Lanaform sandals

[docs41]

Several years ago I saw a brand of exercise sandals (Yeah, I know, some of the purists are cringing right now!) called Lanaform. There is a current website and it appears that they are still made. I've never seen them here in the US. Does anyone know if they are available here in the States, or know anything about them in general? Thanks!!!

[SF]

Docs, How you? Neer heard of them, but I did look on the weband saw a picture, but no info on how to purchase here in the U.S. Wooden sole with a sort of negative heel? Kinda like a Scholl's style. They look nice. I like wooden sandals, but one with a bit more of a heel.. Take care... sf

[Steve63130]

SF, I don't want to hijack this thread, but I do want to make some side comments. Back in the 70s when Dr. Scholl's wooden sandals were all the rage, they had a men's style that was a flat or slightly negative heel, and a women's style that had a raised heel about 1.5 or 2 inches. I bought a pair of the women's style because I thought it looked a lot more elegant than the men's. It was size 10, the largest they had then, but I really needed an 11. Nevertheless I wore them everywhere and they did indeed exercise my foot muscles. I liked them a lot and I don't remember anyone staring or saying anything about my wearing women's sandals. Scholl's sandals are still with us. Lots of colors and styles to choose from and size 11 is now available, too. Both wooden and flexible plastic styles exist. They've come a long way. I don't own any now, but I might consider it. Do you have any in your collection? Steve

[docs41]

I have several pairs of Dr. Scholl exercise sandals too. I am wearing a pair as I write this. Like you, Steve, I prefer the heeled version. I wore the flat style for a while, but the heeled ones are my favorites. I wish we had access here in the US to the Scholl styles that I see for sale in Europe. Some of them have 2" or higher heels similar to the "Peggy" style of Berkemann sandals. I would have at least a few pairs of those if they could be found here. Sometime the worldwide access of the internet can be a curse too by teasing us with something that we can't get at home!

[Puffer]

I like exercise sandals (and find them helpful in relieving my sporadic lower back pain and leg cramps). The Scholl flat wooden sandals ('Pescura') went out of fashion in the UK some years ago and were, I think, more or less discontinued. However, wooden-soled sandals are supposedly making a comeback and are now available again from Scholl in various styles, flat and with raised or higher heels. The men's (flat) version is now reintroduced and I was pleasantly surprised to find them in a local department store very recently in sizes up to UK12 (46) - but the price of £50 is not encouraging. I'm pleased that I got a pair of the older Pescura style in a sale at T. K. Maxx in 2009 for only £6! The Berkemann wooden-soled exercise sandals are even better, imho. The flat unisex 'original sandal' (B100) is great to wear, being lighter than the Scholls. The high-heeled women's styles (e.g. 'Peggy') will appeal to some, but are not made in large sizes. Berkemanns are, unfortunately, very hard to find in the UK and likely to cost around £60 - I got mine at a discounted price from Germany last summer at about £35 including postage. I had not heard of Lanaform sandals before but a quick search shows that they are very like Scholls. At least one pair is on Ebay UK as I write. Exercise sandals (usually wooden) still seem popular in Europe. Apart from Berkemann in Germany, they are often seen in Italy - and the local makes are usually cheaper. Also, the ubiquitous Birkenstock sandals can be found almost everwhere; the unisex 'Madrid' style (single bar, cork latex footbed) is an extremely comfortable 'exercise' style; I wear them at home as slippers.