text: I ordered these Gel-Noosas with confidence, since my Asics Gel-Scrams are among the most comfortable shoes I have for aerobics, walking, and my elliptical trainer. Unfortunately, these shoes for me were a contradiction of chic style and brilliant colors, yet extremely uncomfortable. I took the advice of previous reviewers and ordered one full size larger (9) than my street shoe size (8). Nevertheless, the toebox was both short and narrow.<br /><br />I tried them out for standing weight work in my carpeted exercise room. Within a few minutes, my toe joints were zinging with pain. The vinyl overlay piece that reinforces the lace holes extends low into the toe area. This piece is thin and is of poor quality, as it started wrinkling after wearing the shoes for only a few minutes. I can see why a previous reviewer suspects that these are knock-offs.<br /><br />Sadly, I returned them. These might be great for exercisers with small feet or short toes. Now, I won't feel so bad about paying about 50% more for some Mizunos.