Shoe boots made for traveling

Shoe boots ready by the door. (Photo by J Jacobs)
Shoe boots ready by the door. (Photo by J Jacobs)

Sometime a travel product is so good it should be mentioned on a travel site.

I admit I have bad feet. My high arch, wide foot, poor balance, bunions and hammer toes make it hard for me to find comfortable shoes and even boots.

But upon a recommendation I tried a pair of Arcopedico stlye L19 in black. Oh my. I’m not sure what is in the arch but I feel these shoe-boots were made with me in mind.

When I told a friend I was going to wear them downtown Chicago to cover an event, she said I was nuts to try something that I would not be able to change if it didn’t work out because I was an hour train ride from home.

Not only did they work just fine but for once I could forget what I had on my feet.

After checking on the product I found out that they are machine-washable even though they are water resistant. I also learned that this style is made of Lytech, a blend of Lycra and Polyurethane, that is a bio-degradable, vegan material unique to Arcopedico.

That info is fine but as someone who is always traveling I like that they are lightweight and pack well.

When I first tried them on I thought they looked too small, particularly with my wide foot. Maybe they expand but they fit fine. So I checked out the Arcopedico ® brand further. It features a Techno-Elastic upper section, an anatomic foot bed and a twin arch support system. Wow.

When I took a cruise to South America last spring, I went to a lecture in the spa about foot problems. The expert handed me a pair of arch supports to try which I liked a lot but lost on the plane home. These shoe-boots seem to have a similar arch support so now I have to look for more Arcopedico footwear.

Gues that shouldn’t be too hard because I learned they have been around since a Professor Elio Parodi created them back in 1966.

I will look for them next time in a store’s shoe department but I also found them on Zappos and Shoes.

 

Author: Jodie

Longtime Chicago Tribune contributor for news and features. Travel writer for What's Happening, Lakeland Boating and A&E for CBS