Back at the PGA in late January, we stumbled upon a small booth displaying a product called AIRfeet, and as someone who constantly deals with foot & back ailments, this product piqued my interest. AIRfeet is the creation of two Aussie bros – Neil and Wayne Purcell, transplanted in Indianapolis after a career in the Auto Racing industry. They created a thin shoe insole pad that has air encapsulated to stimulate the muscles of your foot. The insole slips over the top of your existing shoe insole, and as Wayne explained “AIRfeet stimulates the 20 muscles along the bottom of the footbed that lie dormant inside your footwear each day. As you step, the concealed air within the insole moves across those muscles – enhancing your everyday standing/walking experience, and providing relief to several common foot issues, including – fatigue, hip & back pain, plantar fasciitis, and heel spurs, etc.
As the image above shows, no need to remove the stock shoe insert, simply insert the AIRfeet insoles to your existing shoes and start enjoying the benefits. The movement within the insole may seem a bit weird at first, but trust me you’ll get used to it in a few days or less. For me personally, it took one day of walking the convention floor at the PGA Show to get used to them. Now I don’t leave home without them in my shoes. Although AIRfeet is not a golf-specific product, we thought it might be a godsend for those who walk the links – and after a few weeks of wearing them, we thought highly enough of the product to contact Wayne about having us review and test out the product on a group.
TESTING:
We conducted testing of the AIRfeet RELIEF 02 model among 18 different people that fit into several demographic groups – both golfers and non-golfers (men and women), and of the eighteen testers, sixteen said they found the insoles beneficial and experienced less foot fatigue after a long day on their feet. Every participant said it took them between one day and five days to get fully used to having them on. Twelve (66%) of the testers responded that they have made AIRfeet part of their daily shoe-wearing routine. Half of the test group were golfers and of those, 50% said they thoroughly enjoyed wearing AIRfeet when walking the golf course. Three of our testers suffer from plantar fasciitis, and one with heel spurs, all four of these people were absolute in their praise – This tester gave in-depth analysis:
- The initial use/adjustment period did not involve any pain for me at all. There are many products in the market that will help but it’s hard to get past an initial painful adjustment period when you are too busy for an ordeal today, this week etc.
- The thickness of the air pad is ‘just right’ .. it is sufficient to provide relief yet not so thick as to require “special shoes”. I have a number of products that work but do not fit in most of my shoes so they sit unused as they are impractical.
- My foot pain is often less when in motion but increases when I need to stand still ( even for short periods) . A lot of products do nothing for this issue but Airfeet ( unlike other products ) does provide relief when you need to stand in one place.
Another tester: “At first, walking with the AIRfeet insoles felt strange, but by the end of the week wearing them, I noticed a real difference in how much better my feet felt. Now I’m used to them, and even don’t even notice them in my shoes.”
The AIRfeet motto – “it’s like walking on AIR” isn’t a misnomer, try them out for yourself.
AIRfeet ETS
For those who suffer from neuropathy pain and require enhanced toe stimulation – Wayne and Neil offer the AIRfeet® ETS, a gel-filled insole that provides massaging relief and comfort.
SUMMARY:
If you suffer from a foot ailment or just everyday foot fatigue, whether you need that relief at work or while walking the fairways, AIRfeet is a worthy product to check out – we’re certainly glad we did. The AIRfeet store on their website has several different models for all types of applications. The RELIEF 02 model that we tested and now wear every day, retails for $32.95.
AIRfeet are looking for Retailers and Sales Representatives, for more info or to purchase AIRfeet – https://myairfeet.com/
