Making Issued Low Quarters A Little More Comfortable

My issued Air Force dress shoes were so uncomfortable! I'm not sure why it took me so long to fix this problem but I finally did. It made a big difference for me and I thought it may be helpful to some of the military members to see what I did.

I never had any luck finding comfortable/minimalist dress shoes that would work with the Air Force uniform. I got so mad at these shoes one day I pulled on the heel and noticed it gave a bit. I pulled harder and was able to partially separate it from the shoe. I went home that day and ripped them off. I thought I would share some pictures to assist anyone that is interested in trying it out. It's really easy to do. Probably a 10 minute job.

Make sure you keep the nails and heels incase you want to revert back to normal!


Here we go.



This is what they normall look like.



Normal outsole



I started by taking the insert out and noticed the nails holding the heel in place.



To get the heel off you just have to pull it away from the sole until you get some room to shove something flat in there preferably a pry bar (in my case a screw driver). I recommend something wide (not a screw driver) so you don’t poke a hole or damage the sole. Once you pry the heel off you can then use a hammer to tap the screws up enough through the insole to pull them out with pliers from the other end.



I removed the stock insole and replaced with this unused one from a pair of Inov8s.




Close to zero drop. This picture makes them look a bit strange but to this day no one has commented or noticed the missing heel.

My knees don't ache anymore and I can power walk/jog in them with a lot less discomfort. I still wouldn't say they are comfortable but they are now bearable. They are also significantly lighter. The heels that came off felt like led weights.

I do need to point out a few issues I think people may have with these modifications. There will no longer be any tread where the heels used to be. There are also little holes from where the nails were. I have walked in water without any leakage, but I think some sort of shoe glue would seal the holes if anyone has any problems. The replaced insoles were very thick and the shoes now feel a bit loose. And the worst part is you will now be and inch or so shorter than you used to be

 

Here is a link to AFI and a quote from it if anyone is worried about these not being in regulation.

AFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance