Saucony Grid Omni?

I am researching shoes on t'interweb and am REALLY confused.

I have been told I have high arches and rigid/ equine feet but that my arches collapse horribly. High arches generally indicate underpronators, crashing arches indicate overpronators so I am a bit of both.

No idea what to do.

I remember when I ran a lot I had Saucony and i think they were Grid omni but not 100% sure. They were best shoes I have had. Don't think I had my orthotics in them though. These Nike Vomeros are not doing me any good, even with the orthotics in. they are ripped to shreds at the back of the heel - why would that be?

I thnk the important point is 'generally indicate'. Friend of mine had arches so high the outside/lateral bit of his foot didnt touch the ground when he was standing. Yet he still needed some light support in his shoes.

Best thing is tkae your orthotics to a running shop....get them to video you running barefoot, see what you do each footstrike, and then try out appropriate shoes accordingly, possibly with and without your orthotics.

The Omni series are still going...have a look at the saucony website - you can see pictures of older shoe models on there. MIght be able to see which you had if not the omni.

Bithburysloth - As you have orthoses, they should be sorting out what your feet are doing (biomechanically) and now what you need is a pair of shoes which fit your feet and orthoses well and provide a stable platform for the inserts to do their job.

The medical professional who prescribed/designed your orthotics is the best person to advise what category of shoe you should be using as he/she will have designed the orthoses for a specific category, if not a particular style.

I would agree with Nick L that you should head to your local running store to try out some shoes with your orthoses.  Although I'm not sure what you gain running barefoot or without the inserts if you're going to be using the inserts whenever you run.

Product-wise, the ProGrid Ride is the latet version of the Trigon Responsive, although you might also want to look at the ProGrid Echelon which is build on a straight, broad last, ideal for use with ortotics.  Both of these are stable neutral andprovide a great platform for the orthotics.  I use both of these styles mysef with my orthotics.

However, if you head to your local store you can try these and similar from other brands to find the best fit and feel for you.

I hope this information helps.

Dear Saucony,

 Saw the post above and wondered if you would care to comment .... I was firm fan of the Pro Grid Omni until last year when I developed peroneal tendonitis and eventually resorted to a highly-rated podiatrist to get me running again.  He built (and tuned) some custom orthotics for me that really helped, but they were unusable in the Pro Grid Omni, although they were fine in a Brooks Adrenaline/Asics 2130/2140.  But of course, they were really designed for a neutral shoe.  Haven't been able to find one until recently, when I went to Sportshoes in Bradford and tried the Grid Echelon that describe above.  I have ran just a few miles in this shoe and am struggling to come to grips with it.  Although it's supposed to be a cushion shoe, the ride feels very firm with the orthotic and it seems to resist my outer heel strike (which most shoes accomodate, yes?) and is basically pretty uncomfortable.

 The video analysis of me in this shoe indicates that I'm not overpronating in this shoe, but I wonder how it would fare without the orthotic?  The last is broad and the midsole very rigid.  Would it be OK for a mild underpronator?  What I'm saying here is that I don't think this shoe is going to suit me and the only way to get value is to remove the orthotic.

 Alernately, I can persevere.  BTW, I concur that this shoe really does seem to "centre" your foot", but whether that's good for me I can't say.  Certainly it's letting me run off my toes.

Thanks for any feedback.

NE