All posts by Chris Nesti

Author of Popdiatry.com
humor, walking

Advanced Walking Technique #2 : Periscoping

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Why did the human cross the road?

Periscoping is when you stick your head into the street just enough to eye a glimpse of traffic. Runners often do this instinctively at cross streets, but the technique is useful for any walker in a rush who enjoys not being hit by a car.

If there’s a big truck/van/something blocking clear view of the trafficway, simply channel the comic hero Plastic Man and kind of stretch your neck to eyeball a snap-survey and the rest of your body can continue or stop accordingly. Even if motor vehicles are at a standstill, cyclists and skaters may still be zooming. Mastery of this peek-around technique can save valuable seconds during a city walk all while exercising key neck muscles.

Read more advanced walking techniques 

 

humor, walking

Advanced Walking Technique #1: Fast-laning

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Fast-laning is when you rush along on the very outer part of the sidewalk or walkway. Outside of the parking meters, outside the planters, the bike-racks, hydrants, mailboxes, scaffolding- likely treating the curb like a balance beam, eyes peeled for animal droppings and automobiles. Even the best planners occasionally find themselves in a rush and if the powerwalk trajectory is congested by stuck-together saunterers and other slow pokery— fastlaning, even if just to pass some crowded clumps, is something we’ve all done.

Fast-laning : Advanced Walking Technique number one

Read more Advanced Walking Techniques 

comfort, ingenuity, Insoles, review, sole

Zederna Cedar Wood Insoles: First Impression

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We love natural materials on the inside of our footwear. Leather, suede and cork do a superior job of molding to our footprint and absorbing perspiration. What about wood? A brand called Zederna manufactures these ultra-thin insoles made of cedar wood, and I’m giving them a good walk-around.

ZedernaInsolesThin

Cedar is the world’s go-to freshening wood. Layering a thin piece of 100% cedar over 100% cotton to create a shoe insole seems brilliant at first impression. The pleasant smell is there. The soles are stiff, pliable, and about as thin as a penny.

ZedernaBacks

Zedernas come in fourteen different sizes (women’s 5 to men’s 14), and are not intended to ever be cut with scissors. This product worked best in shoes with a relatively neutral insole shape and would not be ideal for sneakers or footwear with orthotic-style footbeds. More on that later.

ZedernaThinAsCoins

The packaging says you can wear these without socks. After trying them in a variety of different types of shoe, I gave them a long-term gig inside my Softstar Portlanders which I tend to wear sockless around at home during the warmer months. 

ZedernasInSoftStars

To be continued 

humor, walking

Advanced Walking Techniques: Introduction

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Fashioned on the crisscrossed jaywalker-friendly streets of Boston Massachusetts, and refined on the overcrowded walkways and platforms of New York City, I bring to you a new feature:

Advanced Walking Techniques

These techniques will assist with proficient movement among earthlings on a variety of terrains using your two feet and one brain.

A few fundamentals to keep in mind while walking

  • Try to never be in a rush. Rushing increases chances of falling, bumping and other bumbling moves that advanced walkers avoid.
  • Don’t wear sandals, flip-flops or other open-toed footwear when walking city streets. Closed, secure footwear offers superior support and protection from pebbles, germs and other comfort invaders including the dreaded “flat tire” if someone (a walking amateur) mistakenly steps on the back of your foot.
  • “Pull-over” when checking your phone. If it’s important enough to check (a text, a map), it deserves full attention. People walking behind you will appreciate it, and you’ll decrease chances of a walking accident.
  • Keep your eyes on the road. Remember to glance down every so often as walkways can often feature animal excrement, gum and other day-ruiners.
comfort, game, laces

Shoelace Tongue Slots and the Underover Way

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 Tongue slots, lace guides– those courtesy cuts or patches on the tongues of footwear that allow wearers to loop through when lacing

NBlaceguide

Try lacing up at first ignoring the slots then doing a pre-walk (light wear around inside) and making some observations. Note where the laces naturally overlap, then re-lace incorporating the courtesy slots. It’s okay for the tongues to naturally drift a little to the sides, but a proclivity of them starting to slowly slide around the arch of your foot is what the lace guides are meant to prevent.

FinnLeatherLace

You might find you don’t need to use them at all. I’ve come to prefer the underover method (as shown in photos), where I use the lace slots under, but not over when I cross lace up.

LaceGuideskipper

Feet are just Louisiana-shaped bags of bones best enabled by having the sturdy flexibility that wrapping laces partially around them offers. Try out the underover way and let me know what you think. 

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laces, running

Little Shoe Things To Be Happy about

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Sometimes I feel like the only one- the only one who is never content with the length of shoelaces that come stock with some footwear. Laces always seem way too long right? Shoe shops never seem to have a great selection of laces, but I was pleasantly surprised that behind the counter of Journeys Shoes and Clothing hung this pair of 39-inch laces that fit a pair of my Mauris perfectly. 36’s were too short, 45’s too long so yes, a pair of shoelaces made me happy. 

