Product review: The best shoes to wear after a long walk

When you get back to camp from a long walk, and you have had a pint in the pub when you finished your route, perhaps, what’s the first thing you want to do to recover?

Have a shower? Warm up? Dry off? Get your boots off? Put on some recovery shoes?

For me, I want to get my walking boots off and let my feet recover by putting on some shoes which are gentler on my tootsies. Don’t get me wrong. My walking boots might be old and as waterproof as a paper bag. But, they are comfortable.

Nevertheless, after 10 to 20 miles across the Peak District or the Yorkshire Dales, I like to get my boots off. Not only my boots, I want to get my walking socks off and get some air to my feet. That feeling of air cooling off your tired feet is wonderful and it’s a big relief after the necessary restrictions of my boots.

What to wear on your feet in the campsite?

What next? You need something on your feet if you walk to do your ablutions and have a hot shower. What do you wear? Some trail shoes? A pair of trainers? Or, some flip flops? Everyone has their preference.

But, you might not have a pair of trail shoes. You have only just taken off your boots and you don’t like the thought of wearing your trainers. Flip flops are fine in the shower but I find they slip off too easily walking across a campsite.

What’s the solution? You need something comfortable to help your feet recover from the day’s rigours. You need something you can wear in the shower so you don’t pick up any ‘nasties’. You need to wear shoes that will stay on your feet when you walk back to your tent/caravan.

Recovery shoes?

That’s where the OOFOS recovery shoes fit into the footwear you need to take away with you. I have been wearing a pair of OOFOS OOriginal Sport recovery shoes on and off (no pun intended) for three months and I am impressed. But, not my first reaction.

At first, I was sceptical about the definition of ‘recovery shoes.’ ‘They’re just fancy flip flops, aren’t they?’ I assumed.

No. The OOFOS OOriginal Sport recovery shoes are much more than those silly flip flops people buy at exorbitant prices for their perceived coolness. These are shoes which help you get your sore feet back to normal quickly.

Why?

1. OOFOS recovery shoes are so comfortable, for starters. Slide them onto your feet and they feel like they’ve been tailored made for you. Stand up in them and you feel your feet sink into this soft but supportive place. Walk in them and you feel like you’re walking across a firm memory-foam mattress.
2. They are stable on your feet. The OOriginal Sport versions I have stayed on my feet and don’t slide about when I walk. When I tried on an old pair of flip flops I own, which I thought were comfortable, and walked in them, I realised how loose they were on my feet. They slid left and right when I walked as well as up and down. Comparatively, the OOFOS OOriginal Sport feel as though I have tied them on with shoe laces, they are so stable.
3. The OOFOS recovery shoes are light. Although the shoes look big (I have size 12 feet), they are light. I hardly notice them on my feet when I walk. It’s a delight to wear them.

Do OOFOS recovery shoes help your feet recover?

The point of the OOFOS is they help your feet recover after physical exercise, like running or hiking. I put them to the test after completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in May. It was 24 miles of walking over 11 hours on mixed terrain.

When I got back to our campsite, I donned the OOFOS OORiginal Sport recovery shoes. The shoes lived up to everything I had read about them. My sore feet slid into them and it felt like I was having a spa treatment they were so comfortable, supportive and soothing.

I now understand why OOFOS describe them as ‘recovery shoes.’ They are exactly that: shoes you wear after taking exercise to help you recuperate quickly from a workout. I don’t plan to wear any of those stupid flip flops anymore after wearing some OOFOS.

OOFOS OOriginal Sport Graphite - Price: £48.00
www.oofos.co.uk