Best Shoes for Walking on Concrete

Jerri Edwards
5 min readFeb 5, 2021

--

In principle, the choice of the best shoes for walking on concrete is much easier than when we are looking for them for running and it’s simple: Choose a pair of shoes that are comfortable for you when you put them on and take a few steps with them, it’s that easy.

It doesn’t matter your type of footprint. It doesn’t matter if it is for a person of more or less weight, if they are more or less light, since the vast majority of mid-high range shoes are perfect candidates for our walks.

Looking specifically for the term “walk” when looking for shoes will not help us much either since many brands incorporate it directly into the name of the shoes, selling them specifically for it, but usually they end up being less flexible than running shoes. So the first guideline is to look for running shoes (although we are not going to use them for running).

Another way to select the best shoes for walking on concrete can be very obvious: Let yourself be guided by what you like. By this, we mean the different aspects of the shoe, beyond its design. Flexibility, firmness, if we prefer them looser or tighter. These factors influence whether the recommendations are more to our liking or not and will affect the final decision. Price is also a big factor to consider.

You also have to mark the use that you are going to give the shoes since it is not the same to go around the block than to go around the entire perimeter of your city. But this, like the previous ones, is governed by sensations.

Because of the almost infinite range of shoe options and due to the preferences of each person, recommendations are not always easy. When someone is looking for some walking shoes, very cushioned shoes usually work well and many times they are right so we have guided ourselves with that in mind. With that said, our list of best shoes for walking on concrete is:

10. Brooks Levitate

The Brooks Levitate have incorporated the new DNA AMP foam encapsulated in their midsole to offer a cushioning that allows us to devour kilometers with ease. These shoes allow the energy of each step to return, which makes the most overweight feel light. With great traction on concrete, even on dirt, their only con is that on the wet ground they can slip a bit.

9. New Balance Fresh Foam V7

Version 7 of these shoes doesn’t leave behind the magnificent comfort that fresh foam shoes provide. With the geometry acquired from this model, it allows us to feel the comfort of the sole as if we were stepping on it for the first time.

8. Adidas Ultraboost

The Adidas Ultraboost offers us excellent grip both in dry and wet with considerable resistance to wear and tear. In addition, their modern design makes them quite light.

7. Asics Gel Kayano 24

That they are the 24th edition says a lot about the great result they give. this edition is lighter in weight. They provide great comfort and cushioning.

6. Asics Noosa FF

The model that replaced the iconic Noosa Tri. Expectations were high from the start, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. Its new Flyte Foam cushioning brought great joy to people. The cushioning of these shoes allows you to walk faster and with a higher stride rate.

5. Hoka One One Clayton 2

The appearance of these shoes at first may seem heavy, but everything changes when you take them. They combine great cushioning with great lightness, weighing only about 200 grams. Being softer in the heel is a factor that people who start the steps with their foot raised will appreciate.

4. Brooks Hyperion

The sole made with a Blown Rubber compound, a rubber with great resistance to wear, offers traction on any surface, and although this may penalize its durability a little, it will be of great help on wet floors, avoiding possible accidents.

3. Saucony Kinvara 8

Its midsole combines EVA and EVERUN. The EVA provides reactivity, stability, and consistency to the tread while the EVERUN offers us the friendly, soft part that makes this Saucony Kinvara 8 versatile, both for long walks and short routes.

2. Nike Zoom Elite 9

With 225 grams of weight and remarkable versatility, its Duralon sole has a design with pentagonal shapes that allows support and grip spread over the entire surface of the same.

1. New Balance Tempo

Its best qualities are lightness, response, flexibility, and grip. The tempo comes with new technological materials, such as the innovative midsole made in Fresh Foam X. A foam that makes the midsole even lighter and more reactive with greater cushioning capacity and energy return. All this makes them the best option for both regular runners and people who just want to walk.

--

--