RockportMen's Eureka Walking Shoe

At a certain point in life, a man reaches a deeper understanding. A viewpoint that permanently alters his worldview, and makes him question all that came before. This can happen slowly, as experience and knowledge grows, and ultimately crystalizes around a kernel of this new perspective. Or it can happen suddenly, in an epiphany of recognition that forces a foundational frame of reference adjustment. Yesterday I experienced the latter, and I wanted to share it in case any of you have yet to reach a similar point. As enter the fall of life, I feel compelled to offer this new personal world order in the hope that you may benefit longer than I will likely enjoy.While this change thunder-struck me suddenly yesterday, some background will help put the revelation in proper context. It all started with the bankruptcy of Sears. Sears engaged in a foolhardy acquisition strategy during the 1980's of retail and non-retail businesses that would be completely undercut by the digital revolution of the 1990's. The debt accumulated from these various acquisitions would drag on company financial statements for decades as revenues slowly eroded to online shopping alternatives. Finally, in the face of an unmanageable October 2018 debt payment of $134 million, Sears declared Chapter 11. Eddie Lampert made several attempts to secure funding for a reorganization strategy, but they would all ultimately fail. None of this impacted me until the end of 2019 when the last Sears in Jacksonville closed.At that point I had a shoe problem. For decades I had purchased brown four-hole lace-up suede loafers from Sears. They were a store brand that sold for $30 or $40. I had probably purchased a dozen or more pair of these. I would often buy two or three pair at a time so I wouldn't need to return to the store so often as they wore out. But now Sears and my default shoe choice were gone! Panic ensued. I started searching the internet for the manufacturer of this shoe which I had enjoyed for so many years. The hope was that another distribution channel would emerge, or that a transition to online sales could be found. No luck. So at the dawn of COVID-19, I was facing an existential shoe crisis.It was about March 2020 when my last trusty Sears loafers were at end-of-life. Most real world retail was shuttered, and supply chain disruption was in full force. There were no shoes to buy. Finally, a local Rack Room reopened and I scoured the shelves for a suitable replacement. I eventually settled for a deck style shoe that was only mildly stylistically objectionable, but seemed acceptably comfortable as one of the very few models offered in wide width. For nearly two and a half years this daily worn (weekday) pair of shoes sustained me. Last week I was forced back to the retail experience for a hopefully improved selection of casual shoe options.Did I find an improved post-COVID selection? Hell no, I did not! It was WAY worse. There were no wide offerings at all! Three shoe store visits left me cursing the pathetic state of IRL retail, and the stupid business people who were essentially forcing me to shop online. So home to Amazon I went, with the name of an untried shoe brand and model seen in a store. It was a pleasing looking set of footwear that I was going to gamble might be suitable. And the size variety available on Amazon was breathtaking. All the sizes I was familiar with, that were completely missing from any store, were available with a click. I don't know when stores decided that they couldn't offer size selection. They certainly did in the 1970's! How did they lose that ability? Anyway, shoes selected and ordered online with delivery anticipated in a couple days. Fine.Ladies and gentleman, this is it. These Rockport Oxford Eureka Walking Shoes are THE most comfortable shoes I have ever owned...bar none. I am gobsmacked by how comfortable these shoes are. Eureka is right! I think back to pre-Rockport me and shake my head in sorrow. Poor fella. Stuck in a rut of frugally driven brick-and-mortar retail based consumption resulting in the bare minimum of utility. Not even guessing about the possibility that such a paradigm shift could be out there. Who knows what might have been if that version of me had found these shoes earlier? Years of an improved outlook on life is the most obvious missed opportunity. Perhaps he would have turned to philanthropy? Trying to engineer life improvements for those around him in an effort to induce similar outlook-altering reactions in society's less fortunate? I literally skipped around the house yesterday sharing the good news with my family. I haven't skipped since a 1973 visit to Cedar Point with my Aunt Fran. Eureka my friends. Eureka indeed. If you're in need, I beg you to give these shoes a try. If I can convince just one of you, then this lunchtime prose will have been worth it.Edit: Two year update on durability - These spectacular shoes have been part of my workday fit for two years now. No major durability issues to report. The highest wear was on the insole. The soles still have quite a bit of life, and are still well attached to the uppers. One black pair I bought has fully thrown their insoles, and the brown pair have significantly worn insoles. I still feel that this wear pattern is above average compared to my past shoe purchases. So much so, I just ordered another pair of both black and brown Rockport Oxford Eureka Walking Shoes. Love 'em, and looking forward to the fresh kicks!

