arch support and the soft footbed is very soothing. However, one shoe produces pressure on the outside of my foot, causing much discomfort after walking a couple blocks. Thus the four star rating. I'll probably be ready to try another pair next summer!

Promising comfort for feet hard to make happy - Before purchasing my first pair of Birkenstock soft beds, I carefully read all the reviews because a have very wide feet with very short boxy toes that make it very hard to find a comfortable shoe. First, let me reiterate the point may reviewers have made previously; the regular Birkenstock width is truly a very wide shoe. My usual EE to EEE feet fit just fine in the regular width using the tightest holes on the strap! There is even an extra fraction of an inch of space in the foot bed so that the sides of my feet don't dig into the sides of the shoe. Other reviewers have mentioned that the straps need to be adjusted rather loosely so that the straps won't cause discomfort or blisters. Again, I find this to be true. So far, I cannot make them give me blisters and I've walked at least a 5 mile day breaking them in. Unlike other reviewers, however, I was a little disappointed that the soft beds didn't feel instantly comfortable. In fact, they made my arches hurt for a solid week. But after a week, they started to feel more and more comfortable. I must say that they force you to walk differently. I felt a lot of stretching in my leg muscles. My joints also creaked continuously from ankle to knee to hip for the first couple of days I wore them. I actually think it's for the better because after a few weeks of wear my other worn in shoes are starting to feel uncomfortable in comparison. My heels do not hurt as much as they did if I wear them exclusively. I also think for long continuous walks that I'd prefer the Milano with the ankle strap, so I will be trying that next. So in short, don't worry about them being wide enough if you have wide feet and don't expect them to instantly fulfill your quest for the perfectly comfortable shoe. But in time, I think my Birkies might turn into just that. I'm not sending them back.

Moderately comfortable - I do like wearing these sandals because of their simplicity. But I do have to tighten my foot grip as I walk because my feet slide in the sandal while I wear them. I wonder about the accuracy of the size recommendations. I wear an 8 shoe; the recommendation for that was 41, which apparently is an 8, 8-1/2. But it still seems slightly loose for my feet; I'm managing. I might poke another hole in the top strap to see if tightening helps the slipping.

they felt too stiff even though they are "soft bed" I didn't want to have to "break them in"