My Reikers let me down

Yeah, I had that problem as well. Bought some shoes from REI, forgot brand but they were not cheap. I like REI because of the return policy....lifetime! Oh my NO GO. They gave me immediate blisters. I
Bought another pair from a local store and wore them all over the house and on treadmil. So comfy. I was hesitant to wear them outside, wanted to keep them clean. Thank goodness I said heck with it. Oh geez, by mile 3 I was feeling blisters form.
So I ordered like 10 pair from Amazon wardrobe, found a pair of Ecco's I liked so bought them. Well, they left a blister on my heels but were comfy in all other aspects.
I thought maybe it was my socks So I bought some nice wool socks. Nope!
So my solution was to buy what I call "half socks" that are for plantar fasciitis (they go just over the heel). Work great, no more blisters.
I have another pair of Eccos that are great with just socks so you are right on the nose.....the brand actually means nothing!

Try your shoes inside, outside, at the mall, walk the streets, etc!

Btw, we are going to Europe in Sept also. It's coming up fast! Enjoy!!!

The same thing happened to me in May--my 2 pairs of broken-in and trusty Fluevog boots turned on me in Budapest. I ended up buying a pair of Austrian brand Legero sneaker/oxfords (cute, soft yet very supportive, good arch support) and it's sort of funny because I had shoe drama in 2014 and a pair of Legero bought in desperation in Vienna saved that trip--so WHY didn't I bring them or my super-comfy Ecco Soft VII sneakers?! I will never make that mistake again.

As a shoe lover who loves comfort, Eccos work for me lately; not all their styles dit me right. It is definitely about the right fit for your feet. Friends love New Balance. Socks are important too, I use Wright socks, double layer, blister preventing due to the 2 layers. I also travel with thinner Smartwool and a thicker pair of Merino socks from Costco ( likely not 100% merino).

Thank goodness you tried them out pre-trip!

Very odd. Always get blisters with new shoes with no socks, that is the point of wearing them in, so your feet toughen up.

I am not sure I understand the need to go out and buy an expensive “Name Brand” “Walking” shoe for a trip to Europe (hiking the Himalayas...yes). I just wear the same comfortable shoes I wear every day at home. Now I have real trouble finding shoes that fit me correctly (I have square feet) and I wear out even expensive well made shoes in 6-7 months if worn every day. This makes it seem a crazy proposition to buy shoes online (for me).

I have a pair of Sketchers “Relaxed Fit” Memory foam plain black shoes with a decent tread bought at Famous Footwear for about $40. They work great even walking as much as 5 miles or more at a time and a lot of walking every day.

Aarthurperry, I suspect that many women's shoes are constructed more with an eye for fashion than for sturdiness and long-wearing comfort. I can get by with moderately-priced lace-up shoes at home, where I occasionally walk 5 or 6 miles in a day but typically am rather sedentary. Those shoes would not be adequate on a long trip to Europe where I average 6+ miles a day and sometimes hit 10 to 15.

Thank you all for your thoughts.

Libby, September still feels far away for me! I'm trying not to wish away the summer but all I can think about is the trip. I only have two days of vacation booked all summer so its not like I'll get to enjoy July and August all that much. You enjoy your September trip as well. Where are you off to?

Jane and Caro, I didn't get blisters with the new shoes. My feet were just tired and sore at the end of the day. Since that was just work and bowling, I knew that Europe was out of the question.

Aarthurperry, I'm not stuck on brands per se, but since my last few pairs of Reikers were outstanding, I assumed that I should stick with what works. Next time I'll look less for any one brand and more for comfort (and yes, style -- if one can have any style in a hiker/athletic shoe). You mention Sketchers works for you -- I've never met a Sketcher that I can bear having on my feet. Two minutes in the shoe shop is my max. Just don't work for me.

Andrea,
We are going to Bavaria for 3 weeks and stopping in Venice for 2 days on the way home! It will be my first time overseas so I am chomping at the bit to go.
We plan on climbing the Zugspitze on our anniversary, something I've always wanted to do; we've got a few other things planned, other than that, we are going to "wing it", relax and go with the flow.
How about you????

I have a perfect pair of Merrell hiking shoes. I left them at home on our last trip, which was to Spain - I thought they were too heavy. Instead, I brought two pairs of Clark's shoes - one walking shoe, and the other a very comfortable "Mary Jane" shoe with a wide Velcro strap - the shoes I wore on our flights.

Unfortunately, I wore the Mary Janes on our Priorat Wine Country tour (which was awesome). There was a short hike down a washed out dirt road to a vineyard. This would have been so easy in the Merrells who stayed home; it would have been okay in the walking shoes that were relaxing at the hotel. But it was a very stressful 30 minutes in shoes that were perfect for long walks on city sidewalks.

At the end of the day, it was a very stressful 30 minutes out of a damn near perfect 16 days in Spain. If I had it to do over again, I would still leave the hiking shoes at home and wear the walkers instead of the Mary Janes on the Priorat tour.

Libby, sounds like a wonderful first time to Europe. Our route (naming places that we sleep) is :

Strasbourg ~ Colmar ~ Mürren ~ Milan ~ Monterosso ~ Florence. While we've been to both France and Italy twice, all locations on this trip are new to us. Hope our shoes work out for both of us!

On my last trip, my Aetrex were incredible; I brought 2 pairs [already broken-in.] Aetrex makes orthotics , also, and in their shoes additional arch support seems to be added. I don't really need extra arch support, but I have found that this arch support keeps my foot from sliding around in the shoe on uneven surfaces [cobblestones] and hills. You can order directly from Aetrex, and they have a great return policy.