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Airport and Foot Friendly Trade Show Shoes?
Milo_Mindbender asks: "Where the heck can you find shoes that let you handle the ten or more hours a day of continuous walking computer trade shows require and won't set off the airport metal detectors? I used to go for hiking boots, but can't find a pair that don't buzz, even after I've stripped off every other particle of metal. I'm getting tired of trial and error (and blisters/sore feet when I go to CES, SIGGRAPH...etc). Does anyone have any suggestions?"
Food industry and I take my shoes seriously. A post said Rockports and they are good, abit expensive. I buy at a discount shoe store and the namebrands vary. I am now wearing SAFETRAX,($40) "slip resistance" and they are great. Find a restaurant supply websight and check them out.
I eat my grapes at room temperature, cuz the cold ones hurt my teeth
They sell these shoes at Wal-Mart under the brand Earth Shoe. There is a style of shoe called earth shoes, and these aren't they. These are laceless black shoes with no frills or anything. They're incredibly simple and comfortable, throw some gel insoles in there and you're set. They contain no metal because they're essentially tennis slippers. They also last damn near forever. I'm on my third pair, which I just got a few weeks ago. The pair before it lasted five years before falling apart, and the first pair lasted six (this is while working retail and restaurant jobs where I was on my feet a lot, also a two-story high school). They also only cost twenty bucks... and they sell them at Wal-Mart.
/. all the time. There are Ask Slashdot questions that get posted because it's a question with a broad answer. A great many of those geeks, and maybe even some of those goobers, might have something interesting to add to the discussion, and the question gets answered thoroughly.
...a right triangle with legs 300 and 400 megalightyears long! wait... that's a long hypotenuse, my bad...
Let me sincerely apologize for the long tangent that follows.
Now that I got my response out of the way, lemme say... fuck this guy
What? (Score:0, Flamebait)
by ditto999999999999999 (546129) on 06:25 PM -- Sunday January 11 2004 (#7947563)
This is the stupid ask slashdot I've ever seen. Have you tried shoe stores? Do you want me to try shoes on for you? Come on Cliff... this is useless.
I know it's a fake name and this whole flame is pointless, but you gotta understand that there are three points to Ask Slashdot (as far as I can ascertain).
We all know there's a zillion geeks and goobers that read
The second kind of Ask Slashdot questions are ones which are obscure and abstruse which are thrown into the masses, blindly hoping someone knows the perfect answer.
The last and most confused kind of questions are those that seem completely fucking pointless. A case in point is today's Shoe Issue. Consider those zillions of geeks out there who don't have the time, free brain cycles, or social confidence to figure out many of life's little dillemas that plague us all, such as Is There A Perfect Shoe? This shoe would be comfortable, durable, easily accessible away from home "in case shit", and preferably cheap. Yea, such a shoe doth exist, and it is good. Rejoice smart masses, for the system works.
i'm really sorry about the flames, guys
.cig - what you do after winning a good flame war
I got a pair of Timberland / Mountain Athletics hiking sandals at REI about a year and a half ago. I've never had them set off the metal detector in an airport (although the fascists at SFO made me take them off once). They've held up very well and this past semester I've walked at least 7 miles a week in them. I can't find them on the REI site and I haven't been to one of the stores in quite a while. If you want more info or a pic just post a reply.
Everytime you look at porn a devil gets their horns.
Wear Birkenstocks. I've worn nothing but for about 10 years, and my feet are very happy. You can trivially remove them at airports, but they're great for long periods of standing and walking.
I have 13B feet: very long and very thin. Consequently, finding shoes that fit well is a nightmare. Before I started wearing Birks my little toes were turning under my other ones; they were both nearly sideways. Since wearing Birks all the time (seriously: over 350 days/year here in Portland) my little toes have straightened out. Weird, but true.
I can't recommend them enough. They're not the prettiest shoes ever made, but I'll take comfort over vanity anyday, especially for something as important as my feet.
This isn't as much "normalization" as it is "don't take so many drugs when you're designing tables."
