"I got SOLE, but I'm not a soldier" - The Killers

When I think of Canada, I conjure up images of frothy rivers of beer, games of hockey played on ponds, and funny accents. While my passport might be from the United States, I grew up in Buffalo, NY. If you know anything about geography (and more specifically, geography of the northeastern United States) you would understand why I consider myself an honorary Canadian, allowing for me to verify the accuracy of the aforementioned stereotypes.
One generalization that I had never made about Canada, however, was their competence in designing and manufacturing shoe insoles. That was until I tried some of SOLE's heat moldable custom insoles. I now have no problem adding SOLE Insoles to my list of "favorite Canadian things", right next to maple syrup and the lower drinking age (it's 19, by the way).

Now you're going to say, "James, what are you doing? Hyping up another insole? You made the Superfeet sound like God's gift to man in previous blog entries! What's all this bologna about Sole insoles?!"
First off, I like that you said "bologna" out of a grocery store context.
Second, I still love and believe in Superfeet's lineup. Don't get me wrong, the Superfeet are an incredible product and we will surely continue to carry them. However, since we've been open, there have been instances when, *gasp* not one model in the entire off-the-shelf Superfeet line fit a customer.
This is where our newest addition to our off the shelf orthotics come in. In our quest of "improving the quality of life for our customers by providing access to the best sports medicine, orthopedic, products available" we have noticed that it is necessary to offer another type of shoe orthotic for our customers.

As you probably know by now, SOLE is a "heat moldable" custom insole. What this means is that you can either wear the insoles out of the box (which is recyclable) and over time, the orthotics will conform to your feet. Or you can expedite that process by popping them in the oven, pulling them out and standing in them. Personally, I prefer the latter. To see how simple the process is, watch this:


Much like the Superfeet line, SOLE has a variety of offerings based on foot type and application, which essentially affects the width of the insole and the thickness of the foam. B&A Sports Medicine Store will be initially carrying the "Softec Regular" and "Slim Sport". Personally, I like the "Regulars" for my running shoes, while the "Slim Sports" are awesome for my Doc Martens.

I have no idea as for the reason why Canada makes such a good insole. Could it be because they were developed in proximity to the University of Calgary, home to one of the most renowned researchers of the biomechanics of the foot and ankle, Dr. Benno Nigg? Could it be because they have so much free time while waiting for a doctor's appointment, not uncommon with a universal health care system? It's difficult to say. It is, however, easy to say that if the Superfeet haven't worked for you, then SOLE certainly deserves a chance.


(Softec Regulars)

Two additional things,
a) In a previous post, I spoke about our "Green Initiative" and how, whenever possible, we would take necessary steps to limit our impact on this fragile planet. I'm proud to say that our partnership with SOLE is congruent with this program. The kind folks over at SOLE use vegetable-based ink on their 100% recycled stock for their print materials and Ecopac packaging, which is a corn-based petroleum product.
b) Our SOLE shipment came! In store feedback with this product has already been pretty incredible.