Yahoo Answer - Insolia vs. Foot Petals

Insolia High Heel Inserts vs. Foot Petals' Killer Kushionz?

Hey girls (and guys)! Have any of you had experience with both of these high heel inserts? Is one more comfortable than the other? Which insert would you recommend? Thanks so much!

love_love_love at Yahoo Answers

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Ok, full disclosure - I'm the Insolia Product Engineer.  But, here are the facts.

Insolia High Heel Inserts work by shifting weight from the forefoot to the heel.  Foot Petals Killer Kushionz are just that - cushions.  So, a quick bit of physics.  Does standing on foam rubber reduce the force on your feet?  No.  Not at all.  Think about it.  If you put a piece of foam rubber over your scale and stand on it, you weigh just the same.  (Well, plus the weight of the foam...)

When you wear 3 inch heels, about 25% of your weight is on your heels, and you guessed it, 75% is on your forefoot.  If you stand on a scale, you weigh what you weigh.  The image on the left shows you what the pressure map is with a standard 3 inch high heel.

When you have Insolia High Heel Inserts properly placed in your heels, you still weigh what you weigh, but now the weight is closer to a 50/50 balance between forefoot and heel.  Think about that, we reduce the pressure on the forefoot by shifting it to the heel - where nature intended.  No magic, just good bio-mechanical engineering.  The image on the right is the same 3 inch heel, worn by the same woman, with Insolia High Heel Inserts installed.  The total weight is the same - it's the distribution that makes all the difference.

So how can Insolia High Heel Inserts work?  They are placed, by you, in the heel of your shoes. (Instructions here - seriously - don't be a Guy - read the instructions!)  They slightly raise the front of the big heel bone, the calcaneus, and that causes your posture to realign, and that shifts weight from the forefoot to the heel.

Now, here's what really weird, at least by US standards.  Insolia High Heel Inserts come in 4 sizes.  Imagine that, a foot product in sizes.  Foot Petals are one size fits all.  Think about that.  Are your shoes one size fits all?  No.  So why are almost all US Foot care products one size fits all?  So the drug stores don't have to allocate more than one peg per product.  Really.  When we were in stores, they only carried two sizes - the 6 to 7 1/2 and the 8 to 10.  They didn't carry the 4 to 5 1/2 and the 10 to 12.    The amazing thing is they real ly wanted to discontinue the 8 to 10, the logic being that those women would be happy with the 6 to 7 1/2.  We pulled out rather than cave in.

Final point - are  your toes crushed into the front of your high heels?  Do you think that adding a pad under the ball of your foot and toes is going to reduce the pressure, or increase it by taking up valuable real estate?  Pressure map testing shows that adding a forefoot cushion - even a thin one like Foot Petals, increases the pressure on the ball of your foot.  And that image on the left, is the same woman in the same 3 inch heels as above - no Insolia - just a thin forefoot cushion - see how the pressure is a little higher in the center - red vs. the orange above?  That's the price you pay for installing a cushion in the already crowded toe box.

Brian Hughes

Insolia Product Engineer