If you know me now you may have noticed that most of the time I am wearing trainers (aka sneakers). Specifically Converse Chuck Taylors. Surprisingly it is a relatively new phenomenon for me. It was only maybe five years ago that I started wearing them.
When i first started wearing Chucks they were not that comforatable. I tried insoles and they were ok. I was about to stop wearing them when Convese announced their Chuck Taylor II’s. They claimed they would be even more comfortable. I was curious. I could not wait unitl they came out. When they did i got bought a pair. They were very comfortable. I ended up buying pairs in several colours, both high and low top. From then on that was pretty much what I would wear everyday.
I ended up buying about three colours in each of the hightop and the low top variant. I like the hightops for work and the low’s are easier to get on and off when I am home and out with the kids. So I own several pairs.
Since I have several I don’t wear any one pair down very quickly. Right before we moved to London I think I had to replace one pair for the first time in a few years. When I did so it was no problem to get a new one.
Last fall i had two pairs of hightops that had the souls start ripping. They needed replacement. When I went online to buy replacements I was confused not to see the Chuck II’s anywhere. What I did not know was that the Chuck II line of shoes was cancelled after about a year or so of production. Apparently diehard fans were not a fan of the new look. The look was not bad for me. The big deal was that they were much more comforatable than the traditional model. When I previously bought replacements they must still have just had stock of them. Now no one had them.
I tried the Converse one Star as an alternative. I wasn’t too happy with the way they looked however I needed something so I tried them. They were not comfortable at all. It was a total waste of money from me.
Then I tried what are used to do before the Chuck II’s came out. That was purchase a regular pair and put an insole in them. It was what I did to the dress shoes that I used to wear before wearing the sneakers to work. Oddly after wearing the really comfortable cushion on the Chuck II’s the same insoles were not as comfortable anymore. I did force myself to wear that one test pair with the insole for a while. I am still wearing it and they are totally fine however not nearly as comfortable as I used to have. I could buy more of those however I was trying to find other alternatives before I did that.
My next step was to go to eBay where I was surprised to find a half way decent selection of gently used Chuck II’s. I was hesitant on buying that sort of used stuff on ebay. The prices were super cheap so I gave one a try. They turned out to look exactly like the picture and were in fantastic shape. It was like they were never used. I was able to buy one or two more like that however then the supply dried up. I realise I needed to find a better long-term option. Since I was totally over thinking my solution at this point i continued my investigations.
In my research I keep coming across comments about the Chuck Taylor 70. People had said that they were definitely more comfortable than the originals. Some people were also comparing them to the II’s that i had. Then one or two people said they probably were not as comfortable but close. Since I was running out of options I decided to buy one pair of the Chuck Taylor 70’s high tops. I was hoping to see how they fit.
The first pair I got was definitely way too big. I bought the same size I wore in my other chucks. I quickly returned them back to converse. I then went looking for 1/2 size smaller of the same shoe. I could not find it anywhere in stores. Most stores didn’t even have this model at all. I finally did find one store that had them in stock. Unfortunately they were only one size smaller. The sales clerk said they don’t stock half sizes. I tried the one size smaller and it was too small. With that information I rolled the dice and ordered the half-size smaller than the original one I bought online.
When it arrived, I realize it fit a little bit too big. I decided that would work good enough since the full size smaller was too small. I have been wearing this pair for a while now. I even took it as my only pair of shoes on a week long holiday. I can’t say for certain if there as comfortable as the II’s. They are comfortable enough that I can use them as my day-to-day shoe. Since I was able to buy a few cheap pairs of the II’s on eBay I haven’t had a need to buy any new 70’s beyond the first pair I bought. At least I know now that when another pair wears out I have an option for replacement.