Perfect for those with feet issues
OK- It's kind of gross to see my slippers on line- but I really wanted to share 1 year's worth of wear & tear on these Relax slippers since I was very leery of spending $70 for something I hadn't ever tried. Being 70, I've broken the same right ankle 3 times now, broken 2 toes in that same foot, have plantar fasciitis & heel spurs if I don't wear arches, have high arches that have fallen over the years, and bunions on both feet with a last that doesnt seem to fit in many shoes. Basically I have a lot of feet issues. The pictures enclosed are exactly after 1 year of wearing them all day & night, about 6.5 days a week. I used to never wear an arch indoors but now I won't go without an orthotic footbed. I've tried other slippers with arches or tried slipping an arch into a slipper, but these have been by far the most comfortable, supportive, economically reasonable, & convenient ones I've even tried along with making a huge difference in my life. Once I realized I needed an arch, I wore crocks for years but they tended to break down too quickly and really didnt offer as much support as I needed. These slippers ( APMA approved) have been my 'go-to' ones for 1 full year now and all others have gone to the garbage. I just bought a second pair. I work from home & I have these on all day, every day. I mostly walk with these on carpet, & linoleum in the kitchen, but do go out on concrete to the mail box in spring & summer. They were on sale & I wanted a diff color, plus it was also probably time even though aside from looks they didnt feel like they needed to be replaced. They didnt truly break down or were extremely raggy like many other slippers I've owned where I felt I had to buy new ones all the time. The dark spots inside of them reflect the terry cloth material that has flattened, and I guess where my wet feet after getting out of the shower changed the looks without me realizing it. If you were to scrape that area, the lighter color of the terry would come back. I slip them on after I get out of the shower in the morning & wear them all day long till I go to bed at night. After wearing no socks for 6 months during the summer time in them, even though it's gross for me to even do it to even be able to tell you about it, they don't smell at all which is shocking to me so there must be somethign that makes it so they don't smell with use. The terrycloth material on the foot bed itself did flatten in what I felt was a relatively short time frame but really no more so than any other slipper I supose and it certainly didnt effect the construction, support, usage or comfortability. Material does that. Some might find their feet sweat a little but I didn't find it anoying enough to take them off. It was only on some hot summer days over 90 that I felt I could probably use a different type of slipper but not enough to take them off & go without an arch. They are still extremely comfortable & supportive after 1 year!!! The picture shows wear & tear (outside & in), as well as bottom sole, after 6 months of wearing them with socks & 6 months of wearing them without socks ( 1 full year). Apart from color, the sole looks like they are almost brand new. I'm also 200 pounds so that's a lot of war & tear :) I'd be crippled if I didnt wear them though, & I also love slipping my feet into them every morning or when I come home after being out, because they are so comfortable and supportive. What's beautiful about the Relax style that I mentioned is that you can wear them with or without socks by just adjusting the straps a tiny, tiny bit of if one bunion is bigger than the other :) In the summer time the heat didn't seem to bother my bare feet sweating & in the winter time when I added socks they still didn't bother me with excessive heat build up like other slippers with closed toes do. My feet didn't really sweat either way. What's more important to me though, than heat or no heat... is the arch. At first I thought the foot bed was rock hard & too uncomfortable but I gave them a week & hung in there wearing them a few hours each day like they said. Even after a few weeks they still seemed a little hard but really were what I needed and didnt realize it. My second pair didnt feel so badly for me or as hard to break in. I found not only were they exactly what I was suposedly to be wearing, that my arches weren't used to, but that I didn't stub my toes around the place, could actually wear them outside to get the mail in, and fell in love with them. I like a slipper that allows me to kick them off easily & put them back on easily if I want to put my feet on the couch in case they are dirty on the bottem. These do. I was afraid of an open back for fear of slipping off it, but I havent had that issue with these since the heel has a slight cup to it to help with the arch. In a flip flop I always wear a size smaller than I do with shoes, but they recommended going down a size if you are a half size. I'm a perfect 10.5 on a foot scale or 42.5 EU. so I ordered a 10 ( 42 EU) . The size is absolutley perfect for me. I find shoes & slippers fit wel if you know your European size better than your American size since most are made with those measurements. I have dropped food on them & spilled on them in the kitchen & as you can see, wihtout working hard at clean them, they have wiped clean very easily. I highly recommend these & will be trying out other styles of theirs for sure. ( Best thing I could have gotten myself last year & this year :)