I'm a man who adores lightweight comfortable shoes. Being a 69 year old man, I also need my shoes to be supportive. Not in a psychological sense, but as in arch-support.
My newfound shoe love is called Allbirds.
They're made of wool. I'm unsure why they aren't called Allsheep.
The "Our Story" page on the Allbirds website talks a lot about merino wool, and mentions sheep, but there's nothing about birds, except for this about the founders (isn't "bird" Australian slang for "woman"?:
After careers in professional sport and biotech, our wives brought us together. We bonded over birds and beers, and a shared dedication to asking “why” and “what if” a lot. We joined forces to build a brand and business that makes better products in a better way.
Anyway, after I heard about Allbirds I checked out some reviews. See here, here, here, here, and here. They were so positive, if not ecstatic -- most comfortable shoes ever! -- I decided to get a pair of both the Runners (laces) and Loungers (no laces).
Great decision. I've worn them every day for several weeks, the Runners outside and the Loungers inside our home. Here's my happy feet.
Allbirds Runners
Allbirds Loungers
You'll see a touch of blue in the right Lounger shoe.
Even though the Allbirds were very comfortable with the stock insert, I put some Neutral Core Sport inserts from the Walking Company in both pairs, which made them even more comfortable, in my highly personal opinion.
I can truly say, along with others, that these are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. They make my feet smile. It's partly the soft wool, but the soles also play a large part. They're flexible, yet still supportive.
I've been wearing Abeo Lite shoes from the Walking Company because I can't stand heavy shoes. Well, on the lightness front the Allbirds Lounger beats Abeo Lite, while the Allbirds Runner is just a touch heavier. Here's the tale of the scale (with original inserts).
A Walking Company Abeo Lite shoe weighs in at just under 9 ounces.
The Allbirds Runner shoe weights a bit more than 9 1/2 ounces.
And the Allbirds Lounger is a way-light 8 ounces.
Read the reviews I linked to above if you want lots of detail about the marvels of Allbirds shoes from people who know a lot more about shoes than I do.
All I really want to say is what I've already said: I love Allbirds shoes. They're super comfortable.
Plus, I've gotten some great comments on them from friends who like both how they look and how they feel. My shoes have gotten patted a lot.
Lastly, Allbirds come in some creative packaging. The shoe box that arrived in the mail didn't need to put into an extra box, because it was its own box. Kind of difficult to describe; easy to see.
Allbirds box, one shoe goes in each side.
Allbirds box folded up
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