Initial Report: Shock Doctor Ultra 2 Footbeds

Biographical Information:

Name: Chuck Carnes

Age: 34

Gender: Male

Height: 6’0” (1.83 m)

Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)

Email address: ctcarnes1@yahoo.com

City, State, Country: Taylors, S.C. United States

Date: May 18, 2004

Backpacking Background:

I have been influenced to go camping and backpacking all my life. Every summer for the first 5 years of my life, my parents took me camping. I was in the Boy Scouts at the age of 12 and have been backpacking, on and off, ever since. Needless to say, I love the outdoors. I enjoy taking a lot of STUFF in my pack and can’t seem to get my total pack weight down - I wonder why. I usually hike around Pisgah National Forest and The Great Smoky Mountains. I go at any time of the year and try to hit the trails when there is no rain. If it does rain, it’s okay. Trail terrain, such as rocky trails or muddy trails, is not that big of an issue with me. I just like getting out and enjoying nature.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Shock Doctor, Inc.

Size: 9.5 – 10.5 (Men’s US)

Year of Manufacture: 2004

URL: www.shockdoc.com

MSRP: not listed by manufacturer

Listed weight: no weight listed by manufacturer

Weight as delivered: 5 oz (142 g) (pair)

Delivery:

            I received the Shock Doctor Ultra 2 Footbeds in a plain white, waterproof mailing envelope. The envelope has a return address label with Shock Doctor Inc. and their address printed on the label. It also has my name and address on the sender label in the middle. The package arrived in very good and clean condition.

Initial Impression:

            Inside the white envelope was a clear plastic pouch that held the footbeds. The pouch has a zipper lock type of closure to be able to reuse the pouch to store the unused footbeds. Also inside the white envelope was a packing slip that listed the items in the envelope and a Shock Doctor catalogue for further viewing of their products. The packing slip was correct on the items that were sent.

            The clear plastic pouch that housed the footbeds, arrived in “show room” condition. It has the size at the top and has all of the features and specs on a presentation stock card that is in color on the front and back. The top of the clear pouch also has a slot cut out for hanging on a store display. On the front of the presentation card, there is information about the Ultra 2 footbeds. At the top, the words read “Superior Shock Absorption and Support That Rivals Custom Orthotics”. To the right side of that there is circle that reads “Maximum Performance Footbed” above it and “Anti-Shock Ultra 2” in the center. Below all of this there is a title that reads “Shock Doctor” and lists features of the footbeds which are:

• CONTROL BAR stabilizes the heel and controls pronation.
• ADAPTIVE ARCH supports high, medium and low arches.
• Metatarsal support relaxes the foot and helps relieve Plantar Fasciitis pain.
• Composite foams absorb shock under heel, arch, midfoot and ball of foot.
• Anti-Microbial Air/FX top cover reduces friction and controls odor.
• COMFORTEMP microspheres maintain a temperature balanced environment; cool when it’s hot and warm when it’s cool.

At the bottom of the card is a picture of a wire frame person in a running position with orange star symbols at the neck, hips, knees and ankle areas. Above the person is a comment that reads “State-of-the-art shock absorbing and bio-mechanical design stabilizes and supports the foot in a natural position. Reduces foot, leg and lower back pain. Below the person it reads “SATISFACTION GUARANTEE”.

            On the side of the card are 6 colored triangles with silhouettes of objects that pertain to sports that the footbeds could be used for during these activities. According to these triangles, the Ultra 2’s Performance Technology is used best during hiking, running, skiing/snowboarding, walking, training and work.

            The rear of the card has a title at the top that reads “Shock Doctor” and under this title it reads “Quickly and comfortably adapts to your foot for immediate use”. Below this is an exploded view of the footbed showing and labeling the different features of the footbed. The features are: Motion Control with Control Bar, Metatarsal Dome, Heel Cup, CORE Climate Control, Shock Dome Technology, Adaptive Arch, Moisture & Friction Control. The web site has more information on these features. At the bottom of the card there is a Canadian logo and a statement saying “Official Supplier of the Candian Alpine Ski Team”. Also Trimming and Washing instruction are listed at the very bottom. The washing instructions say to hand wash in cool water with mild detergent and air dry.

            After viewing all of this information and getting myself familiar with the product, I pulled the manufactured footbeds out of my Montrail Trail running shoes and slipped in the Ultra 2 and took off for a run. Two words describe this product: very comfortable. I ran for about two miles and I truly did not feel any fatigue in my ankles or in my toes. The nice thing about these footbeds is that during my run I never felt any strains or cramps on the outside of my calves. Most of the time when I run, at about 1.5 miles I tend to get a little bit of a strain on the outside of my calves. I can usually run through the discomfort and it usually goes away. With the Ultra 2 footbeds I never felt this discomfort. After the short run I took the Ultra 2 footbeds out of the shoe and inspected them a little further. I can see why my feet felt so comfortable while running. The heel cup is deep and surrounds my heel and prevents any sliding side-to-side motion. The shock and metatarsal domes give my heels and arches the support they need plus the padded comfort. I really expected the footbeds to be thicker and more padded but I don’t think the footbeds would give the support that is needed in a running shoe if they were padded any more. I did have to trim the edges at the toe where indicated to fit a size 9.5 shoe. The trim lines are very well indicated and are very easy to custom fit the Ultra 2 footbed to the shoe. With this being the first time wearing the footbed on a run, there was no odor to the footbed when it was removed from the shoe, but time will tell.

            Overall I am very pleased with the fit and comfort of the Ultra 2 footbeds and look forward to putting them in my hiking boots and trying them on a long hiking day.

Test Plan:

            My test plan for the footbeds is to test the overall comfort and durability of the footbed. How well they hold up to numerous miles of wear and tear? I will try these in my hiking boots and also in my working shoes to see how well they feel when not under a lot of stress. I will be looking to confirm the features that are listed above and how well they perform. I will make notes of any discomforts and include those in my Field Report.

Thank you Shock Doctor and BGT for the opportunity to test these footbeds.