The annual search for impossible shoes begins….

[CaptainEmergency]

Looking for Velcro close shoes with rubber bumper toes in adult size 6 / 6.5.

My son is 9, very tall and with the above shoe size. He has ASD and learning disability and tends to W-sit at school and crawl around in the playground. He will wear through the toes of non-rubber toes in 1 day! We have been sticking shoe-repair rubber onto toes of regular trainers and shoes but it’s so tricky to do and ugly looking.

We have also had lace up bumper shoes and replaced laces with elastic but these are so tricky for him to get on and off, even for his staff. Velcro would be so much easier.

Would really love to just buy some canvas bumper shoes with Velcro off the shelf - any ideas please?

(I have already looked at rocket dog and novesta but they don’t have Velcro in larger sizes)

These look pretty sturdy, although I’m not sure they met the toe needs? https://www.pavers.co.uk/products/touch-fasten-trainers-wbins39114-325-253?variant=40804310679637&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhNaz_Yv0hQMVBJFQBh2WvQnHEAQYBSABEgIMl_D_BwE

Alternatively, we’ve had luck with normal trainers with bungee laces.

Would zips rather than Velcro work? If so, M&S do an adaptive range including these. Are they the type of toe you mean?

Thanks, finding Velcro on regular trainers isn’t the problem - it’s the toe which he will wear through! Pavers are nice and sturdy though.

Thanks Headfirst - we’ve got this exact pair already! They are ok for winter but too hot for summer as are made of plastic. But yes, zips are definitely a more manageable option than laces. 💐

These Clarks shoes have a hardened front section I think https://www.clarks.com/en-gb/scape-sky-youth/26145581-p

Sorry, just clicked on some other posters’ links and realised you dont mean school shoes. My ds wear usual trainers in the summer, like this…

https://www.clarks.com/en-gb/award-fly-older/26166939-p
https://www.clarks.com/en-gb/cica-star-flex-youth/26175370-p

My son has the Clarks trainers above and they are really hard wearing. He’s a parkour loving tiptoe walker and they’ve lasted.

Thanks for the links everyone - unfortunately none meet the brief.

I probably didn’t explain well enough - my son will w-sit which puts the top of the toe box onto the ground. When he wiggles and flaps they scrape on the ground. If he crawls along he also scrapes the top of the shoe along the ground. He can wear holes through the top of trainers within 1 school day.

So far full rubber toes are the only things that don’t wear through immediately!
I’m going to look for rubber toe shoes with laces again (which I can get - just wanted some Velcro ones) and swap laces for bungees this time as suggested by a previous poster.

https://www.workwearexpress.com/titan-thunder-unisex-safety-trainer-sbp-?vat=inc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxeyxBhC7ARIsAC7dS38N1a7IVIiHNZEl28ioHrYOPhYpk1TJMv0J1MpMSI1xhHxt6Hykg1AaArQBEALw_wcB#205=787&93=926&fo_c=4025&fo_k=52cd1001ed1719481257aa29fb6e1a69&fo_s=gplauk

Have you tried steel toe capped trainers? These were the only kind of shoes/boots that lasted my brother more than 6 weeks!