I own a lot of trainers, but I have narrow feet, so finding a narrower-fit shoe always appeals, as narrow-fit, quality trainers seem hard to find. At the time of purchase, these were £50. They look to be decent quality, and I have no problems with the manufacturing at all. Everything is well stitched, the sole seems well-attached. The outer design focuses around a neoprene sock, which you can slip your foot into, with the help of a pull tab if necessary. The laces are entirely pointless for me. Adjust them to the correct width to get your foot in, and then you're set for life. The sock does extend quite a way up the back of the ankle. I did worry that it would rub the back of my leg, but it has not so far. My suspicion would be that if your feet are not easily manoeuvrable, you might struggle to get these on, because the opening is not that wide, and not that stretchy. The product description boasts "Reflective elements", but they are really minimal, and limited to the brand name stitched onto the tongue of the shoe. I had hoped that the grey coloured areas on the shoe's outer were reflective, but they're not. If you're looking for something to offer safety when running or walking the dog, these are not going to do that. Now, let's move on to the main gripe I, and many others, have with this shoe. It is narrow. The reason it's narrow, in my opinion, is that Ecco have focused way too much on arch support here, to the exclusion of everything else. There is a visible raised lump in the footbed area to support your arch. Yes, this does offer arch support. I don't think it's extreme arch support at all, and it certainly helps lift the arch. However, what they've not done to compensate for raising the foot's level is to increase the height of the shoe, so the arch area of your foot is pushed up against the underside of the laces. That's probably why people are finding it so narrow. For me with my narrow feet, it's tolerable, but if you had anything wider than that, I imagine this would be incredibly uncomfortable. This intense focus on arch support has also led the designers to neglect comfort elsewhere. Under the toes and the heel, the footbed is hard. This from someone who likes her Salomon shoes, with a hard ride to them, so I know a hard footbed when I see it. Okay, you'd say - just put an insole in. Which I would ordinarily do, but because the arch support has messed with the shape of the shoe's footbed so much, finding an insole to fit is a nightmare. Let's add to that the extra height which a suitably cushioned insole needs, and your poor foot is shoved even higher up against the underside of the shoelaces. So, in summary then, a well-designed shoe, as long as you have a narrow foot in need of arch support, and you're not too fussed about cushioning underfoot. Is there that big a market out there? It could have been open to a lot more consumers if a little more thought had just gone into the design!
