These shoes are the only reason I can walk! I'm a teacher and I have achilles tendonitis in both ankles. I have had it for almost 18 months. I've had physical therapy. I've bought all sorts of inserts, wraps, night splints, and ointments. I've stretched and exercised these tendons only to have them hurt worse. I have spent hundreds of dollars on athletic shoes that are supposed to be the best for people with this condition. Hundreds more on sandals. They all cause me more pain. No matter what I've tried, at the end of every day I am in so much pain that I cannot walk...until I bought these shoes. They are not curing my tendonitis; sadly I still have it. But if I wear these shoes I have almost no pain. If I wear any other pair of shoes even if only for a few minutes I suffer for days. It's crazy. I can only assume that it is the "microwobbleboard" footbed.  FitFlops has a patent pending on this footbed technology. They say that it absorbs shock and diffuses underfoot pressure by increasing the contact area of the foot to the midsole. I had to look that up. It seems that the midsole is the most important part of any running shoe because its whole purpose is to absorb shock, provide cushion, and  control excessive foot motion. Whatever it is, it is working for me!! I bought a second pair with the same footbed but in thong style. I wore them for the first time for a few hours yesterday. I had no pain last night and no pain this morning so now I know it is this particular footbed that is working for me. These shoes run a little bit wide but not huge. If you have a narrow foot, I'm not sure what to recommend. I don't have a wide foot. My foot width is very average but I don't mind that there is a little room. It isn't falling off or anything; it's just not hugging my foot. I actually like it. My foot sits comfortably on the footbed and I'm not wobbling around. I have spent some serious time on my feet in these shoes and literally had no pain. I rated them as "fit as expected" because they are not longer than the shoe size would indicate. They don't come in half sizes so if you're a 7 1/2 with an average foot width I'd order a 7. I'm an 8. I ordered an 8 and I can tell you that while these would be fine for someone who is typically 8 1/2, a 7 would have been too small for me.

Amazon definitely offers the best prices I've found on the FitFlop brand.  On the FitFlop web site this style is $110. I paid about $55 on Amazon. Only high end retailers sell them locally--Nordstrom and Von Maur. I made a trip to Von Maur only to be completely disappointed at the selection. They had only about 2 or 3 styles and nothing with the microwobbleboard footbed.

I love that these shoes are pretty. I can wear them with jeans or shorts, or I can wear them with a dress or skirt. I get compliments on them. Also, after about 2 months of literally wearing only these shoes, the little beads are staying on. I was concerned about that but so far so good. Not all of their sandals have this footbed so if you're looking for help managing foot pain, read read read the reviews. This brand was recommended to me by a fellow foot pain sufferer and I couldn't be more thrilled. I did a lot of research and rejected quite a few styles before choosing this one. She told me the same thing--research before you buy. I don't know what I'm going to do when the weather turns cold. FitFlop has some actual shoes with this footbed, but they're expensive. I will keep scouring Amazon.