Grounding Yourself is a Potent Antioxidant

[Kingston]

Isn't losing toenails just a sign a too small shoe? Human feet aren't a perfect pair on most people. One shoe fits the other might be a disaster. Also worth remember feet bloat (not sure if correct term) quite significantly on longer distance, like +10 miles or so. It can be more than just one size bigger. This is the way I've lost a nail or two, finding out the hard way.

 

[okgb]

Didn't read the whole thread but, how about the people who normally sleep on the street ,
the homeless are healthy ?

 

[JohnRoberts]

It's definitely not worth it if your losing your toe-nails! I find them really good for both walking and running. I tried to change my technique with my previous shoes, which were Gel Kayanos, but I couldn't do it. Which probably isn't so strange given that they are very cushioned and have a high heel. Anyway, when I got the Nikes it felt like a relief to run in them, I started paying a lot more attention to the sensation of my foot hitting the ground, and changing the technique felt much easier than before.

The shoes that you got sounds like a QC issue, yeah, which shouldn't occur on such expensive shoes. Nike should be embarrassed.

Yes, I consider it QC error since I have been buying running shoes for decades from Nike and others and most fit correctly. Returning them for replacement might just get me another similar ill fitting shoe from the same production run.

Another quality issue I experienced was premature wear. I tried a new brand for running shoes (under armor) and the shoe was a great fit, and felt good to run in, but after a handful of runs the heels wore prematurely. The hard rubber cap wore completely off the right shoe at around 45 miles. I am not sure if that was caused by a durometer issue with heel material too soft, or adhesive issue with attachment not strong enough, or simple process mistake causing the insufficient heel robustness.  I returned those shoes and bought a better known brand while like my experience with Nike even good brands make mistakes.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

Isn't losing toenails just a sign a too small shoe? Human feet aren't a perfect pair on most people. One shoe fits the other might be a disaster. Also worth remember feet bloat (not sure if correct term) quite significantly on longer distance, like +10 miles or so. It can be more than just one size bigger. This is the way I've lost a nail or two, finding out the hard way.

I have been running for several decades. Yes the shoes were too damn tight in the toe area, otherwise they fit fine. 

I actually lose more toenails from basketball while playing in the post, when some big heavy guy grinds a few hundred pounds of his heel into the top of my foot. The toe nail first turns black, from blood underneath it, then it takes months for a new toenail to grow out underneath it. Eventually the dead toenail falls off.

Losing toenails from ill fitting running shoes is far less common for me. I only ran two times for a total of 8 miles in those shoes, but the damage was done. They are only toenails, but I considered those shoes too uncomfortable for running.  Nike sells a lot of them so apparently they work for others. If my pair fit me properly I might tell a different story. I have never experienced fit issues from numerous shoe brands, including Nike.

The shoes was ordered in the correct size and the shoe was marked the correct size to fit me. QC failure.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

Didn't read the whole thread but, how about the people who normally sleep on the street ,
the homeless are healthy ?

Nah they sleep in old cardboard boxes which break the electrical circuit, so they don't get the benefit of earthing.  ;D ;D ;D

JR

 

[Kingston]

The shoes was ordered in the correct size and the shoe was marked the correct size to fit me. QC failure.

Did you really order a pair of running shoes blind just based on a size that used to fit on some other type or brand? That's a really bad idea. For example Adidas has a notorious reputation for making too small shoes for a given size, and Saucony makes them far too big.

There's a great online shoe store that has a database of them all and you can compare, for example if you have a perfectly pair and you wish an equally perfect fit on some other type/brand. I'll link it later when I find it in my bookmarks. Gotta run now. 

 

[JohnRoberts]

The shoes was ordered in the correct size and the shoe was marked the correct size to fit me. QC failure.

Did you really order a pair of running shoes blind just based on a size that used to fit on some other type or brand? That's a really bad idea. For example Adidas has a notorious reputation for making too small shoes for a given size, and Saucony makes them far too big.

There's a great online shoe store that has a database of them all and you can compare, for example if you have a perfectly pair and you wish an equally perfect fit on some other type/brand. I'll link it later when I find it in my bookmarks. Gotta run now. 

And how do nike shoes fit compared to nike shoes??

It may be a bad idea, but it has worked fine for me for decades.. Over the years I have bought multiple different brands including saucony and don't recall overly tight or loose fits. I don't have a specific recollection of buying addidas but i might have, I am not faithful to any single brand running shoe. I am currently running in ASICs.

FWIW after my unpleasant experience with the nike free I started reading the customer reviews for a given shoe model before pulling the trigger, where they comment about fit among other things, while even that may not reveal an isolated issue like i encountered.

