Walking shoes with some height

[MeadowGlass]

I've finally managed to get into a daily routine of walking 10,000 steps daily. Sometimes I do two walks of 5,000 steps, sometimes I do one walk, but for the past 3 months I've done it pretty much every day and what a difference it's made to my fitness and mental health!!

Now that it's raining so much, I want to continue doing it safely, so I am looking for suitable walking shoes. Problem is, all the shoes I've tried so far are so flat that the trousers I've spent ages sourcing (and to huge cost) drag on the floor. This is because I'm a shortie, so even once I get the petite option, I need a stack height of at least 2". The trousers are of a material that cannot really be taken up, plus I don't want to have to do that anyway as they won't look right with other boots/trainers I have (which are not specifically walking boots and wouldn't be ideal for muddy terrain).

So anyway, the chunkiest I've found is the Merrell Moab Speed 2
but when I look at the spec, the height is only 34-24mm, so that won't be enough. I'd be grateful to hear of other recommendations you may have. Cheers!

Can you take your trousers in a backpack, wear leggings and change when you get there?

@Spomb Nope
Just hoping for suggestions on walking shoes that offer a 2" stack heel min, not other creative solutions to my plight 😁

Chunky doc martins?

2 inches is quite a lot, I doubt you'd find any proper walking shoes with that much of a lift. I need shoes that aren't completely flat (so converses don't work for me but I don't need 2 inches) so have tried on lots of walking shoes to find ones which work for me and haven't personally come across any that high. Are these specific walking or sports trousers you've bought hence wanting to wear them while walking?

laundry peg?

You can get waterproof gaiters, they cover the bottom half of your legs

2inches is loads and walking boots are designed to aid walking and balance the foot, which I can't imagine a platform sole will do tbh. Although walking boots do tend to be chunkier than the trainer style walking shoes.

Can you not just roll your trousers up?
Or buy a "winter" pair of trousers at the right length to wear with proper walking boots?

Walking shoes are designed to be stable. Unnecessary height reduces the stability, so no, I don't think you'll find shoes specifically designed for walking that are also as high as you want. You will probably need to look for non-walking shoes that are still comfortable enough to walk in, try different brands of chunky soled trainers etc. Unless you are going off road and doing technical terrains you probably don't need the grip and support of a specific walking shoe and if you are doing those kinds of walks I'd prioritise proper footwear over preserving your trouser hems!

Could you stuff your long trousers into your socks and then potentially into your boots as well?

I have knee-high Le Chameau wellies to which I've added an insole and walk many miles with the dog all winter - I stuff my trousers into my socks and then the whole thing goes into my wellies.

Sorel & Hoka both have quite spongey thick soles, anything from them?

I know you said that you didnt want other solutions but surely the way round this is to wear suitable trousers. Ive been trying to walk and I wear jogging bottoms, but I do go home and change. I try to walk to work and my work trousers are ankle grazers so nothing too long either way.

And can I just ask how you do your main walk becuase 10k steps is 5 miles? Thats a long walk!

I really struggle to get over 6k steps in (genuine steps, not the watch recorded steps, I ignore those to be honest, it thinks Im doing steps when Im using a dustpan and brush for example)

And can I just ask how you do your main walk becuase 10k steps is 5 miles? Thats a long walk!
I don't think it's that far. For me 10,000 steps is 7km which is just over 4 miles. I find that easy to do on work days as I walk to work (40 minutes away) and back. Harder on days I work from home but I manage to do it if I split it up e.g. I did 7,000 steps today before logging on at 9am and can do a shorter walk later.

I know you said that you didn’t want other solutions but surely the way round this is to wear suitable trousers.

This.

Two inch high shoes will not be suitable for long distance walking. It really doesn’t matter that you’ve invested in a certain type of trouser. You can’t change the fact that they’re incompatible with your chosen activity!

@soupfiend, I don't find it hard at all, it's 1.5hours of my day. No more. I listen to podcasts related to my work, or audiobooks, and I love it. A lot of friends have asked to come with but for me this is my favourite time of the day and I get a lot out of it. It helps that my DC are older teens now so I can leave them. My work patterns also work well for me.

It massively depends on your stride.

I am 5ft6 and have a big stride. So I need about 5miles for 10k.

But if I walk slowly with DH and the dogs, I get an extra 1000 steps on the same route.

What shoes are you currently wearing that have a 2 inch rise?

Surely all trainers are similar to walking shoes so I'm wondering what you wear now that looks normal with the walking trousers you have invested in but aren't a trainer style

The trousers are of a material that cannot really be taken up, plus I don't want to have to do that anyway as they won't look right with other boots/trainers
So you are currently wearing trainers and boots.
What trainers are you wearing that have more than 2 inches? And as for boots, why can't you wear the boots in winter? Surely boots are perfect for winter assuming they aren't delicate high heeled evening boots 🫤

Skechers Max Cushioning Elite SR

Well its generally understood that 2k steps is one mile (a thousand double steps, roman, clue is in the name) (although short legged people like me might do more steps to the mile) but even over 4 miles is a lot of time in one go, I just wonder where people find the time. It takes me an hour to do 3 miles, which is 6k steps

Like you say its easier when I can walk to work but I cant always do that

Yes I think work is the key in terms of any exercise time. Or being able to walk to work.

Yes, it is definitely easier to clock up the steps if you are using your walking to actually get somewhere you need to be! The days I fail are because I can only do short walks near my flat and tbh that is a bit boring.

https://www.russellandbromley.co.uk/park-way/105148?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwooq3BhB3EiwAYqYoEiUI155VsmEyZQa_pzyV8GA-gzFNZqSTE1HweVul9bZboAFyEuiZXRoC0T4QAvD_BwE

Could you not just spray your Skechers with some serious waterproofing stuff? I've done that with some rather fave suede Birks and they withstand amazing amounts of rain now. Are yours black? Would seem the easiest option if you are used to them and they suit your gait and the general terrain.

I made the mistake of getting trainers or shoes with a platform and beware of what I found happened to me - if the trainer is on too much of a slope, with your toes pointing downwards, this put continual pressure on my toenails and the 2 big ones started hurting. I carried on wearing the trainers anyway it got worse and both my toenails fell off! I went to see a podiatrist and they told me I had lifted both the nails off the beds. They did grow back but I don’t wear those now.

I can walk 1 mile in 14 minutes so it takes me about 1 hour to do 4 miles. I don’t usually do that in one go I often do them in half an hour blocks I might get up at 6am and do 30 mins of a route which I know is exactly 2 miles then another 30 after work. 10,000 steps for me is about 5 miles yeah. I read somewhere that the benefits of walking (and exercise generally) do not actually continue to increase much after 30 minutes so you don’t always get much benefit of the extra time you do even in the gym so I split mine in halves

Hoka have a similar thickness to your current shoes. They have gortex options which are waterproof. They also have trail shoes which have grip.