Why did you pick this product vs others?:I've had this same Rockport walker previously and they finally wore out. These shoes are the most comfortable that I've ever had. A little tip, the insoles slip right out and I replaced them with Dr Scholl's inserts (many options). WOW WOW!! The most comfortable walking shoes ever!!

First thing you do when you get a new pair of shoes? You smell the leather or what is claimed to be leather. Believe me these shoes are not 100% leather from a bovine species. They are synthetic and are man-made leather It says so right on the label on the bottom of the shoe as well as the tongue label. Why do these manufacturers (and Amazon) get away with this advertising charade? Amazon doesn't seem to care one way or the other with their product advertising. Well, I'm likely going to keep them. The picture that is shown is precisely what you get. They look sturdy and they are sturdy. The stitching is good. The tongue is not particularly short or long - it just sort of blends with the shoe. Some people say the tongue is very short and maybe their batch version was that way, but not this one. The insole, like every insole on every shoe I have purchased in the last decade is far from ideal. It's a cheap foam type and only a few mm thick. It won't last very long if you weigh over 150 pounds. I immediately remove it and insert my own gel foam insoles and it improves the comfort level immensely. The Dr Scholl's memory foam might work, but mine are more substantial so that adds at least another 8 or $10 to the original cost. So far as sizing goes, I ordered a 10 wide and that was correct for my foot. My normal dress shoe size is about 9 1/2-10 depending on the manufacturer. I have a couple of pairs that are 10 1/2 and are more comfortable in that style. You're better off if you order above and maybe your usual and then return the one you don't use. I usually give it a little extra, considering the insole replacement that is almost always desired. These shoes fit me nicely even with the replacement insole. I'm going to walk around the house for a few days and keep them clean. I fully expect that my feet will have malodor to them after walking around, especially with the summer months. That's the nature of shoes that aren't made of 100% leather - they cannot breathe and the manufacturers assume most consumer's are ignorant about that. You will likely pay another $20 if it is 100% leather upper. I'll just trade off with some other summer type shoes and stick to my antifungal microsized powder to ward off any foot fungus. The color is pleasant and will match very much any kind of clothing you wear. I'm not hard on shoes so if these last 8 or 10 years as my others have lasted then I'll be happy.UPDATE 4/2: I decided to try the 10 X wide and I'm glad I did. Much more comfortable and the toes like the extrawidth . My rt foot is slightly larger than the other due to venous disease so this extra width helps. I still have some room for my gelfoam insoles if I so choose, but I'll stick with the standard insoles for the moment. Shoes were delivered promptly others to be returned. Easy to order, easy to return. Nice looking and sturdy shoes for walking and errands. Promotional material should say upfront leather - man-made or PU (polyurethane, not smelly, but it might if I wear them too long).

I got these for my husband and he uses them as his "dressy" shoes. He says that they are a little heavy, but comfortable with decent tread. They are on the narrow side so he advises to get the wider width. They were good to go shopping in, but he wouldn't advise you to wear them for unpaved hikes. He also says that they are very warm, as he could only wear thin dress socks with them. He went to a burial in them, and as it was drizzling rain and on a steep hillside, he had no issues with slipping or getting his feet wet. It had been raining quite heavily earlier in the day, so there were puddles where we parked. His heel spurs didn't give him trouble wearing them.