Walking Shoes

What is on my mind today? Feet. Specifically my feet. Last summer when I went to Honolulu I developed a blister at the base of the toenail on my big toe. The blister went under the nail and caused the nail to puff up. It was very frightening. I went to the emergency room of a Honolulu hospital. The admitting nurse said she had never seen anything like it. The doctor burned a hole in the toenail and drained the fluid. The trip to the emergency room cost me $326. None of my $250 deductible was paid at the time. I guess I can rationalize the cost and say the emergency room treatment cost me $76, but that is money I would rather have spent on fun things. I was told to rest and avoid going in the ocean in order to avoid infection. I was very unhappy because I wanted to be out with my new camera taking lots of photos. Fortunately my hotel had a very good view of the Waikiki marina, and I had a good book to read. Restaurants were close to the hotel so I was able to walk to them without too much difficulty.

Soon I am going to Savannah and Charleston. The guide books say that the best way to see the historic districts of both cities is by walking. I am trying to analyze just what went wrong in Honolulu so it does not happen again. On the trip I wore my New Balance WW841WG women's walking shoes pictured at left. I wore medium-weight quarter socks with the shoes. The shoes are very comfortable. I cannot find any way the shoe put any pressure on the toe or caused rubbing. I wore the shoes on the long flight to Honolulu because the shoes are rather heavy, and I wanted to make sure that my checked bag stayed under the 50 pound limit. The temperature in Honolulu was in the upper 80's. I did much more walking than I am used to. I have concluded that the reason that the blister developed was that my feet overheated.

Last fall I started looking for new walking shoes. I really like the New Balance 841's and found that New Balance had a new model, WW842WG, pictured at left. I bought a pair of them. The main difference between the 842 and the 841 is that the 842 has larger areas of mesh. It makes me wonder if New Balance is addressing the overheating problem and trying to give the feet more ventilation. I found one more significant difference between the shoes. The 841 was made in China and the 842 is made in the United States. New Balance had a tag attached to the shoes that said they were bringing manufacturing back to the United States. Since 1995 they have increased their manufacturing jobs in the United States by 65%. I say kudos to New Balance. I will wear my 842's on the trip and will be careful to pace myself and make sure my feet do not overheat.

Even thought I got my 842's last fall I have not worn them except to try them on. I was looking at shoes on the web and found that New Balance now has a WW843WG. I have no idea what improvements have been made in the 843. Technology and marketing keep changing. My 842's will probably last until there is an 844 or 845.