text: As a 30 year old who prefers fashion shoes to sports sneakers, this was a tough sell. I've been in a 2 year battle with plantar fasciitis in my left foot due to that aforementioned love for fashion, and these were sort of my &#34;I give up&#34; shoes after spending big bucks on a pair of Birkenstocks and a couple other pairs of shoes I had to return to the department store.<br /><br />Appropriateness for Plantar Fasciitis<br />While I haven't had my foot doctor inspect these yet, by most of the PF shoe standards I've read about, these shoes do seem to fit the requirements for a good plantar fasciitis shoe. It has an inflexible sole, decent heel cushion and arch support and a minimally bendy, wider (though not round) toe. I would recommend taking them to your doctor and having her look them over before you wear them outside, just to be sure.<br /><br />Style<br />Let's be honest, while much better than they used to be, these still kinda look like orthopedic shoes. Yes, they added dayglo green and silver to the hospital matte gray in a feeble attempt to appeal to a younger audience, but the solid orthopedic leather kind of defeats any attempt at stylishness. I switched the gray shoelaces out for aqua, which helps a little, but I always feel a bit dopey wearing these in public (but that's probably just me).<br /><br />Comfort<br />I wear these mainly for the 2-4 mile walks I like to take around my paved neighborhood. Because I am wearing my own inserts, I can't give an unbiased review of how the shoes feel without them, but I can say that they do fit half inch inserts well with plenty of room left over. I've removed the factory inserts and put in a $75 pair my doctor gave me as well as some $6 Dr. Scholl's, and it does seem to minimize the pain. When I wore the inserts in my &#34;incorrect&#34; J-41 sandals, my foot would hurt significantly midway through the walk, and more afterwards, but I do feel like these provide better ankle support and leave me feeling a bit better post-walk, although no cure-all.<br /><br />Biggest problem: Automatic Hot Foot<br />The biggest complaint I have with these shoes is that they have no mesh on them and are not particularly breathable. My feet typically get pretty warm when I walk, even in winter, and these can be stifling in hot weather. I'm sure these shoes would do wonders for my feet if I wore them all the time, but when it's 105, I just can't get past the idea of my feet incased in solid leather and roasting in sweat the entire day. If you have permafrost feet, these might be awesome, but otherwise...keep that in mind.<br /><br />Overall<br />I bought these shoes because I needed good, quick, budget friendly walking shoe that wasn't completely horrendous and would not aggravate my plantar fasciitis. These do meet those qualifications well enough with inserts. However, because of the lack of breathability, I probably wouldn't buy them again.ter post-walk, although no cure-all.<br /><br />Biggest problem: Automatic Hot Foot<br />The biggest complaint I have with these shoes is that they have no mesh on them and are not particularly breathable. My feet typically get pretty warm when I walk, even in winter, and these can be stifling in hot weather. I'm sure these shoes would do wonders for my feet if I wore them all the time, but when it's 105, I just can't get past the idea of my feet incased in solid leather and roasting in sweat the entire day. If you have permafrost feet, these might be awesome, but otherwise...keep that in mind.<br /><br />Overall<br />I bought these shoes because I needed good, quick, budget friendly walking shoe that wasn't completely horrendous and would not aggravate my plantar fasciitis. These do meet those qualifications well enough with inserts. However, because of the lack of breathability, I probably wouldn't buy them again.