If you can find any left over Dr Marten's that were made in Britain (they only manufacture them in China now) then I would say that's your best bet. It takes a while to break them in but once you do you'll be shocked by how comfortable they are. My feet used to ache at the end of the day but they've been good since I got my docs.
Seriously, if I wanted to cause a disturbance on a plane using a sharp object, i'd take in a nice glass or plastic sharp object.
If I wanted to cause a disturbance otherwise, I'd learn to be a pilot, and get hired, and then knock out the copilot, and laugh at people trying to get through the locked from the inside cockpit door.
Wearing metal shoes makes a statement: 'wow, these metal detectors sure are making a lot of people take their shoes off, and maybe confiscating some peoples scissors and swiss army knives, but they can take their lighters through, and we'll even give them some flamible materials on the plane for $3'
I'm waiting for the CDC to recommend against taking your shoes off in the airport because of [communicable disease here].
Need a Catering Connection
I put absolutely everything I have with me except for one credit card, $50.00 in cash, and my drivers license, and my ticket home in my carry on bag. My keys, my wallet, my change. My leatherman tool (yes, they have let me get that on a plane, if it's in my bag when they do the scan).
I took my shoes off, and put them on the belt too after my first experience with being wanded down. I just asked in the Atlanta airport, and they said that was a great idea to avoid the slow down.
Then, I watch for everything that happens to my bag to ensure nobody takes off with it (common thief trick is to have you put your bag on while someone else is making the scanner go off, so your bag can be walked off with while they take five minutes at the security check point). I think that has stopped now that making the security check point go off gets you wanded down, rather then trying to re-check everyone.
I've only done it a handful of times, but it always worked for me. I'm not thrilled about being barefoot, but it worked for my trip to pickup my bag, and saved me about 10-15 minutes even with untying and re-tying my boots.
Kirby
I second the Ecco recomendation. They're a little pricey, but quite comfortable (much more so than the lesser shoes that I replaced) and they don't set of metal detectors. In fact the last time I went through the security check, I took them off, and the guy said "ah, Ecco. These don't set off the detector, don't bother to take them off in the future".
OK, I know this is something of a departure from everyone else's running/skate shoe answers, but buy a big heavy pair of Dr Martens 8-hole boots.
Amazingly comfortable, great support, and the air-filled soles make it feel like you're walking around on cushions all day.
I wear my boots to work, casually, I've even flown 20-hr flights in them. And when the soles wear out, but the leather is all softened and molded to your feet, you can send them back to the factory to get re-soled. Dr Martens, I never wear anything else.
Try Conker Boots, or your nearest local equivalent.
:-)
http://www.conkershoes.com/
These feel like you're wearing only socks, and walking everywhere on a thick carpet.
My favourite are the Ankle Boots with crepe soles. The soles wear out after about a year. After that, you can get them resoled for less than the price of a new pair. There's no other way to make comfortable shoes except having a soft sole that therefore wears out.
Plus, they go through metal detectors with no problems.
Environmentalism is the new Victorianism. Everyone ties on a green corset and pretends we're virtuous.
Black (Cowboy) Boots made of Ostrich Skin. The most comfortable shoes I have ever worn, from the minute I put them on. The ostrich skin is one of the strongest that boots can be made of (second only to elephant, and sharkskin, IIRC) and at the same time softest of all boot materials (envision the softness and flexibility that goes into a good pair of car-racing gloves) making an unbeatable combination for long term footwear. Black goes with just about anything, and they are fairly attractive. Well lets just say that they are at least as attractive as anything the average geek wears.
They all come with 1" to 1.5" heels, and everybody welcomes an extra inch to inch and a half.
Very very comfy, about like moccasins with more support and pretty much socially accepted everywhere off the reservation (unlike moccasins.) Hold up for years with little maintenance. Look fairly respectable - and the inch and a half height boost is nice.
Get a good pair (Dan Post or Lucchese) for between $250 and $500, will last you for years.
As for the airport, take em off, walk through, put em on - but in the airport and the entire flight they are going to be comfortable as you can possibly imagine. Given that most airports have people taking off sneakers, at least you don't have to jack with shoelaces to get them on and off.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer