are sorbothane the best cushioned insoles, or is there anything better?

What for? The ones I’ve had wouldn’t be good on the bike – you want thin, supportive, insoles for riding.

no, not for the bike. for general use, suffering from very painfull heels.

I’ve been using custom moulded Comform’able (or something like that) for 17 years. work, walking, biking, everything, I’m just on my 3rd set now (the other two are still being used, but the oldest are now very shabby, but still usable). They’re used every day and cost about £50 (including custom moulding service). I use a shop in Ilkley, best to book beforehand so they can give you personal attention and have the mini oven preheated.

Basically, what they do is spread your weight evenly over the whole of your foot (incl your arch which feels a bit funny at first). Cheap footbeds or the ones supplied with a shoe/boot are generally useless.

It depends on why you are suffering painful heels.

I’ve been doing practice marches ready to enter the death march and for the first few months my heels and knees were a killer after doing them. Even though I have sorbothane insoles.

Eventually though my knees and heels got more used to the pounding they were taking and firmed up.

If you have painful heels due to everyday walking around/light exercise then seek medical advice not generic insoles, it’s not worth crippling yourself over it.

If you dont want to spent too much I can recomend a couple of alternatives.
Get over to Chav central ‘Sports Direct’ . They stock a few different types if insoles . Both the memory foam and gel ones .
They were about £10 each iirc . I wear wellies all day and my heel pads are borked too .
The Gel ones seemed to be the best for me , and my colleague uses the memory foam ones .

why not try a podiatrist to see what the cause of your painful heels are, they would be best placed to offer advice on a suitable insole for you.

Ton – do the podiatrist thing. Painful heels are what got me into cycling – it got too painful to do multi-day walks. I could give you chapter and verse on this 🙂

A podiatrist will be able to analyse your gait and can refer you for scans, blood tests etc. They can also come up with proper, supportive insoles.

Having said that, aim to get the most comfortable, cushioned soled shoes you can buy, and be prepared to change them regularly as the sole unit gets compressed over time.

I’m currently using some Sorbothane insoles in my walking boots and they do make a slight difference.

Oh – and consider those weird MBT shoes. When I was working in the shop – and therefore on my feet all day – they were what made it possible.

Oh – and consider those weird MBT shoes.

+1

Superfeet insoles are supposed to be good and come with a 28 day money back guarantee although they’re aimed more at correcting your biomechanics rather than cushioning, and it may be that thats causing the problems your suffering from.

Like many podiatrists, carl would love to treat more young-ish healthy-ish folk with hurty feet, rather than wrinklies that need their nails dremelling every couple of months. 😆 So yes Ton, visit a podiatrist and make their morning. 😀

Superfeet or Sole Softec insoles are generally considered the best for support. Sorbothanes are just a big lump of padding.

Sorbothane are good for absorbing shock but aren’t very supportive. Something like Superfeet will be more comfortable for standing over a long period of time

Sorbbothane double strikes are great in british army boots to remove the shock, but if you’ve got feet problems, get them looked at by a professional as we all start to fall apart eventually. Go to your GP and get referred to a specialist if they can’t deal with it.

thanks for the advice everyone, gonna make a appointment to see a podiatrist.