The Great Slipper Search

I have been attempting, albeit halfheartedly, to find slippers for a long time. Last week, it got bitterly cold here and walking around in my sandals or Danskos while inside was not cutting it.  My feet were cold which led to me being cold all over, all the time.  My criteria for slippers were fairly straightforward:  arch support for my ridiculously bad feet, warmth, and not clogs (the not clogs thing is mostly due to warmth - yes, I think most clogs are hideous, but since I would be wearing these strictly in my own home, I don't really care about looks all that much - but clogs usually are not warm enough).  I don't care what they look like, I don't care what they cost, I just want the damn things to be warm and I want to be able to walk at the end of the day.

So I went on a massive spree at Zapppo's and here were the contenders.

Haflinger Swing (Violet) - These are $91 at the link I posted. Kind of pricey, but I think they would have been worth if...if they had fit. They're lined with wool on the inside and would be super warm, but I ordered my regular size it was way too big.  I would have ordered them in another size if I had not found another perfect option, though.

Haflinger Quilted Captain's Slipper (Captain's Blue) - These are $83.66 at the link I posted to, but I'm pretty sure I paid more through Zappo's.  Damn you, free next day shipping and free shipping both ways.  Anyway, these were serious, serious contenders. I wore them around the house for a few hours.  They were so, so, so warm with the wool lining on the top and the bottom.  The clog things was not even an issue in terms of warmth!  The problems were that I had some foot pain by the end of it because there's not that much support in them and that it was really hard to chase the cat, a frequent occurrence in my day, in clogs.  So I pet them sadly and sent them back.

Orthaheel Relax Slipper (Black Spotted) - These Orthaheel's get all kinds of praise from folks who have similar foot issues to mine (plantar fasciitis, swelling feet, and neuropathy in my foot), but I found the footbed to be painfully stiff and straight. The stiff part is fine - it adds much needed support, but the straight part was weird.  It just felt like there was no contour at all to the footbed which was extremely uncomfortable was I walked around in them like I was walking around with a piece of wood strapped to my foot.   At $59.95, it was among my cheaper options, but I sent them back without thinking twice about them

Giesswein Vent Loafer (Mocha) - These were the eventual winners.  The reviews on Zappos said to order a size up, so I did, but they were (*sigh*) too big, so I sent them back and ordered my regular size.  They are not as warm as the Haflinger Quilted, but they are more supportive and they don't fall off when I run after Crazy MeowFace.  It's kind of annoying that I have to tighten the string around the top, but it only takes about five seconds, so I'm willing to deal with it.  These are also awesome because the insole comes out, so when it wears out, I can replace it with my own orthotics and keep using the slippers.  Win win!  (Not a win at the $127 price tag, but seriously, I can deal with that if I'm not going to be buying slippers again in the next ten years and my feet are warm.)