Tread Labs Insoles Bring Comfort, Support and Energy to Your Feet!

4k of vert climbed at this point. 5k of descending to go.

I have been hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, and just walking around this planet for 46 years with pretty flat feet. That has translated into hip, back, and foot pain on pretty much every outdoor adventure I had ever been on. Last year I found a great solution for my snowboarding boots with Remind insoles. I recently stumbled across Tread Labs Insoles a few months ago on instagram. I think it was a post from Chris Burkard, a super talented photographer, and someone who likes to do type 2 type fun activities outside. Tread Labs looked like they could be a good solution for my hiking and trail running shoes as well as my flat pedal and clipless mtb shoes. I reached out to Tread Labs to see if I could check them out to review and they were super cool to send me a pair of their Pace and Dash insoles. I initially opted for the Medium arch height which ended up being a bit too high and ended up settling with the Low arch height on both the Pace and the Dash.

Dash Insoles

Pace Insoles

For the Dash insole, I have been running them in my mtb shoes, both flat pedal and clipless. The Dash are the stiffest in the Tread Labs lineup and offer the most support.

Dash Insoles in my clipless mtb shoes.

Dash Insoles in my flat pedal mtb shoes.

With both shoes I have noticed less fatigue and soreness over longer rides and the extra cushion provides a bit of extra damping over chattery trails and cased jumps or flat landings. Also, my body feels like it is in better alignment and positioning from my feet up through my knees and hips which translates to feeling better overall on the bike. These nuances are greater felt the longer the rides are, although my rides are typically getting shorter these days due to lack of time, I would still much rather be riding with the Tread Labs footbeds than not.

Dash Insoles in full damping mode.

One thing I like about the Tread Labs footbeds is the fact that you can replace the foam part of the footbed when they wear out as shown in the video below. This goes for all 3 support levels of Tread Labs footbeds.

In my hiking boots and running shoes I have been using the mid-level Pace insert.

Pace Insoles in Hoka hiking boots.

Me and my 13 year old son have been doing a lot more hiking this summer. Last week we did our biggest hike of the year, putting in around 11 miles with about 4k of vert and 5k of descending. Typically on a longer hike like this, especially with this amount of descending, my hips and back would get super sore and tire. I didn't feel any hip or back pain on this hike at all! The last mile to the car my feet were definitely still getting tired and my left knee was feeling it a bit for sure, but that is more due to my lack of fitness than my choice of footbeds. Overall, the Pace footbeds kept me walking and climbing. It felt like they were actually giving back a bit of energy to me through each step. They give my arches a ton more support over the stock footbeds provided in all of my Hoka shoes that I use. Tread Labs let me go further and longer.

Lineup of Hoka shoes.

I will say that I noticed a bit of a "break-in" period. Tread Labs states this on their website as well. I don't think you have to break in the foot bed necessarily. It's more of your feet getting use to the stiffer support. After a few days of wearing them it felt totally normal and comfortable. I'm more stoked to get out and put in more miles either on my feet or on my bike than before thanks to some good footbeds that help out this middle-aged body perform just a little better than it could on it's own.

Looking toward Box Elder Peak.

Warm and clear days have been the norm this fall.

Nothing but blue skies looking toward Timpanogos.

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