[Randman]

Recently got a pair of the Nike Free trainers. It took a few days of walking in them to break them in but now they have to be one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever worn.

[The Godfather]

Pumas rule. Nikes drool.

[Doofy]

Is that dog poop?

[Randman]

Mud. Mud and clay,I think. It had been raining.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by Randman

It took a few days of walking in them to break them in but now they have to be one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever worn.

Certainly the must be one of the most ugly pair you've ever worn.

[ghporter]

I stepped into a pair of Nike walking shoes a couple of months back and remembered why I don't mind paying a little more for Nikes. They FIT ME. Every athletic shoe maker has different shoe forms for some reason (and they all have different definitions of "size 10" too), and Nike's fits my feet perfectly. I spent a long time in Rebocks and they always wore out in a couple of spots, mainly because they didn't fit perfectly there. I'm studying for a job that will put me on my feet a lot, so good footwear is going to be important; I'm sticking with Nikes for that.

[rozwado1]

[KeriVit]

Apparently, comfort is not pretty.

[scaught]

Free? Say That To The Slave Labor Who Gave Their Pitiful Lives For Your Shoes, You Monster! /yelling

[OB1]

You can get those Nikes in a thousand different styles and colour combinations, and without the velcro strap if you like...

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

That black band across them is incredibly ugly.

[ManOfSteal]

I'm sporting some very comfortable "Livestrong" Nike R4's...

[budster101]

Me likey.

[rozwado1]

My gym shoes:

[KeriVit]

I suppose some would find mine ugly too...



Oh well, we like our comfy shoes and we have our own tastes

[stevesnj]

Originally Posted by Randman

Recently got a pair of the Nike Free trainers. It took a few days of walking in them to break them in but now they have to be one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever worn.]

i have tried them all but found New Balance to be the best.....good luck with them.

[V12]

yea, im about to pick up the nike free 5.0 regular running shoes for gymand workout use, maybe a little more

finish line has their own exclusive colors, i like the black/black/charcol ones they have or hte lance armstrong 10/2 ones also..

im glad to see someone likes them, helped me make my decision a little easier.

[budster101]

I like these.

[ManOfSteal]

Originally Posted by budster101

I like these.

Yeah, the ankle support on those is dreamy.

[ghporter]

Here's my current shoe, the Air Impel:

[von Wrangell]

My football shoes:



Never liked Nikes.

[budster101]

You must be brutal on carpeting...

[sek929]

Feck Nike.

Most comfy pair of shoes I have ever worn were Newbalance.

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by budster101

You must be brutal on carpeting...

Not to mention the shins and thighs that come too close

[mdc]

been wearing these lately. very comfortable. my first pair of nikes in a long time.

[budster101]

I have a pair of NewBalance. All real runners where them, but I wear them anyway.

[FulcrumPilot]

Shoes worn by a 5300-year-old iceman have been replicated using leather tanned with boiled liver and pig brains.

Now they are set to go into commercial production after getting rave reviews bymountain climbers and backpackers.

Dr Petr Hlavacek, a Czech university department head and expert on footwear, spent years recreating the mountain boots found on the mummified body of Oetzi the Iceman, discovered in a frozen glacier in the Italian Alps in 1991.

The shoes made from calf, bear and deer leather were given to some of the Czech Republic's top climbers to test in mountain conditions, and were so highly praised that a Czech footwear company has sought to acquire the rights to make them.

Dr Hlavacek, head of the technological laboratory at Tomas Bata University in Zlin, in eastern Czech Republic, said: "Wearing the shoes is like going barefoot, only better. They are very comfortable and are perfect for protecting your feet against hard terrain, hot temperatures and the cold.

"They may not look very attractive, but from a technical point of view they are very strong, sound and able to protect the wearer's feet against hard ground, extreme temperatures and damp. They also have a very good grip and withstand shock very well."
AdvertisementAdvertisement

Oetzi, the world's oldest and best-preserved mummy, was found accidentally in the Italian Alps close to the Austrian border in 1991. The find was considered sensational by scientists because the body was so well preserved and gave an insight into the life of humans in Europe 5000 years ago.

They were later able to tell that the man, nicknamed Oetzi after the Oetz Valley where he was found, had eaten venison for his last meal and had lived in what is now the South Tyrolean village of Feldthurn, about 50 kilometres south-east of where he died. A museum was set up in Bozen, South Tyrol, to house the ice mummy, while clothes and other items found with him are on display in other museums.

It was after a visit to a museum in Mainz, Germany, that Dr Hlavacek and his university colleague, Vaclav Gresak, decided to make a replica of the shoes that Oetzi was wearing when he died.

They began by sourcing the same materials as Oetzi would have had for his shoes. Tests showed that the leather on the soles was from three animals: calf, deer and bear. Sourcing bear skin proved challenging, with Mr Gresak finally getting hold of the skin of a bear hunted in Canada.

