Cheap Shoe Review: Dr. Scholl's Relay Men's Athletic Shoe

If you grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, you may be tormented by the stigma associated with going to school in "Kmart Shoes"? It's probably kept you from buying any shoes at a Big Box Retailer. But, with a wounded economy and a tight budget, you now face the dilemma of whether to save a little money on shoes by shopping at a retailer like Walmart. Would people in your neighborhood stop and stare? Would the point you out on the street and stop to offer you money and food? I recently donned some shoes from Walmart to find out. I bought a pair of Dr. Scholl's "Relay" athletic shoes from Walmart for only $28 and pressed them into dog walking duty.

According to the box, Dr. Scholl's "Relay" athletic shoes offer a variety of features to help them provide comfort and support at a low price point. These shoes offer Dr. Scholl's Air Pillo Gel Insole System, a shock reducation system, a stability bridge for better arch support, an EVA midsole to cradle the foot, and flex grooves to add flexibility to the non-marking soles. For shoes, the Dr. Scholl's brand is handled by the Brown Shoe Company of St. Louis, Missouri. They operate the 1100 store Famous Footwear chain and Shoes.com. They own the Buster Brown, Naturalizer, LifeStride, Via Spiga, Nickels Soft, and Connie shoe brands. Like most shoes these days, Dr. Scholl's shoes are made in China.

Dr. Scholl's Relay athletic shoes are attractively styled in highly visible silver with a combination of leather and man-made material in the shoe body. Leather appears to be the heel area, around the eyelets, in sidewall bands securing the eyelet area to the base of the shoe and in the styling stripe. The shoe material is light weight and breathable. The rear third of the shoe is snug and comfortably enveloping while the front two thirds of the shoe appear to be lightweight and nearly translucent. The body of the shoe is composed of a lightweight material under a broad mesh. The breathable construction of this shoe should be a great help in the hot and humid summer atmosphere of northern Florida.

While I usually look for a rather mundane white athletic shoe, these shoes should meet the styling expectations that most people have for contemporary athletic shoes. I felt like a bit of a superhero putting on a costume as I put on the bright silver shoes. Of course, I'm a 43-year old going on 10. I did appreciate that these Dr. Scholl's shoes would be highly visible at night and that is a big plus for any dog walking shoe.

The proof of any shoe is in the wearing. I found that a size 12 Dr. Scholl's shoe fit without being too tight. When your dog has to go out, it's nice to have a shoe that will be easy to slip on. In loose socks, I found that my foot could slide a bit inside the shoe. The heel was very well padded for a discount store shoe. Despite the "stability bridge," I felt that there could have been a bit more arch support since this is an athletic shoe. A softer footbed towards the ball of the foot would also make these shoes more competitive with major brands like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok. However, the Dr. Scholl's "Relay" athletic shoe was comfortable for one late night walk around the block. On another walk, there was a bit of chafing from a thick area of stitching against my little toe. As I continued to walk, the shoe became a bit more comfortable.

As a casual walking shoe, the Dr. Scholl's "Relay" athletic shoe would be just fine for most people. For me, I don't think the Dr. Scholl's "Relay" athletic shoe has enough arch support to hold up to serious athletic use. Despite their running shoe styling, I can't imagine actually running in these shoes. While I would still recommend investing in a high quality shoe from a big brand-name maker for serious athletic endeavors like running or jogging, these Dr. Scholl's shoes are definitely a good step forward for shoe quality at Walmart. With just a little more padding, these shoes could be serious contenders for everyday, all day, wear. For now, they are an acceptable, inexpensive, stop-gap until I invest in a more expensive, higher quality, pair of running shoes.

Sources:

www.brownshoe.com
"Brown Shoe Company," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Shoe_Company
"William Scholl," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Scholl
"Dr. Scholl's," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Scholl%27s