Anyone here wear Dansko shoes? My Fiance swears by them, and she is trying to talk me into getting a pair. I am talking about the ones with the big heal, btw. I tried a pair on, and the whole time I wore them, my back didn't hurt, so I am thinking they might be worth the $120 price tag. Any thoughts on this?

__________________
1999 Toyota Corolla VE (Mine)
2006 Honda Odyssey (Wife's)
1979 300CD (sold)

Well, they're a bit girly, but yes, comfortable. Many nurses and chefs wear them. If they've got the big heal watch out you don't roll your ankle, though. Overall, yep, worth the money.

__________________
1984 300D, 228k, Light Ivory, Java MB-Tex

Btw, my fiance is a Nurse, so that is why she swears by them, and owns several pairs...

__________________
1999 Toyota Corolla VE (Mine)
2006 Honda Odyssey (Wife's)
1979 300CD (sold)

Ye. That's all I wore during all those 12 hour shifts in the kitchen.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I think I might bite the bullet, and buy a pair next month when I get a bonus...

__________________
1999 Toyota Corolla VE (Mine)
2006 Honda Odyssey (Wife's)
1979 300CD (sold)

I've got two pairs. The older ones are about 9 years old. A friend put me onto them in Maine- easier to get on/off during mud season than boots, and with a good pair of wool socks on feet stay pretty warm.

Chefs traditionally wore clogs because if you spill boiling water/hot oil you want to get your feet out of the shoes ASAP.

I find em great for all around use- but if I'm standing for a long time doing a task (cooking, workbench) my back tells me in no uncertain terms to change shoes.

My Vasque Sundowners are my choice for beating feet all day and standing for long periods of time. I got a pair in '91 and I'm on my second pair; the first went 10+ years and the second is going strong.

__________________
95 E300D working out the kinks
77 300D, 227k, station car
83 300CD 370k, gone away
89 190E 2.6- 335k, no more
79 VW FI Bus- 145k miles, summer driver
59 VW Beetle ragtop- 175k miles
12 VW Jetta- 160k miles

I forgot to mention, these would be my work shoes, and I am not sure how they would hold up to a hardware store environment. There is a local cobbler that I am sure who can sew some extra leather in the toe areas, since that is what I am worried about the most. I think my fiance is going to score me a cheap pair off of eBay that have very little wear...

__________________
1999 Toyota Corolla VE (Mine)
2006 Honda Odyssey (Wife's)
1979 300CD (sold)

Heh -- I just sold a nice pair on eBay! Couldn't get used to the taller heel, but the ones with flatter soles sure are nice. I would recommend trying both types on and doing some moving around in them. If you do a lot of kneeling/squatting down (stocking shelves or something like that) they may not be for you; give them a try first. Even if you don't use them for work, I'll bet you like them for leisure time. I like the Lowa and Birk clogs, too.

__________________
1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

Eric,

I'll bet the reason that your back didn't hurt was that the soles/heels on the Dansko's were not excessively worn. Take a look at this article: http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/pronation-supination.php

A friend of mine used to have back problems and went to his doctor, who took one look at my friend's shoes (soles and heels were nearly beaten to death) and told my friend to throw those shoes away. New shoes that didn't have any particular orthopedic design qualities essentially resolved the problem.