While shoes are still mostly hand assembled I suspect they are machine cut following precise computer generated patterns. I recall back before we had proper running shoes, and used general purpose athletic shoes. (aka sneakers).

JR

 

[tv]

After I switched to fully ff and cut on the running distance, I lost all appetite for "name" brands. I'm lucky enough to not have any major problems with my feet size-and-shape, so I use the cheapest off-the-shelf running shoes I can get within certain criteria and change them more often. Works for me and seems cheaper in the long run as well. So can't complain. Never had any probs with Adidas otoh.

 

[JohnRoberts]

After I switched to fully ff and cut on the running distance, I lost all appetite for "name" brands. I'm lucky enough to not have any major problems with my feet size-and-shape, so I use the cheapest off-the-shelf running shoes I can get within certain criteria and change them more often. Works for me and seems cheaper in the long run as well. So can't complain. Never had any probs with Adidas otoh.

For years I bought the cheapest running shoes I could find from a large mail order merchant, based on the premise that cheap running shoes today are better than what we all ran on back a few decades ago, and this is mostly valid. Only within the last couple years have I discovered that it is possible to buy too cheap, with my premature wear problem. I consider the nike "free" fit to be an isolated outlier event so try not to read too much into that one, while I retired another (cheap) nike shoe after a little over a hundred miles because i didn't like the feel of the shoe's cushioning while running in them. I usually go 250-300 miles on my shoes before replacing. One shoe actually had a heel air bladder blow out and deflate while I was running.  :-[  FWIW Nike and all major brands typically sell shoes over a wide range of price points, and cheaper shoe models are apparently made cheaper. Often they cut features like using cheaper shoe laces, etc. A lot of the price difference is marketing mojo. 

I have recently adjusted my target to not buy the absolute cheapest running shoe I can find, but I still select from way below the top of the line premium offerings. Ideally I like to find some left overs from a Nth generation upgrade of a popular model, with price reduced because they are not the very latest model. I'll take any color shoe, if it is price reduced because ti didn't sell, all the better. My current shoe is one of the cheaper variant ASIC -gels. They have the same good properties that made the "gels" popular years ago, without the top of the line ASIC gel model pricing. 

More drama than they deserve...

JR

 

[Kingston]

And how do nike shoes fit compared to nike shoes??

Pretty horribly! But don't shoot me I'm just the messenger.  :-[

http://www.runningwarehouse.com

Pick your shoe, then click "show me how it fits", then select another brand/model/type/version (they have them all!) you know to be a perfect fit.

You will see a pretty enlightening comparison view.

I just happened to randomly pick "Nike Free 5.0+" model because it was on the front page. Then I semi-randomly compared it to "Nike Lunarglide+ 5" because it was the only Nike I remembered. The 3D model tells me Size 10 of "Nike Free 5.0+" is basically equivalent to Size 9 of  "Nike Lunarglide+ 5"!  :

And you can additionally click the "fit" button to see another story for the width and general profile.

I'm almost certain you bought a pair of shoes few sizes too small. I understand differences between brands when it comes to shoe size since there is no universal standard. But I don't know what purpose Nike is serving shuffling their shoe sizes like this.

Ideally I like to find some left overs from a Nth generation upgrade of a popular model, with price reduced because they are not the very latest model. I'll take any color shoe, if it is price reduced because ti didn't sell, all the better.

Exactly what I do as well. The 20 grams they shave off the weight compared to the N-1 generation and a color of a running shoe are unimportant. I would also like to severe my need to buy a "name brand" but unfortunately I have a very trusty source for new "shoe lore" and they don't feature any €10 cheapos by Lidl.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Since having wear and fit issues I have started  reading customer reviews before purchasing new shoes.

Looking at the current version of that nike free model indicates that 20 customers complained that they run small.

I am still unsure wether this is a normal fit variance or a mislabeled shoe (my guess... I lost toenails after two runs).

Maybe some Viet Namese factory workers getting even.

JR

 

[Kingston]

normal fit variance or a mislabeled shoe

If you have a look at that comparison tool by running warehouse, you'll find sizes are all over the place, width and length. I don't know if there ever was some universally agreed standard that you could trust, probably not. The only purpose the numbers serve is you can easily select the next bigger or smaller size at the store.

What I didn't know until today was that you can't even trust the number to match shoe type to another within a single brand.

 

[tv]

STOP!

look at this first (saw it on another diy forum)
https://sugru.com/about

from now on, buy 10euro LIDL or SPAR cheapos, oversized for a half-size and MOD them into "total submission" to perfect fit.

or harden the soles