So, I decided I needed to buy a new pair of shoes. I've got a pair of black Sketchers Shape-Ups, which were podiatrist-recommended. While I thought those shoes felt great, they weren't that durable. So, I hit the Internets to do some research.
My major hobby is categorizing saxophones. Most companies that make saxophones have no more than three models: beginner, intermediate, and professional. Even if they weren't called that, you'd know which one was the pro model by the price. That's not the case with shoes (or with some current saxophone manufacturers. I think Yamaha has a line-up of eight or nine horns). You have to start with what activity you want to do in those shoes, then you might want some feature, like slip-resistant or waterproof. Then you need to find out if the shoe is available in your size. Then you can choose your width. Oh. Can't forget about the colors! Hey, do ya want Velcro or laces? And on and on.
What I eventually did was to do a Google search for "most comfortable shoes." If I could get steel toe, waterproof, and slip-resistant, that'd be a bonus. Anyhow, my Googling led me back to Reddit.com, which is a sprawling forum of forums where mostly any topic is discussed. I initially got a brand name to look at. Grand. They make about 50 shoe models. I searched harder and eventually found a model name that a few folks really liked. Hey, if I want to spend $40 more, I can get waterproof ... but none of the other things. After another half-hour or so, I got a second make & model to look at -- and the second one has all the other extras I wanted, but was also a lot more. So, I looked both of the shoes up on Amazon.com. The first shoe had about 1000 4-star reviews. The second only had about 200. I went with the first shoe. Hey, Amazon has easy exchanges, so if I don't like 'em, I'll exchange and get the other shoe.
It's pretty easy to relate that experience with buying most any musical instrument. That's one of the reasons why I try not to recommend a lot of older horns, especially if they don't have model names stamped on the bell or body. Same thing with mouthpieces.
Just an observation.
My major hobby is categorizing saxophones. Most companies that make saxophones have no more than three models: beginner, intermediate, and professional. Even if they weren't called that, you'd know which one was the pro model by the price. That's not the case with shoes (or with some current saxophone manufacturers. I think Yamaha has a line-up of eight or nine horns). You have to start with what activity you want to do in those shoes, then you might want some feature, like slip-resistant or waterproof. Then you need to find out if the shoe is available in your size. Then you can choose your width. Oh. Can't forget about the colors! Hey, do ya want Velcro or laces? And on and on.
What I eventually did was to do a Google search for "most comfortable shoes." If I could get steel toe, waterproof, and slip-resistant, that'd be a bonus. Anyhow, my Googling led me back to Reddit.com, which is a sprawling forum of forums where mostly any topic is discussed. I initially got a brand name to look at. Grand. They make about 50 shoe models. I searched harder and eventually found a model name that a few folks really liked. Hey, if I want to spend $40 more, I can get waterproof ... but none of the other things. After another half-hour or so, I got a second make & model to look at -- and the second one has all the other extras I wanted, but was also a lot more. So, I looked both of the shoes up on Amazon.com. The first shoe had about 1000 4-star reviews. The second only had about 200. I went with the first shoe. Hey, Amazon has easy exchanges, so if I don't like 'em, I'll exchange and get the other shoe.
It's pretty easy to relate that experience with buying most any musical instrument. That's one of the reasons why I try not to recommend a lot of older horns, especially if they don't have model names stamped on the bell or body. Same thing with mouthpieces.
Just an observation.
. (And you can't return 'em if you don't like 'em. That's the main reason I didn't try eBay. Well, there's also the, "They're someone's used shoes. Ewww.")
