u/citynomad1

Recently bought a pair of Torin 8s on sale at Sierra (since they’ve been phased out in favor of the 9s). I’d tried a whole bunch of options b/w Altra and Topo and I ended up liking the Torin the best for my needs (walking shoes that can hold up to long days of walking, incl upcoming travel that will involve tons of walking)

I like them a lot. Are they perfect? Not necessarily. I had to get the men’s version to get a wide enough toe box, whereas I have narrow heels so sometimes they slip a bit more than I’d like. I’m looking into tongue grips so they feel more secure.

Anyway, bc they’re the best option I’ve found so far and am liking them…is it worth buying a backup pair? Sierra still has them for $90 but only a couple pairs left

Anyways,

A few Costco warehouses near me have the Blueair Mini Max 2-pack on clearance for $50, which I think is a great deal.

My only hesitation is with the ionizer that can’t be turned off. Yes, I’ve read the info about “you’d be exposed to more ozone going for a walk”. I still would generally want to avoid ionizers, *except* for the fact that this is a such a good deal. Would you grab this bundle, personally? Or is the ionizer not worth the risk for you?

Note: I’m not looking for input related to the size of these units. Yes, I know they’re small. My bedrooms are tiny and I think they would be just fine, size wise, for the space

Just got a new pair of Lems Primal Zen shoes, and would like to bump up the level of cushion since I walk mostly on concrete.

I know Lems themselves offer a “max cork insole” that is 5.5mm. But I’m actually leaning more toward the North Insole “extra cushion” model which is 6mm and is foam. Seems like it’d be “cushier” than cork.

Just wondering about how they fit in the shoes, and if anyone has used North insoles in their Lems. Thanks!

I’m visiting Tokyo end of September/early October. I’ve been keeping an eye on calendars/announcements for museums’ special exhibitions.

Unfortunately it seems for a few of the major places, like Mori Art Museum, I will be visiting at a time when they don’t have a special exhibition on display.

I’ll continue to keep an eye out for exhibitions being announced, but in the meantime, I’m curious to hear about folks’ favorite *permanent collections* in Tokyo, and why you loved it?

Thanks!

I’m in market for a new pair of shoes for everyday use/neighborhood walking. Not a runner. Discovered Altra years ago and found the foot shape great for my “pizza shaped feet” (wide forefoot, narrow heel)

Tried on a pair of Escalante 4 at REI. Usually wear 10.5 W/9M but ended up sizing up to 9.5M (prefer the men’s colorways)

I found them sooo comfy walking around the store - I almost didn’t want to take them off! - with one hitch: the shoe rubbed against the joint of my big toe on my right foot. I don’t have a bunion but the joints do stick out just a little; a podiatrist once did an xray and confirmed one of the bones there “sits higher” so the joint protrudes ever so slightly but not as much as a bunion.

I wonder - bc they’re knit, do you think this is the kind of thing where, with some wear, the knit will stretch to accommodate? Or will you automatically reject a shoe if it bothers you at all when you try them on?

I’m going on a trip to Japan where I’m gonna be doing a TON of walking.

Which shoes do you love for this amount of walking? I’ll be in Tokyo the longest so it’ll be majority pavement.

Full disclosure, I buy barefoot shoes for the wide toe box (everything else on the shoe market is just too narrow in the toes) but will often put an arch support insole in them. I know this isn’t “true barefoot” but I’ve had 2 ankle surgeries due to a sports injury so this method works for me.

So if anyone else does that, very open to hearing your recs for shoe + insole combos you love for long city walking days!

I’m headed to Japan this fall. I own both the Venture X and the Chase Sapphire, and am generally rather skeptical of portals bc the Chase one very clearly inflates all their prices so I never find a good deal there

But after a ton of research (looking at recommended sites for Japan like Agoda, Rakuten plus standards like Booking, etc), I’ve wound up booking hotels for 2 out of the 3 cities I plan to visit in Japan via the portal bc it had the lowest price for the hotel I was interested jn, on top of the fact that it gives me 10x points.

I have emailed all of these hotels and they’ve confirmed my reservations, btw.

Just wanted to share that the pricing seems super competitive via the C1 portal, at least in some regions

What the title says. This coming lease year I have to decide if I want to do street parking (would mean paying for zone parking, I believe that’s $34/year) or pay for a garage spot. Looking for insights on what other folks do. Thanks!

I’ve read about the vibrating plates. I can see how they could help with straightening hair, but my sense is that they would make it kind of difficult/annoying to curl hair with this iron. Does anyone own this iron and curl/wave their hair with it?