First of all, I would like to say thanks to all the people that has written comments during our first posts. Bad and good comments are always appreciated. Thanks for your time, suggestions and good vibes :)

Like a Doctor diagnosing a patient and studying all the anatomy of the human body,
we are going to analize and explain every part of a running shoes.
With all the new technology and terms coming out for athletic shoes, confusion is something that may occur to some of us.
Get educated and become an expert customer when dealing with running shoes.

INSOLE/SOCKLINER: (11)

Many people confuse the function of the insole as being for cushioning. Some people believes that
the insole must be replaced when it flattens. While it is made of a foam like the midsole it is not
resilent. The whole purpose of the insole is to give you better traction inside the shoe and a better
fit.

MIDSOLE:

The midsole is what provides cushioning to the shoe and can be built in several materials,
such as: EVA or PU sheet. As the picture above shows, the insole is located directly under
the foot and can vary in thickness from the heel to the toe. In some cases the insole is
removable for washing. There are 4 types of Insole: Boardlasting, slip lasting, last and curved.

Boardlasting:

Is a construction technique in which the upper material is drawn around
the bottom of the foot form and attached to a cellulose or non-woven board found in
many less-expensive shoes. This construction technique is for stability purposes due to
a more firm platform.

Slip Lasting:

This technique is used to build a more flexible and lighter weight shoe,
as opposite from the board lasting technique it doesn´t use a board.

Last:

This is designed after the shape of the foot, the form is usually made of plastic ot other syntetic material such as polyester. The upper is pulled over this area to give the shoes its
overall shape. There are three shapes: Curved, semi-curved and straight for those that has over
pronation.

Curved:

More angled from heel to toe, this gives more pigeon-toe look. Ideal for supinated foot.

OUTSOLE:

This is what you see when you buy a pair of shoes, the upper part of the footwear can be built
or made of leather or some other quality syntetic material and can be combined with mesh for
reducting the weight of the shoe.

Toe Guard: (1)

Where manufacturers add extra rubber material to the front of a shoe for toe drag protection. It often wraps from the outside to the upper.

Vamp: (2)

The vamp is a a part of the toe box area. This area is flexible, breathable and often perforated, but not always to prevent clay from getting into the shoe. As we have seen in our Foot Problems post, keeping your feet dry and keeping your feet to breath is one of the best ways to keep your feet healthy.

Toe Cap: (3)

The toe piece above the toe guard for additional toe drag and/or medial (inside part of the shoe) foot drag protection. With some models, leather is used to retain a classic appearance.

Eyestay: (4)

Support area around the eyelets, usually made by a resistent material due to the preassure applied by the laces.

Eyelets: (5)

usually built in circle forms and made of metal or Ghillie loops(a woven polyester fabric). The top part of the eyelet is the most important since it is the onethat players need to hold and lock thier laces without coming undone.

Tongue: (6)

Tongues have become thicker to help pad top of the foot from pressure of the laces. A traditional loose tongue has a lace loop attached to keep the tongue from moving.

Collar Linnings: (7)

In the collar linning is where the ankle contact the shoe, foam is usually the
most common material when doing collar linnings such as tha ankle collar and the tongue.

Heel Rake: (8 )

Is the curved part at the cak of the shoe. The more curved the less slippage and the better fit but could be a little bit uncomfortable if you dont buy the appropiate shoe size for you.

Achilles Notch: (9)

Found at the back of the shoe, this part protects tha achilles tendon from irritation.

Heel Counter: (10)

Usually a plastic or composite material that stiffens and reinforces the heel area. A stiffened hell improves fit and stability.

Other Terms:

Laces:

Innnovations in the laces have been the introduction of round laces and a change in the type and number of eyelets. The whole purpose of the laces is to keep the shoe firmly on the midfoot.

Arch Support:

It was a time when the arch support was a separate item glued under the insole. After several years the arch support has being incorporated to the insole, and finally the arch support were addapted to fit the midsole.

DICTIONARY:

EVA: Ethylene Vinyl Acetate – Plastic Material
PU: Short for Polyurethane. It is highly variable in composition and usually includes a mix of different materials.
Over Pronation: Is when the feet roll inward too much.
Supinated/Under pronation: I think you´ll guess what this is.

Till Next post, thanks for visiting our blog. :)