On 27/03/10 2:45 PM, john hamilton wrote:

somebody mentioned sketchers and there is a big sketchers shop in oxford st
with hundreds of different items. on their web site it says they do a
punisher 3 trail shoe (where somewhere else it said it was their most
popular item).

The shoe you are talking about is called the Energy 3 Punisher. It's not
a trail shoe. It's a basic sneaker. As long as you're not using them on
trails, or in wet conditions, they'd be fine. Waterproof socks are a
terrible idea. I have some similar Skechers, "Skechers Energy Downforce"
which I like. One big plus of the Skechers brand, at least in the U.S.
is that they have many models with extensive sizing options, including
half-sizes past size 11, and wide sizes (this is fairly rare).

If you live in a place that gets a lot of rain (and expect to be wearing
the shoes out in the rain) you should look for a sale on The North Face
Men's Ultra 104 GoreTex Xcr Trail Running Shoes. These sell for around
$65 in the U.S. when on sale.

You won't save that much money by not getting a shoe with a GoreTex (or
other breathable membrane) and you lose a huge amount of functionality.
Waterproof socks don't serve the same purpose. GoreTex socks are
expensive, and are thick (like wearing two pairs of regular socks) so
you need to take that into account when choosing sizes. And of course if
the waterproofness in the shoes, the shoes can be used with any socks,
but the converse isn't true because the waterproof socks are so much
thicker.

All the experts agree that the best option is to get a shoe that has a
breathable, waterproof membrane.