Review: Easy Spirit Women's AP1 Walking Shoe

I'm not exactly big on shopping for clothes, and especially not shoes. I could never understand the fetish for most women to buy shoes and have a collection that might rival Imelda Marcos. I don't think about getting a new pair of shoes until they are completely worn out. And just why is it, shoes get to be at their most comfortable when they are quite literally ready to fall apart?

When I came into some extra money not long ago, I realized I should take advantage of it and get me good quality shoes; interpretation, expensive. I had been very disappointed in the past as there are quite a number of discount shoe stores near me like Payless. These kind of shoe stores are the type where most often they have a buy one get one at half price deal, and most shoes run no higher than $20.00. A bargain, right? Most definitely wrong. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. About a year ago, I really went all out and splurged on myself and got a grand total of six shoes from Payless. I was originally thinking back then of getting a good quality pair of running shoes, such as Nike or Adidas, but when I saw the prices, I just couldn't believe how expensive they were. So my logic then was why get just one pair of very expensive pair of running shoes, when I could get six inexpensive shoes? Great logic, right? Oh, how wrong I was as my feet were to pay a price.

Now while all those shoes I brought felt comfortable when I tried them on, it was a whole other story once I started wearing them. I've had mild foot problems in the past, but became progressively worse to a point where at times I could hardly walk without pain even in my own apartment. I was walking like a near cripple, and I attribute my aggravated foot problems to those cheap shoes I had gotten. Also, none of those shoes lasted very long. I had to endure wearing those cheap pairs of shoes, since I just didn't have the funds to get a good pair of shoes.

So when I came into some extra money, I definitely made the resolve to get a pair of good quality running shoes. Alas, though I was severely disappointed. Along with the cheap shoe stores near me, is also a Footlocker where they sell all the high priced brand named running shoes: Adidas, Nike, Puma, Reebok, Converse, and much more. But this time, here I was, with money to spend on quality named brand shoes, and I just didn't like any of them. The few pairs of Puma shoes I tried on looked nice, but felt as uncomfortable as the cheap shoes that were giving me my foot problems. The I tried a pair of nice looking Nikes, but found them so stiff, that they too were uncomfortable for me. Perhaps with time and with broken in, they might have suited me, but I always remember the idea that shoes should never be technically speaking, broken in. They should feel comfortable the moment you try them on. So to put it mildly, I was very disappointed and left the store without buying anything.

Now I was a bit desperate though. I realized that while I had that extra money, I really needed to buy a good pair of shoes, but where? That's when the idea came to me to hunt on-line for a pair of shoes. Don't ask how many websites I clicked on to, from major shoe websites, like Hush Puppies, even the on-line Footlocker. Then I remembered that years ago I had gotten a lot of really great, comfortable shoes at the Old Pueblo Traders via their printed catalog, so, I went to their website. Nothing wowed me until I came across a pair of Easy Spirit Leather Oxford Walking Shoes. They reminded me of the Easy Spirit shoes I had gotten years ago and could no longer wear as they were so worn out and those had been so wonderfully comfortable for me. The pair of shoes I found on The Old Pueble Traders site was list priced at $62.99 which I thought wasn't too steep. I was all set to order, when it occurred to me, why not go to the Easy Spirit website itself, and so I did.

At the Easy Spirit website, I now had a wide array of their brand of shoes to look at, and of course they had the pair I had just seen at the Old Pueblo Traders site, but I couldn't believe my eyes. For some reason, I imagined that the cost of the same pair of shoes would be more, instead they were list priced at $49.99. That was a $13.00 savings! What was really great too, was that they had a much larger selection of colors and types of the same style shoes, which is officially named the Easy Spirit Women's AP1 Walking Shoe, and the styles and colors ranged from Black Leather, Black Nubuck, Dark Brown Nubuck, White Leather and so forth. My choice was the beautiful shade of Blue Nubuck shoes. The total price with the shipping charges, the pair of shoes came to $56.99, still cheaper than the listed price at Old Pueblo Traders.

I have to admit, however, I didn't exactly like the idea of maybe ordering a pair of shoes on-line without trying them on first, but I figured, since they did at least have a return policy if they didn't fit well, I could at least return them. Now came the really amazing part. I was figuring I would be waiting at least a week for the arrival of the shoes, instead, they came the very next day via UPS and without any special next day delivery charges. As soon as I got the package I tried the shoes on. From the moment I put them on I realized I had made a very good choice with these shoes. They were so comfortable! The Easy Spirit Women's AP1 Walking Shoe are classified as Level 1 type of shoe, meaning it's for light activity and not recommended say for jogging. The shoe itself has their patented Shockfoam insole which explains why they are so comfortable. They are a sturdy shoe too, as I've been wearing them even in the worse kinds of weather, from heavy rainstorms to even wearing them while it's been snowing and they are completely waterproof. Comes the time I'm ready to buy another pair of shoes, I won't hesitate getting another pair of these shoes.

As for the Easy Spirit website itself, I highly recommend this shoe website for anyone looking for truly comfortable shoes at prices that really aren't too outrageously high. They have a wide variety of types of women's shoes, from casual, boots, dress shoes, special occasion, classics, and they also have a good selection of men's shoes as well, though not as many as the women's. From time to time to, they have special sales of their shoes, so it's worth coming back from time to time to their website to hunt out some of their bargains. Bottom line? For truly great shoes that are known for their comfort, one shouldn't hesitate in going to the Easy Spirit website and I would highly recommend the Easy Spirit Women's AP1 Walking Shoe in particular.