Stride Rite Sandal Review
May 30, 2009 by Karen Weideman
Filed under product reviews
One of the best things about blogging is I get to try out some of the latest and greatest products for the family. Today is no exception. I recently received a pair of pink (of course) Lanikai Stride Rite sandals for my daughter and a pair of blue Bondi Stride Rite sandals for my son. There were lots of good things about the shoes that I liked and one major thing that I found lacking, IMHO.
Best parts of the sandals:
• They were easy to get on and off, both for me and her.
• My kids have fat feet so they were easily adjustable over the arch of the foot.
• They were easy to walk in for both the kids and didn’t cause my son to trip. I am presuming that a new walker wouldn’t have a hard time learning in these.
• They seem to wear well as my daughter is so hard on shoes right from the start.
The main issue I had with the sandals:
• I have always heard that you should have an ever so slight arch. These shoes don’t have any arch at all.
I know Stride Rite shoes are more expensive than say Payless shoes. But when they run good 50% off sales, they are more than worth it. My kids get hand-me-downs a lot and it seems that Stride Rite shoes are the best for wear and tear so the money is well worth it most of the time. You can also get them on Ebay. But these days the debate is this … Do we support our stores that run good sales to keep others in a job or do we do everything second had? What do you think?
images from stride rite
Yes, Stride Rite shoes are nice. They make several styles that are great for little feet. Don’t worry about the arch support. All of the research I have done, says the best way to build a healthy arch is by strengthening the supports (think of a bridge). The supports would be the ball (top) and bottom (heel) of the foot. The best way to do this is by going barefoot or wearing shoes closest to barefoot ie. with lots of flexibility to allow max. motion when walking, running.
I always buy my son’s shoes new on sale. However, when it comes to sandals sometimes I pay full-price for one reason– I want sandals with TOE PROTECTION! My son, at two and a half, with open toes would be a disaster waiting to happen, so I always buy him sandals that protect his little piggies!