Journeys39InchBlackLaces

Thanks to a gigantic attention-getting promotional Skechers sneaker on a table at a volunteer fair I happen to be walking by the other day, I came to learn about an organization called Back on My Feet.

BackOnMyFeet

Back on My Feet works to combat homelessness by directing resources toward specific housing and employment initiatives, while fostering self-esteem in homeless individuals (many who are veterans) through the communal act of getting together for a run. Big city marathons to small morning groups- keep an eye out for them. There are chapters in 12 major US cities. I encourage anyone to check out their site for more information. Wicked-cool shout out to the staff from the NYC chapter.

Vans Bike Grips 

I needed some new grips for my mountain bike. I used to love the ODI mushroom grips back in my BMX Freestyle days- were they still making grips? (searches web) Hell yeah they are.

ODIVansBikeGripsFor someone who grew up wearing Vans, these rubber grips featuring the classic waffle-sole pattern, also made-in-the-USA like the old Vans used to be- bought ’em faster than a wheel spin.

What the heck- just a few little things that made me happy recently 

retro

Converse X Biz Markie (1990)

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I was listening to an old No I.D. instrumental, and he used a long sample of Biz Markie on one of the beats. Pete Rock always sampled Biz on his early work. Beasties did songs with Biz.. 

BIzConverseCassingleTapeFront

Biz is the producer’s favorite rapper, your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper, and now he’s your favorite DJ’s favorite DJ, so I’m kicking myself for not ordering one of these Converse shirts 26 years ago.

BIzMarkieConverseBack

Yes I made digital versions off the tape and they knock. 

comfort, footwear

Say Aloha to Island Slippers

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I’m going to write something nice about flip-flops (the double F-word) for the first time ever, specifically these Island Slipper men’s Paniolo sandals handcrafted in Hawaii, USA  that I happily purchased with my own Benjamin.

IslandSlipperPanioloFlag

Popdiatry recommends not wearing flip-flops on city streets, while travelling (planes and trains), and definitely not while driving. I was looking for something that surrounded my foot with leather, and these do that.
IslandSlipperPaniolos

If you’re going to flip-flop, do it right and spend a little more than it would cost for lunch at Wendy’s. These are your feet! Island Slipper has lots of designs using leather, suede, and denim- materials we feel offer a happier foot-feel than plastic/foam.

IslandSlipperPanioloLedged

When it’s summer, and I’m at my place working on the computer for long hours, these cowhide leather-topped flip-flops feel perfect on my bare feet, and I look forward to the natural wear they will incur throughout the many years I imagine owning them.IslandSlipperGrassy

They have some arch to them, a heal cup, and a non-marking rubber deck outsole, so you won’t scuff up the yacht.

IslandSlipperSole

Island Slipper makes sandals for men and women, and offers true number sizes (not like S/M/L/XL) The slippers are made upon order and find their way to your doorstep in about three weeks after confirmation.

IslandSlipperMensLeather

The embossed leather pattern is very cool, asymmetrical, and florally Hawaiian they way I imagine a Hawaiian shirt pattern.

IslandSlipperPanioloMens

I have an inexpensive pair of foam slides for walking around after a shower, but they were very un-chill to wear for long periods of time with their ultra-synthetic feel. When I slide my feet into leather Island Slippers, I want to keep them on. 

IslandSlipperPanioloDusk

The Island Slipper staff was very friendly and helpful, and I look forward to sharing more thoughts about their unique products. 

comfort, review

Off The Path: Hat Jack Hat Stretcher

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The Hat Jack Hat Stretcher by Killer Incorporated is made in the USA out of wood and metal, and is exactly what I needed to expand some fitted New Era 59FIFTY caps back to wearable size.

The Hat Jack Hat Stretcher
The Hat Jack Hat Stretcher

“Headache Relief For Hat People”

The Jack comes in three sizes, and will set you back around 15 bucks. I used it to stretch, but like shoe-trees for kicks, it is an excellent device to leave inserted while storing hats between wears to absorb moisture and prevent shrinkage.

HatJackInstructions

Get the appropriate size, stick it in your tight hat and hand-crank until it feels like it may rip.  Get a teapot or pan with water boiling in the kitchen until some visible steam is produced 

New Era 59/50 getting stretched
New Era 59/50 getting stretched

With this wool baseball cap, I held each side over the steam a little bit then used a wrench to carefully expand until I sensed the threads might pop. I let it sit overnight, and cranked it a little more in the morning.

Careful not to tip it money
Careful not to rip it money

No more torture on thy forehead; I knew there had to be a tight-hat solution and a Hat Jack was the answer. Whether you rock Stetsons, Yankee-fitteds, straw hats or mack-daddy felts, the Hat Jack is an excellent piece of hardware at a great price.

Popdiatry occasionally writes about non-shoe gear in this feature called “Off The Path”.