Reviews > Footwear > Footbeds and Insoles > Shock Doctor Ultra 2 Insoles > John Corrigan > Field Report

Product Name:

Shock Doctor Ultra2

Personal Biographical Information:

Name: John (Jack) Corrigan

Age: 41 years old

Gender: Male

Height: 5 feet 10 inches (1.8 meters)

Weight: 175 pounds (79 kilograms)

Shoe Size: Men's 9.5

Email: jack@jackquest.com

Region: Fredericksburg, Virginia (Spotsylvania County) 18S 283312mE 4227231mN

Report Date: 10AUG2004

Background:

I have always been one to do the outdoor thing as compared to the organized sport thing. It started as a youngster in the Boy Scouts and continues today as an adult. The majority of my experience has been in Pennsylvania but I have hiked, camped or paddled in New York, California and even Alaska. I am also currently a volunteer search and rescue canine handler. Although search and rescue doesn't always result in an overnight or multi-day trip, I am required to be prepared, equipped and trained for it. Training a search dog results in many hours of trekking through the outdoors.

My "style" is best described as recreational camping, mid-weight backpacking (2-3 day treks), day hiking, flat water paddling, hunting and canine search and rescue activities. My last extended (more than 1 week) outing was the summer of 2001, as a volunteer for the Armed Forces Eco-Challenge in interior Alaska. I also include two of my four dogs in most of my outdoor activities.

Product Information:

Manufactured By: Shock Doctor

Manufactured Date: 2004

Manufacturer URL: http://www.shockdoc.com

Listed Weight: Not Listed

Delivered Weight: 5 ounces (142 grams)

Note: Weighed on a digital 0-25 pound postal scale.

Additional Product Information:

Size: Men's 9.5-10.5

Field Information:

Location:

Field testing locations were primarily northern and central Virginia.

Description of Location:

The terrain in these testing locations was varied, and included low grass and lightly forested regions, marshes and wetlands (basically a swamp!) and some blacktop/concrete/clay surfaces thrown in for good measure. Elevations were around 300 feet (90 meters).

Weather Conditions:

The field test was conducted from May through July.

Weather during the test period was warm 80°F-90°F (27°C-32°C) with noticeable humidity and even a few rain showers just to keep things interesting.

Product Experience:

The Shock Doctor Ultra2 footbeds have approximately 500 "boot hours" on them. During my field testing, durability and comfort have really ended up being my main focus. One for good reasons while the other was not as good!

For the amount of field test boot hours that I have put in so far, I was really expecting to see some significant wear. Based on past footbed/insole experience, I usually begin to wear through the heal and the toe area with this amount of wear. I have actually worn out footwear on the inside before the outside. Consistent with my past wear patterns, visual inspection of the top (foot contact side)of my Shock Doctor Ultra2 footbeds shows only a slight discoloration from dust and dirt and some (a few threads) edge fraying, mostly in the trim to fit toe area. The bottom (shoe contact side) only shows scratches and stone indentations in the hard grey plastic big toe, arch and heel areas.

On the left footbed, this hard grey plastic is no longer adhered to the foam cushioned material at the back of the heel. I don't think this is affecting the performance but will be watched for wear during the long term test period.

I did have the pleasure of spending about half a day in 6-12 inches (centimeters) of marshy water performing a boundary survey of a 35 acre swamp. The Ultra2 footbeds dried in about an hour while out side of the boots. I can't be sure this contributed to the separation since the right foot bed was just as wet and has remained intact.

The field test period has presented a comfort issue for me. After hiking, walking, standing on just about every surface natural and man made for about 4-5 hours, the Ultra2 footbeds feel as though there is no "cushioning" effect especially in the area of the big toe. I did not experience this with the original Lowa insoles and I double checked my trim to fit which showed that the size was just fine (no folds due to being cut too wide or long and no uncovered areas from being cut too short or narrow). I did notice improvement with a more cushioned sock and significant improvement after not wearing the Ultra2 footbeds during the same conditions but with other boots/original footbeds. I am still not totally convinced it is only due to the footbeds since I should consider some sort of fatigue factor of these 41 year old dogs of mine! My long term test plan will pay close attention to this comfort issue. I was waiting for the long term test period so that I could extend my "nonuse" period longer to better determine a root cause.

TEAM JackQuest
http://www.jackquest.com

Reviews > Footwear > Footbeds and Insoles > Shock Doctor Ultra 2 Insoles > John Corrigan > Field Report