I love shoes. But not just any shoes. Comfortable and practical shoes. I have a long held philosophy about the importance of comfortable shoes and how they contribute to how you experience the world at large.
Uncomfortable shoes can severely limit your time in the world. Either by slowing down your pace, or cutting your exploration short. I become quite miffed by shoes that rub wrong, fit wrong, cause pain to my feet and ankles or don’t support my stride. I hate having a walk of exploring a city cut short because my feet are in pain. I hate having to take a break to let my feet rest. Or a hike ended too early because I can no longer comfortably traverse the terrain.
Take care of my feet, and I can go on and on exploring without thinking about my feet. I can soak in more of the world, and add to my collection of experiences. Rub my feet the wrong way, and I’m less able to enjoy what is around me.. and what’s the point in that for the sake of cute shoes?
I also don’t enjoy interrupting the experience of my walking companions by having to slow down or end early.
Versatility in my shoes is also important. My shoes should not only be comfortable, but also appropriate for a long hike, attending a business meeting, running errands and a nice dinner out. Having to go back home to change shoes for the occasion, to me, seems too demanding.
As a nomad with limited space, having the one shoe to rule them all is even more important. When I had less limited closet space, I could afford to have a variety of shoes more situationally geared and for matching different moods and outfits. And I could also audition multiple pairs at once, and see what I found myself pulling out of the closet on a daily basis. That’s not the case now. The limited shoes I carry with me must be even more versatile and perfect than ever before. I just don’t have the room to keep several contenders around.
Being in colder-than-Florida weather for an extended period of time has also changed my shoe needs. I typically lean towards open toe shoes, which I’ve found tend to create cold toes out here during the winter. So I’ve been on a quest for the perfect closed toe shoe, which has always been my arch-nemesis. It seems that shoes that fit my foot length don’t tend to leave enough toe room and be tight enough on my heal. It’s always been a challenge.
I had gotten spoiled by crocs these past couple of years. The first few styles I tried were awesome, and my shoe collection was made up almost entirely from crocs. They were good for a variety of weather conditions (except cold), and some were even getting quite stylish. I had become so confident in crocs, that I could order new styles online in my size and have them be perfect. But I’ve been greatly disappointed by my most recent crocs experiences, having ordered a couple of newer styles with hopes of one of them being my new winter shoe. I ordered a pair of their winter boots, which lacked the sole of the crocs I had come to adore – they went right back. I ordered a pair of their work shoes with leather uppers in a mary jane style. The first in my normal size – way too small. The larger style fit fine for a while, but walk any distance and they become too tight (and caused a painful heal blister that I’m still annoyed with). So they will likely not make the cut. And crocs’ winter mammoth shoes just doesn’t appeal to me for some reason, although I do consider getting a pair anyway if I can’t find another solution.
So, I’ve been on a shoe-hunt. My winter time these past couple of months has been less than ideal due to not having shoes that are just right, and I’ve just not had time to devote to shoe shopping beyond clicking online.
I picked up a new candidate yesterday that is holding great promise so far. We’ll see how they break in over the coming weeks.
I’ve been enjoying your site very much, and am now exploring some of the older posts. A couple of comments:
1) Another “technomad” is Andy Baird, who lives in a 26′ Lazy Daze Class C he has modified to fit his needs. He spends much of the time in State parks in Arizona. His rig is an impressive one, although of course he gets less fuel mileage than you do. However, he is also full of many ideas for making the most of the space, and I think his site is well worth exploring:
2) Shoes. If all else fails, you might also look at “diabetic” or “orthopedic” shoes, as they have extra depth in the toe region and can be very comfortable. Another brand to check out is SAS shoes–they are well constructed and most folks find them extremely comfortable. They are also relatively light in weight, yet give good support.
3) Mobile Internet. I am watching the spread of WIMAX service in the U.S. with interest. As it is built out, that should also be a good option for you, I’d think.
Presently, I live in Ukraine with my wife and stepson while he goes through his university experience. When that is over, assuming I survive the experience and my health is good enough, I intend to do much what you are doing. Meanwhile, I am working on building some online income.
I wish you both well!
David
Thanks for writing James!
Thanks so much for checking out our website, and for replying to my posting on shoes 🙂 I’ll have to try out some Eccos.
We had actually looked at the smaller Airstreams while we were researching smaller trailers such as the Casita – and while we absolutely adore the style of the Airstream (particularly the older ones), we were frankly unimpressed with the quality of the newer ones since Thor took them over. They seem to be capitalizing on the style, but not keeping up the quality. There were also some impractical things about them, such as attention to storage space and keeping things compact. They were also much heavier than the fiberglass equivalents for the same length, which would have required us to invest in a new tow vehicle.
Thor also owns the T@b brand, which was what our last trailer was, and we encountered a good deal of customer service problems with them in tracking down replacement parts. So.. all of those factors made getting a newer Airstream unappealing to us. (Had we come across an older one in good shape.. we may have been tempted however).
For those that don’t dig a marine look and feel that fiberglass gives and/or aren’t concerned about tow vehicles – I can certainly see where some might not put Oliver in the same contention as Airstream. Personally, I think they both offer unique advantages and their own timeless style. Such as, with Airstream you can go to your nearest dealer and drive one off the lot today. With Oliver, you order one to spec and wait for them to custom build one for you that you pick up at the factory (or arrange to have shipped).
Factors that pushed us towards Oliver was that they’re a small (but successful) family business, with their name on the product that they’re personally passionate about. This has lead to extremely over-the-top customer service. For instance we needed a minor repair done while in travel at a Camping World – Oliver called in their credit card number to Camping World and paid the bill directly, instead of us having to upfront it and be reimbursed. Camping World was blown away by this, and said it was definitely not the norm in the RV industry. And of course, their willingness to do customizations that made the trailer uniquely ours.
So for us, the choice between Airstream and Oliver was obvious. Oliver was cheaper, lighter, we could get exactly what we wanted from the factory, etc. Oliver has also just come out with a 22′ model last month that I hear is fabulous, I can’t wait to see one in person.
Are you in the SF area? We’ll be around the area for another week if another time works out for you to see ours.
Thank you VERY much for your informative and fun website–I’ve been looking for a lightweight, small trailer to replace my 9’6″ camper and I had never heard of Oliver trailers before. I’m sorry I can’t make March 22nd in San Fran but would love to catch up w/ you another time. I now have to decide between Oliver and similar Airstream models. Do you by any chance have any thoughts in that vein?
re shoes, have you tried Eccos? They’re Danish and they are AWESOME, from the first time you put them on (like the Oliver, right!). HIGHLY recommended!
Wishing you safe travels and all the best,
James