It's good to walk a mile in another person's shoes, because then you'll be a mile away and have their shoes.

September 7, 2008 8:52 PM

What can I do to repair the heel padding inside my shoe?

I'm a guy, and a cheap, lazy one at that, so I have one pair of tennis shoes for everything: work, exercise, errands. What's worse, I treat them like crap. I tend to wear them like slippers, pulling them off and putting them on without bothering to tie the laces.

Naturally, this has not been good to my shoes. In the three or four months I've owned my current pair, I've rubbed away the padding on the inside of my shoe at the heel. Walking has become rather uncomfortable now that my heel's rubbing against harder fabric. Exercise, which I do several times a week, is worse.

Is there something I can buy or do to cover this hole up or make it less noticeable? I promise to treat my shoes better afterwards.

posted by spamguy to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (5 answers total)

If you are wearing one pair of tennis shoes all day, every day, including for exercise, they probably need to be replaced at least 3-4 times a year in order to maintain proper arch support and cushioning. So the reason they're worn out is that you're due for a new pair.
posted by decathecting at 9:06 PM on September 7, 2008

When this happens to me, I cut a piece of that cheap, adhesive blister-relief moleskin to size and patch it over the shoe itself. I guess you're not really supposed to do that (i.e. put it on the shoe instead of on your foot, but it works for me and covers up the shredded heel parts.
posted by phunniemee at 9:07 PM on September 7, 2008

Cups for heels could be glued in place.
posted by hortense at 9:19 PM on September 7, 2008

THis happened to me, and I also found that moleskin works perfectly. My shoes had worn to the point where a plastic cup in the heel was cutting my feet. After adding two layers of moleskine, I wore them quite comfortably for several months.
posted by sindark at 9:24 PM on September 7, 2008

You can also get insoles such as SuperFeet which I highly recommend.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 1:59 AM on September 8, 2008