My First Impression Of Walmart’s $10.00 Sneakers

I like shoes. There I said it. I'm quite satisfied when I find a pair of comfortable dress shoes. Yaknow, the ones that look great and are almost more comfortable than a great pair of  gym shoes. I also have worn many colors of Converse Chuck Taylors. For years they were a great affordable sneaker that came in a rainbow of colors. I've worn pink, purple, red, blue, gray, black, ones with flames on them, black leather and even a pair of furry grey ones for cold weather. So it was no surprise I was intrigued by Walmart's $10.00 sneakers.

I saw them by accident. I was at the Walmart in Warrensburg waiting for them to get done with my car's oil change. So I was just wandering around the store. I happened upon the shoe section and decided to see what dress shoes they had. I've had some good luck with Walmart shoes believe it or not. I had a pair of George dress shoes that I wore to death. And don't laugh, I also owned a pair of Dr. Scholl's branded shoes I bought there that were quite comfortable.

And that's when I saw them. A pair of sneakers for $10.00. I wanted to try them. It's been awhile since I bought cheap gym shoes. Although these are beyond cheap.

Over the years I've become slightly snobby when it comes to gym shoes.

For working out, when I'm in a phase of hitting the treadmill, I have to wear New Balance. They're just the perfect workout shoe. Always comfortable with a fit that works for my foot. For every day sneakers, New Balance as well. And sometimes a pair of Chuck Taylors. Although they seem to have declined in quality the past couple of years.

Yet these $10.00 gym shoes just intrigued me. My wife Kathy said if I wanted them to just get them. $10.00 bucks, ya know? If they fall apart within weeks I'm out practically nothing. Same if they're not really comfortable. So I bought them and started wearing them over the weekend.

The shoes are branded as Athletic Works with what they say is Memory Foam insole. The uppers are fabric and the rest of the shoe is man made. The soles are chunky and non marking. They're manufactured in Cambodia, not a surprise for $10.00 shoes.

So how are they? They fit comfortably, although there isn't any real arch support. Surprisingly, or maybe not based on the price, there doesn't seem to be a lot of cushion from the memory foam insoles. In other words, walking on cement or blacktop is hard on the feet. Not uncomfortable, but not as comfortable as my other gyms shoes.

That may be because of the soles. Most gym shoe soles have some give. Like I said these are more chunky. More like a pair of shoes may have. Because of this, I probably wouldn't choose to wear these when I know I'll be walking a lot. Or if I'm heading out for a workout on the treadmill.

At this point the jury is still out regarding how comfortable they'll be over the course of a workday. Or wearing them for any significant length of time. Additionally, there's the question of the shoe quality. I won't know that until I wear them for awhile. That said, for a cheap pair of sneakers, I'm not sure you can expect much more.