There are hard spots in the heel area and under the ankles that probably meant to support your heel but I can imagine I would get blisters or would require a break-in. In general it felt like a boot kind of stiff. Just taking a couple steps I felt pain and also in my Arch. This is the second time I've tried Solomon and they just don't work for me. I kind of like the speed lace thing they are nice and Light and the laces don't flop around and get in your way or undone. But with most speed lace systems you can't really adjust the tightness in different zones i e loose in the toes but tight at the ankle. It's either tight or loose uniformly. Maybe there is a way to do this but I haven't found one and these laces are not stretchy they are like a guitar string. But the laces are not what caused my heel or Arch to hurt. They look really well-made and have nice color schemes but there are just too many things that didn't work with my feet