At 62, I was always at the back of the walking group, watching my feet
At 62, I was always at the back of the walking group, watching my feet
Six things the Orthowalk gets right that my old trainers got wrong, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.
Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about a pair of shoes. Last spring my friend Sue talked me into the Thursday walking group from the village. I loved the idea of it. But every week I ended up at the very back, on my own, picking my way round every puddle and every patch of wet leaves with my eyes fixed on the ground. By the time I looked up, the others were two fields ahead, laughing about something I had missed. So this is not a review. It is a woman who changed her shoes and caught up, saying so.
What I found is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Orthowalk, a low lace-up walking shoe in a soft grey, with a thick springy sole, a deep grippy tread and a padded collar round the ankle. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
A proper walking shoe. At 62. Read on.
Here is how it happens, and I suspect it happens to most of us. We go walking in whatever is comfortable, which usually means an old pair of everyday trainers with a sole worn as smooth as a dinner plate. They are fine on the pavement. Then the path turns to mud and leaves, and every step becomes a little decision. You slow down. You watch your feet. You let everyone go on ahead. The other choice is a great heavy pair of boots that feel like lead by the second stile and rub your ankles raw.
I was not slow because of my legs. I was slow because I did not trust my shoes.
The Orthowalk is the first pair I have owned that lets me look at the view instead of the path, and having walked in them every Thursday since they arrived, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The afternoon they came. Grey and sturdy, and nicer than the photos.
A deep tread with proper grip
Turn one over and the sole is all deep studs and chunky grooves, nothing like the smooth bottoms of my old trainers. On wet leaves, on a muddy bit by the gate, on a slope down to the brook, my feet feel planted. I still take care, I am 62, not daft. But I am not watching every single step any more.
The tread. I could not believe the difference on the first wet morning.
The grip on these is so much better than my old trainers. I feel steady on the muddy paths for the first time in years.
Margaret T., SouthwellA thick, springy sole
The sole is thick and soft with a lovely bit of spring in it, so stony tracks and hard pavements do not jar right up through me. The walk is about five miles with a stop for tea, and these days I finish it without counting down the last mile.
Halfway round, waiting for the others for once.
So comfortable. I wore them straight out on a long walk and never once thought about my feet.
Pauline R., HucknallA padded collar that holds the ankle
There is a thick padded collar round the ankle and a padded tongue, so my foot sits snugly inside instead of sliding about. It is low cut, below the ankle bone, so it does not dig in the way my old boots did, but my foot still feels held.
By the back door, ready for Thursday.
Lovely padded ankle, very snug and comfortable. Wish I had bought them years ago.
Jean H., ArnoldProper laces, so they fit my feet
They lace up through little metal eyelets and hooks, so I can do them up firmly for a long walk and a bit looser for a trip to the shops. No slipping at the heel on the hills, which is what always gave me blisters.
The laces mean I can get them just right. My heel does not lift at all going uphill.
Brenda W., CarltonLittle mesh panels to let the air in
There are small mesh panels beside the laces and round the ankle, which let a bit of air in. On a longer walk my feet do not feel stuffy and hot by the time we stop for tea.
Comfy on long walks and my feet do not get too warm.
Christine B., Long EatonThey do not look like boots
They look like a smart, sturdy shoe rather than clumpy hiking boots, so I can go straight from the walk into the café without feeling I have come in from a building site. Mine are the grey, and they come in brown and black too, from UK 4 up to UK 9.
I wear them for walking the dog and for the shops. Smart enough for both, and the grey goes with everything.
Sheila D., West BridgfordThis, against my old trainers
Most of us go walking in whatever is by the back door. I know, because I did for years. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Soles worn smooth
Every wet leaf a worry
Feet sliding about inside
Aching by the last mile
At the back, watching my feet
A deep, studded tread
Feet feeling planted on muddy paths
A padded collar that holds the ankle
A thick, springy sole
Up with the others, looking at the view
About the price
The Orthowalk is £39.95 at the moment. It was £80.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with the autumn sale on the middle sizes are going first, and once this batch has gone it can be a long wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and after weeks of Thursday walks, I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered a pair for Sue as well. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
If you are the one at the back of the walk with your eyes on the path, I would start here, and I would start before the paths get any muddier. Not because you need new shoes, but because you deserve to be up front with your friends, looking at the hills. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
ORTHOWALK | Walking Shoe
- A deep, grippy studded rubber tread
- A thick, soft, springy sole
- Padded ankle collar and tongue
- Lace-up through metal hooks, so you can adjust the fit
- Little mesh panels to let the air in
- Grey, brown or black, UK 4 to UK 9
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now, half price. The middle sizes are going first.