One of the main things you should have in mind when purchasing shoe orthotics is being more comfortable while wearing your shoes than you were before you bought them. Some of the best features to look for that offer the most comfortable wear are:

Dual-Layer Cushioning: Designed to provide targeted pressure relief for your feet that helps to give you great comfort during any of your athletic activities; as well as, when you’re standing or walking for long periods.

Gel Padding: Gel padding provides an excellent amount of cushioning that reduces any pain or strain you may currently feel when you take a step. Gel padding is a great feature that will keep your feet feeling great all day long, so you won’t have to worry about sore or achy feet.

Metatarsal Pad: The metatarsal pad redistributes the weight and pressure on your feet; helping ease symptoms of common foot problems, such as plantar fasciitis.

Memory Foam: Memory foam would be something to search for if you desire a unique comfort for your feet. The memory foam molds itself to the contours of your foot when you step down on it. The molding to the shape of your feet helps to give you the best comfort that’s specifically tailored to you.

A lot of orthotics are designed to give full-length cushioning, but some focus on providing cushioning to certain parts of the foot, such as the forefoot or heel. It’s best to look for shoe insoles that are specific to the area of the foot where you most often experience pain or discomfort, as they will be more suitable for your needs. Something else you might not be familiar with is the heel cradle feature with some shoe orthotics. The heel cradle is great for cushioning your heel by helping your foot absorb those impacts in your steps; making for an easier time walking around.

The material can, also, play a role in the important comfort you’re looking for with your orthotics. Orthotics made with material such as pure cotton terry with padded latex, which we know how incredibly soft cotton can be, is an example of the kind of softness you can get that’ll feel great on your feet. Also, shoe innersoles, such as orthotics, make their inserts with material fabric specifically to benefit medical professionals who have long work hours on their feet. Lastly, any insole that’s said to have durable construction is, also, a great sign that it will give you maximum comfort for your everyday needs.

Something else to look out for is whether or not the orthotic has a break-in period associated with it. Some orthotics may take as long as two weeks to break in, and this is an important factor when considering your purchase. If you are heading out on vacation and place one of these inserts into your footwear, there’s a good chance your vacation will be spent with moans of foot pain. You don’t want to spend your time breaking in your orthotics, instead of enjoying the day, as it were. So, it is vital to watch out for break-in periods associated with your inserts.

Sometimes the shoes you wear, such as sandals or flip-flops, don’t give you the necessary support that your foot needs, in order to avoid feeling strain and soreness. Failure to get that arch support and foot support, in general, can lead to a number of foot problems, such as foot calluses and muscle spasms. An anatomical footbed can be a great place to start, as it’s designed to support the natural shape of a human foot and, also, helps to center your heels with each step that you take. Other great shoe orthotics are ones that can adapt to all foot shapes to give the best support.

There are different types of arch support you can look for with your orthotics that can work for your specific needs, for example:

High Arches: If you have a high arch, most of your weight goes on your heel which may be where you feel most of your foot pain. The orthotics that highlight being high-arched will be best for giving you that necessary foot support.

Low Arch: Low arches require solid stability which is why individuals with this type of arch should look for an orthotic with firm cushioning to help stabilize the foot.

Unsure: If you’re not too sure whether the arches in your feet are too high or too low, then you should opt for finding shoe orthotics featuring a neutral arch design. Inserts designed in this way are, generally, able to fit most foot types and give you all the adequate support you need. You can, also, keep an eye out for the semi-rigid arch support feature, which is designed to provide maximum stability to your feet.

An arch shell is another great feature you can find for adding stability to your steps. It helps to give you more effective motion control, along with some better side-to-side stability and perhaps a great feature to have in your next purchase if you’re an athlete or a dancer.

With orthotics adding to the density and mass inside of your shoe, there’s a concern for heat increasing inside; thereby, causing sweating, odor, and unfortunately creating a breeding ground for bacteria and infections. It’s important your footwear insert can provide air circulation to help keep things cool inside. One feature that would help you would be the perforation feature. Similarly, the way they work with shoes, these openings allow for air to flow through the insole to decrease the temperature inside. Pay attention if any footwear orthotic you see highlights their cover or fabric as being designed to keep your feet cool.

There are a lot of features you can find to help control any potential odors that develop in your shoe. The first one worth mentioning is active carbon fiber. An insert with that particular material has it just for the sole purpose of minimizing odor. Another feature you can look out for is a Silpure antimicrobial, which in addition to controlling odor, can help to prevent blisters, too. With sweat being the main culprit of odor, you want to find something in an orthotic that can reduce that. A great find would be an insert that has a built-in moisture management treatment, which will reduce moisture in the shoe and, thus, reduce odor.

As mentioned earlier in this specific criteria, heat buildup in a shoe can be a breeding ground for bacteria. An insole that features anti-bacterial coating will keep the bacteria at bay and help maintain the health of your feet.

We all know how hard it can be sometimes to find the perfect pair of shoes that we not only love, but that also fit snugly and comfortably. With so many styles, brands, colors and models, how can one compare hundreds of supposed “size 10s”?

To assess for trueness-to-size, we considered the opinions of thousands of wearers from across the globe to find out the answer to the ultimate question: do these 10s fit like a 10? While some things can give you a hint as to whether they will fit true, small or large; like brand name, shoe type and year of make; we believe that the opinion of buyers cannot be wrong. If they say the shoe doesn’t fit the way it’s supposed to, then you won’t find it in our 10-best list.

You will find that a pair of shoes or boots or sandals that score high on this metric tend to experience a trueness-to-size that was verified by our large community of sampled buyers. Just don’t forget to take into account the factors above to also make sure your favorite pair will fit you perfectly.