Trust me, check some other shoes as well. Your knees deserve all the support. And you deserve some pampering, just try one a few pairs. Depending on your region, i'd recommend something like Salomon, Hooka, Brooks, On or Dynafit, all of them gave more casual stuff next to the super sporty things. And then get a pair of Vans as well!

I've been trying to walk a lot more too, as I've found it's better for my mental as well as physical health.

Have gravitated toward "trail" shoes, for a nice mix of padding and being able to feel the ground.

Current pair are these: https://www.newbalance.com/pd/dynasoft-nitrel-v6-gore-tex-/MTNTRGV6-47467.html

I also hate buying shoes (which is its own whole thing), but have found the people in the sports stores also seem to be monumentally less interested in bugging you compared to a shoe store, so can be left in peace to try some things.

Best of luck on the hunt!

(also if I did my maths right, 5 days * 4.5 miles between Jan 2 and today is damn near 1000km / 600mi, so congrats on that!)

If you want to stick with Vans, they make versions of most of their classic shoe styles with a "pop-cush" insole that's pretty springy and adds a lot of shock absorption. I also really like the less structured feel of the classic Vans, but the difference in how my middle aged joints feel with the extra shock absorption is totally worth not being able to feel quite as much of the ground.

I had vans slipons. Love em But my back doesn't. Walking a lot in them really makes you feel the impacts.

If you don't want walking or running shoes, proper skate vans have better cushioning

@the_abecedarian@piefed.social

Padded shoes are worse for your joints. This is a common misconception from poor studies of 10+ years ago. You're better off with thinner soles to build bone density and strengthen tendons.

That being said, better shoes are still a thing. Shoes made for walking and running, like zero drop Altras, may be a good transition from the Vans.

In any event, congrats on the extra years of life!

Ergonomics is complicated, sometimes it can be hard to draw the line between what's a necessary support and what's an enabling crutch.

barefoot or minimal shoes require successfully adapting your foot strike, which is not something everyone does successfully or consistently. Even then, most ppl will want more toe box width than Vans provide, unless they have narrow feet.

How the hell are your toes doing that? I can land on the ball of my foot and roll back a bit to land on my heels but you've completely lost me with the landing on toes and absorbing the shock.

My understanding is the ball of your foot (the part you would spin on just behind the toes) is well connected to the muscles and can act as a spring and a shock absorber. The toes are there for balancing and spreading the weight around. The ball of the foot is usually the first part of my soles to wear out.

My advice to OP is to look for a shoe they find comfortable but with a bit more sole than vans so they can take a better beating on walks.