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Comment by bitsoda | Hacker News Reader

I hope they stay in business for a long time. Not to sound like a shill or anything, but their shoes are some of the most comfy I've tried. I pretty much wear them to the office every day. Are there more comfortable shoes out there? I don't know, probably, but I'm a happy Allbirds customer all the same.

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I hope someday they make women’s shoes in sizes greater than 41, so that I can recommend them to my trans friends that have 42+ feet. It’s not really very profitable to market size 42 to women, and shoe retailers just don’t bother to make them at all, rather than charging more! so I always have a superbly difficult time finding good fashion recommendations in the shoe space. Disappointed to see them IPOing without considering a wider size range, but maybe the IPO will make them more inclusive. (In the meantime, Rothy’s is a classy alternative available up to 44, iirc.)

ps. Yes, I know this is HN, but it’s such an absurdly difficult space that if I can help a single trans woman reading this comment, then it was worth the risk of being attacked for caring. Fashion is often high tech these days too. With custom-to-order clothing and fast fashion normality, there’s no excuses for retailers who don’t extend their size range anymore. It’s just that lots of techy hackers aren’t aware of the market bias. I’ve been studying fashion for a couple decades and there are insanely great innovations that I don’t post to HN because we’re not mature enough yet. Hooray for Allbirds’ offering an opportunity to talk about one of my tech interests safely :)

How does the Allbirds Men’s line differ from the Allbirds Women’s line? All of their shoes look pretty much the same to me, could your trans friends just order a 42+ shoe from the Men’s line?

I have no idea. I didn't think to check their Men's line. The typical variation is that "typically women's" colorways are simply not offered in men's, so if you want a shoe that has any sort of red hues (such as pink, purple, lavender, lilac, wine, maroon, etc) then you're out of luck, because most retailers only offer "typically men's" colorways in their men's sizes. You'll also see stylistic variations, heel size variations, and "these shoes are intended for use with or without socks" variations.

Still. I'll go check now, though, and I feel kind of dumb for not thinking to look sooner. Thank you for the pointer.

Nope. This entire shoe is not offered in Men's Allbirds at all, and it's the one I was asked to find:

https://www.allbirds.com/products/womens-tree-breezers

It's a shoe shape called "Flats" that only exists in Women's, it comes in colors that are totally unlike their Men's shoe shapes and colors in the closest (it's not very close) equivalent offered:

https://www.allbirds.com/products/mens-wool-loungers-tamalpa...

This is pervasive and industry-wide, but I'm still surprised that Allbirds fell prey to it. I would have expected better of them, based on their marketing and general love from buyers. Oh well.

I find Allbird comfortable and stylish but I find that they wear out incredibly fast. I’ve owned four pairs of Allbirds and they’ve all had a fairly short shelf life compared to my other shoes.

My everyday shoe now is from Casca [1]. They’re a Vancouver-based company with a specific focus on quality: I’ve worn them almost every day since fall 2018 (when they launched) and the shoes still look as good as new. And they’re machine washable.

They’re also incredibly comfortable. When you buy a pair of shoes, you have the option to take a few pictures of your feet and the shoes will be delivered with custom 3D-printed insoles. It’s amazing the difference in comfort when a shoe is moulded to your feet.

[1] https://casca.com/

Same here. Only use them to get to the store, out for food.

They great for when it’s too cold for jandals but you are too lazy to put socks on.

I have a pair from 2018 that I frequently wear that still looks fine. I think some people have feet that just don't work with Allbirds.

I like them for the most part, but their soles early on were dangerously slippery on any marginally wet surfaces, big turn off. I've heard this is better but not great now?

This was my experience too. It was like ice skating.

after wearing a few different pairs of allbirds for years without issue, i just sprained my foot a week ago after slipping on a slick sidewalk after a drizzle in a reasonably new pair

non-skid soles on a fashionable lightweight sneaker are impossible to find :(

Have you tried ECCO? Bit pricier but I've found their stuff to be great.

I have worn my tree runners nearly every day all summer.

I wear my wool runners most days in the winter.

I worry, though, than an IPO signals a growth curve that will impose quality problems.

> Are there more comfortable shoes out there?

I went from Allbirds to Baabuk. Similar comfort (I can wear them sockless without chafing) but they seem to last twice as many miles before wearing out & they look a lot better IMO.

Seconded. I was ranting to a friend about how I was fed up of finding shoes I liked only for them to be discontinued next time I need them and he showed me his Allbirds (which conveniently looked very similar to the Nikes I was trying to replace) and I was instantly sold - very pleased with the comfort and they feel like they should be very durable. Seems like a nice company in terms of thinking about environmental impact etc too.

I’ve now become the person who tells other people about my shoes lol - they had better not change the design!

I haven't worn them, but my friends tell me one of the other defining features is the ability to wash them very easily. Anyone else can confirm?

Both my wool ones and my eucalyptus ones wash quite well (cold water, take out insoles, don't dry), so yes, can confirm.

They’re great as a casual light walking shoe but not that great for longer and more challenging walks. You can’t really put off-center weight on them. Since there isn’t much support, your foot can easily slip sideways off the sole which can be dangerous. On a positive note, I think Allbirds are great shoes to wear when working at a standup desk.

Johnston & Murphy makes a comfortable shoe, probably the only ones in my closet that rival my Allbirds.

In particular the McGuffey Plain Toe: https://www.johnstonmurphy.com/mcguffey-plain-toe/8318.html

YMMV, of course!

I like their shoes because they're not crazy styled. Normal standard shoes - no bullshit. They're comfortable and if a pair wears out I can buy the exact same shoe. Have you ever tried to replace a pair Nikes with the the same shoe? Its impossible.

That’s why I like ASICS. I can just keep buying the same model shoe.

I've had a couple of Vivobarefoots that I've been super happy with. They're fantastic quality and incredibly comfy. They do take a bit for your feet to get used to since they have a very thin sole, but they are great.

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