Oetzi's shoes had also been stuffed with hay to provide an inner lining that provided warmth and comfort. The two researchers recreated a hand-made net made out of thin strips of bark that held the hay in the shoe in place. After unsuccessfully testing a range of tanning methods using vegetable fats, Mr Gresak tried boiled chopped pig liver and raw pig's brain, copying a method known to have been used by ancient people. The substance was smeared onto the skins and left for three days - and worked.
The Iceman's mummified body was discovered frozen in an alpine glacier in 1991.

The Iceman's mummified body was discovered frozen in an alpine glacier in 1991.
Photo:AP

They used casts of Oetzi's feet for exact measurements to make three perfect replicas of the shoes and a number of pairs in bigger sizes for mountaineers to test in the Austrian Alps near where Oetzi lived.

Vaclav Patek, a Czech mountaineer who tried them out, said: "The shoes were a pleasant surprise. They were durable, warm and comfortable and far better than some of the modern shoes in the shops."

Dr Hlavacek said there was a lot of interest in the shoes.

"The shoes perform very well in rough terrain and there is commercial potential even if it's just from the many museums that want copies of the shoes for their collections. We will have to look for a replacement for the bear skin leather that is not easy to find, but other than that I don't see any problems in mass production," he said.

He also believes the footwear could have positive health implications as they were very different to modern shoes and gave the wearer more contact with the contours of the ground.

Only last week, researchers in Oregon reported that walking on cobblestones can lengthen life, with people walking regularly on the rough surface enjoying lower blood pressure than those using flat surfaces.

[budster101]

They look like JUNGLE MOCKS... hmmm...

[FulcrumPilot]

Pig brain probably has a lot of fat for insulation.

[Superchicken]

Someone needs to get a blog :-P

By the way are you incapable of making those not massive and slow loading or just lazy? Hint even Preview app has decent export settings.

[budster101]

Yeah, the first picture is 548k... holy dial-up Batman....

[Randman]

Originally Posted by Superchicken

Someone needs to get a blog :-P

By the way are you incapable of making those not massive and slow loading or just lazy? Hint even Preview app has decent export settings.

Yes, I was going to rename my blog as CodyBlawg™. As for the size of the photos, get off of dialup.

As far as the look of the shoe, I'm fine with them at the gym or going for walks. The velcro band actually helps in the adjustment of the width in the midsection of the foot.

Besides, I'd take a little ugly with that amount of comfort any day of the week.

[Superchicken]

I'm not on dial up. Fact is for a freaking jpg of your shoes I shouldn't have to wait more than a split second for it to load.

[E's Lil Theorem]

I had my ADIDAS A3 Ultra Ride on earlier. Check 'em:

[budster101]

Dude, but 548k for the first image alone?

That thing could be 70k for 70 percent quality in jpeg.... same dimensions! (Can't tell difference)
10 pictures of them? You really dig them shoes.

Here's your total (k): 3.2 megabytes, which megabites.

Here's mine after 5 minutes (k): 472k / keeping all pixel dimensions as obnoxious as they were...

[budster101]

Should be a standard for image sizes... Max 650px wide.

Oh, I think if you like the feel of them, the looks should come in second place. They ain't fugly.

[]

So comfortable

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by sek929

Feck Nike.

Most comfy pair of shoes I have ever worn were Newbalance.

Like I said, all the manufacturers have different shoe forms. New Balance fits very differently from Adidas, Puma, and Nike, just as your feet are different from mine.

With arch supports added, the most comfortable footwear I have is a pair of mocasin boots, mostly because they fit because of how I lace them. But I NEED arch support, and Nike's support match my arches...

[FulcrumPilot]

Originally Posted by budster101

Dude, but 548k for the first image alone?

That thing could be 70k for 70 percent quality in jpeg.... same dimensions! (Can't tell difference)
10 pictures of them? You really dig them shoes.

Here's your total (k): 3.2 megabytes, which megabites.

Here's mine after 5 minutes (k): 472k / keeping all pixel dimensions as obnoxious as they were...

Waaay too much time on your hands huh?

[macroy]

I have a pair of Nike Air Max 94's that I still use for basketball and volleyball. Love those.

I also have saucony shoes for running.

And my favorite pair of shoes.....



Comfy as hell... and when I'm in it.. that means I'm hanging with buddies doing something I REALLY enjoy...

[budster101]

Way too much time.

[OogaBooga]

Originally Posted by KeriVit

I suppose some would find mine ugly too...



Oh well, we like our comfy shoes and we have our own tastes

I have the blue and silver version of those. Great for running

[von Wrangell]

Guys, there's no need keeping the images in the quotes! And budster, links would have been enough


</wannabe moderator>

[budster101]

Fine...

[Goldfinger]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Certainly the must be one of the most ugly pair you've ever worn.

Have you ever seen good looking sports shoes ? Not that it matter because you only wear them during sports but still..

[HawgJawl]

Originally Posted by budster101

They look like JUNGLE MOCKS... hmmm...

I like those.

[His Dudeness]

Originally Posted by 

So comfortable

[HawgJawl]

Hippy.

[wdlove]

Nice looking pair of shoes Randman.

[Randman]

Thanks WD. I still have the all-black hightops and the Nike Hurrachs (sp?) but these Free are easily the most comfortable.