shoe trees for running shoes?

[housemaidsknee]

just got back from the gym and was putting in shoe trees in my work shoes. thought crossed my mind - why not put in shoe trees in the running shoes as well. i know they dont need the stretching out and all - but i love the way the cedar makes my shoes smell. is there any reason i should not put shoe trees in my sports shoes?

 

[johnnynorman3]

No. you could just use cedar blocks though, if you just want the smell. That might be cheaper I guess.

 

[dah328]

There are deoderant sprays and the like designed specifically for athletic shoes. They probably work a lot better with the synthetic materials in a running shoe than a cedar shoe tree would.

dan

 

[fkl118]

You might consider having little canisters of activated charcoal in your gym bag. They're maybe an inch long and have perforated sides. Ask your local pharmacist; medications are often shipped with these things and then are just thrown out. They absorb odours really well.

 

[housemaidsknee]

activated charcoal - hmmmmmm.. gotta try that. baking soda in those freezer sachets works too. i just like the aroma of cedar and might give it a shot - the cost of one pair of wooldore shoe trees from tjmaxx ($10) is bearable for an experiment. will report how it goes.

 

[ernest]

just got back from the gym and was putting in shoe trees in my work shoes.  thought crossed my mind - why not put in shoe trees in the running shoes as well.  i know they dont need the stretching out and all - but i love the way the cedar makes my shoes smell.   is there any reason i should not put shoe trees in my sports shoes?

I started to do that a week ago to see if it will change something on the wrinkles of my sneakers

 

[drljva]

just got back from the gym and was putting in shoe trees in my work shoes.  thought crossed my mind - why not put in shoe trees in the running shoes as well.  i know they dont need the stretching out and all - but i love the way the cedar makes my shoes smell.   is there any reason i should not put shoe trees in my sports shoes?

I've done it once or twice, but have pretty much abandoned the practice. Best advice I've gotten about athletic shoes is to always buy 2 or 3 of the same pair. Just like dress shoes, gives the shoe time to air-out between each use...

JV

 

[Drinkwaters]

I use cedar trees in my sneakers especially after a sweaty workout. Shoe trees are for wicking moisture, specifically sweat which contains salt and you know what salt will do to a car bumper. Use shoe trees in every shoe, sneaker, golf shoe etc. they will last longer.

 

[truthhurts]

Running shoes last for 300km only so the cushioning will wear out long before the outer even looks a little tarnished or starts to develop permanent odour. If your running shoes really start to smell then you're keeping them too long and doing damage to your joints.

 

[nightowl6261a]

I started to do that a week ago to see if it will change something on the wrinkles of my sneakers

The wrinkles, ernest....you have got to get a job...that is just too much to have to worry about...

housemaiden...at a point a few years ago, there was avaialble a special shoe tree developed for athletic shoes, they were a specially developed bacteria cutting plastic that did work, i am not sure if they still exsist...but, I would not use a cedar tree, you want the bacteria to die, and in the sneaker, if made of nylon and/or canvas, the bacteria will grow outward rather than just be absorbed into the wood...as suggested before, try some sprays.

 

[mgavriel]

I was applying Chelsea leather food to my adidas copa mundial soccer cleats yesterday and had a similar "I use shoe trees for my dress shoes, why not my cleats/sneakers?" moment.

For years, I've even stuffed a couple of sheets of Bounty paper towels inside each boot to absorb sweat after I play without it ever occurring to me that a shoe tree might be better. (From what I understand and have seen, if you don't stuff the cleat to absorb sweat, the sweat causes the kangaroo leather to separate from the bottom of the shoe [sorry don't know the technical word for the "bottom"]). The shoe doesn't fall apart but the separation the sweat allegedly causes leaves enough room for dirt to wedge itself in between the leather and bottom.

Anyway, I'm curious if there's anyone else who wanted to chime in on the shoe trees with sneakers/cleats issue. Before I thought of trying this forum for this question, I searched on the internet for copa mundial shoe trees and sure enough adidas had once made shoe trees for the Copa in honor of the shoe's 25th anniversary w/ the special edition package (see links).

http://www.soccerpro.com/images/0118...25_stretch.jpg

http://www.soccerpro.com/Adidas-Copa...ary-Set-p3188/

Thanks in advance for any input!

Michael

 

[mgavriel]

I had another question come up this morning... and I guess this is admittedly also partly a bump of my previous reply to this aging thread.

At physical therapy this morning, my therapist recommended orthotics (inserts into shoes) to help my sprained ankle heal. Although she had told me before I needed them for my flat feet, I didn't believe her until today - because I always looked at my feet, saw a large arches, and couldn't understand why she insisted I had flat feet. But she proved to me today that though my feet are not "structurally" flat, they are "functionally" flat and if you see my natural walking/running motions she's right. I guess it took a badly sprained ankle to bring that problem out after 23 years on this planet... in any event...

I purchased one pair of orthotics (it arrives sometime this week). I told her that since I never wear any one pair of shoes two days in a row (usually not more than once max twice a week for any of my Allen Edmond's), I would assume I'd need multiple pairs of orthotics to rotate them just as I do my shoes. (I will be wearing the orthotics all the time, not just for soccer). She said that typically people just go through one pair at time, wear them out, and order new ones. She said the orthotics are breathable and do not hold on to sweat significantly.

Does anyone buy this? Or (once I make sure I really do like the orthotics) should I definitely buy a second and third pair of them, so that I can rotate them and not damage my shoe collection... from the Allen Edmonds to the Adidas?

Thanks!!