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Testing Location Overview:
The hiking environment of the south-west of Western Australia
allows for hiking and backpacking from coastal plains to forest.
Elevation ranges from 0 to 585 metres (0 to 1,920 feet). Within this
region, I hike in varying
conditions from forestry roads, to sandy tracks to single-purpose
walking
trails, to rock hopping, to beach walking to completely off-track
walking
through open and dense country.
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Weather Conditions:
During the summer period, daytime
temperatures average 30° C (86° F), whereas from March through to
December the daytime average temperatures range from 15° C to 26° C
(59° F to 79° F). During the
autumn, winter, and spring periods the normal weather pattern is fairly
wet with frequent heavy rainstorms evident. It does not normally snow
in
Western Australia.
According to The Times Atlas of the World
(Concise Edition - Revised 1997)
our weather is described as being "Mediterranean - rainy climates with
mild
winters, coolest month above 0° C (32° F), but below 18° C (64° F);
warmest
month above 10° C (50° F)." The atlas depicts the coastal area north of
Los Angeles as having the same climate.
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Long-term experience
Since receiving the Shock Doctor Ultra2 footbeds I have
pretty much worn them daily in my New Balance 805 trail runners and I have
worn them in my Scarpa Manta boots on four separate weekend bushwalks.
Details of the first three weekend bushwalks can be found in my
field report. The last walk in the Scarpa Mantas was a 40 km (25 mi)
walk in Beavis block carrying about 14 kg (31 lb). The surface walked on
was mainly jeep tracks and hand-cut trails. All of a limestone/gravel type
surface.
In respect of using the Ultra2 in my New Balance 805s, my walking has been
more of the day to day kind, that is around home, around the
neighbourhood, down to the shops, as well as regular exercise walks around
Lake Monger, which are approximately 5 km (3 mi) in length. More recently
this has been extended to walking to and from work and geocaching walks. The walks
to and from work range from 5 km to 9 km (3 mi to 6 mi) each way depending on
direction
taken. The geocaching is generally around 5 to 8 km (3 mi to 5 mi) over
the game. The walking with the 805s has been on a range of surfaces such
as concrete or bitumen paths, limestone tracks and sand tracks.
In my
Initial Report I went into detail about the various features of the
footbeds and the claims against these features. Normally I would revisit
those claims in this report, however, I am of the opinion that the claims
are of such a nature, that I can not fairly report on them, i.e., they are
technical claims for which I do not have the technical knowledge to
support my comments. Therefore, what follows is my laypersons' reporting
of my experience with the footbeds.
First up, using them in the New Balance 805s trail runners. To fit them to
the trail runners, I first removed the original inserts and replaced them
with the Ultra2. I have found that the Ultra2 fit snugly in the 805s, so
the sizing has been good. My initial concerns about the height of the
footbeds have proved unfounded. As reported in my
Field Report, I am very happy with the comfort and support that the
footbeds provide when used in my trail runners. That view remains.
In my
field report, I stated "the same cannot be said, of their use in my
Scarpa Manta boots. My first outing with the footbeds in my boots resulted
in blisters on the sole of my foot and on my heel. My initial thoughts
where that the height of the footbeds had relocated my feet such that they
where rubbing against boots in a new position and Scarpa boots being
Scarpa boots they inflicted blisters upon me. However on my second outing
with the footbeds in my boots, I wore relatively new socks and guess what!
No blisters on the first day's walking, the longest walk distance. Due to
wet weather, i.e., wet socks, on the second day of the walk, I switched to
an older pair of socks (same pair worn on the previous weekend walk) and
back the blisters came. This was after only walking 5 km (3 mi). So it
would seem that I had been a bit quick in coming to the view that the
footbeds where the guilty party, rather it seems that my old socks where
the problem. To clarify what was happening, on the third weekend's walk, I
wore brand new socks with the footbeds in the Scarpa boots. Outcome no
blisters! So the footbeds have come through okay on this aspect."
Following the posting of the field report, the
manufacturer made the following
comment:
"Alas, as for Andrew Priest's test I can't gauge the size
differential other than a snug good fit in the New Balance shoes. I am
disappointed in the fatigue factor when used in the Scarpa hiking boot. If
the boot is smaller than the shoes, that could be an issue. As always
individuals and their specific needs and results differ and one footbed
can't work for everybody."
I thought fair point and decided to double check the Shock
Doctor's sizing against my other inserts. I could determine no difference
in sizing. Okay, I felt it was then important to give them a second chance
and wore my Scarpa Mantas with the Shock Doctor footbeds on the Beavis
block walk. Unfortunately, the Shock Doctors, my Scarpa Mantas and my feet
just don't go together. Once again, I got very sore feet early into day
one and saw no improvement over the remainder of the weekend. By the end
of the walk, the soles of my feet where very sore, worse in my view than
my experience with the standard Scarpa inserts.
In summary, I find the Ultra2 footbeds more than adequate when worn in my
New Balance 805s and would suggest they are an improvement over the
original inserts. However, when fitted to my much heavier Scarpa Manta
boots, the performance of the Ultra2 footbeds has been less that
ideal, particularly when my walking involves hard surfaces (on-track road
surfaces in the main). I suspect, but cannot be 100% certain, that the
weight of the boots may have some bearing on my experience.
One final comment. I have not had any bad odour
experiences with the Shock Doctors. I note from the website that they can
be washed, but have not felt the need to do so, and have received no adverse comments from others!
The above notwithstanding, I will continue using the footbeds in my trail
runners but will not be using the Shock Doctors in my boots.
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Thanks to Shock Doctor
and BackpackGearTest.org for
the opportunity to participate in this test.
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