[OldRaincoat]

I'm looking for very comfortable "hybrid" shoes sneakers-alike to dress in spring and fall mostly for walking but I want to use them in a quite formal environment as an office is. They've not to be elegant nor sporty and I'd prefer they'd be made of leather. My limit is around 100$ and I don't care about brands and esthetics.
My gauge is merrell sprint blast which were perfect for my feet and lasted much time. They were also very sober and i guess I got the most "anonymous" model, the j39149, so I dressed them at office with no issues. I'm considering Ecco shoes too because I can get them at my local amazon but I don't know them and can't try them so I'd like to ask you a comparison with merrell for comfortableness. Anyway everything you can buy at EU web market can be considered

 

[Woofa]

Hello. Welcome to the forums. Just to clarify, the picture you show looks to be a black leather sneaker as opposed to a shoe. This would not pair up well with what most here would consider business wear.
Still you could wear these casually with cotton pants and a polo for casual wear.
Your example is at odds with a quite formal office and really do not match anything above jeans or khaki type pants.
Sorry I have no recommendations for similar. Would you think of moving up to a actual leather shoe with laces? Probably going to be difficult in your price range. Can you possibly move up. I would hope any well fitting shoe should be comfortable enough for basic wear/walking.

 

[Zengineer]

Surely something like these Timberlands would be better for an office setting. Doc Marten is another option.

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[Color 8]

I have been seeing A LOT of old guys who have decided that they can wear black sneakers with suits.

Please don't be one of them.
You are not going to find a shoe that's as comfortable as a sneaker, but you should be able to find a shoe that you can live with during your work day

 

[eagle2250]

Take a look at the shoes offered by Nike, featuring a dress shoe upper and an athletic shoe sole. It would not be a perfect shoe for an office environment, but would be better suited than what the OP is considering. :icon_scratch:

 

[icky thump]

I prefer Blundstones or similar Chelsea boots. Acceptable business footwear and as comfortable as sneakers. They can be a little bit more but only barely so on Amazon, if you know your size.

 

[SG_67]

You mentioned Ecco and I would urge you to try that.

I don’t own any myself, but have heard good things about them. It’s worth a look.

Your budget does tend to limit your options. You may have to go the off price route. Good luck.

 

[OldRaincoat]

Ok guys, sorry for my mistake but my english is plenty of rust: I wanted to mean both "shoes" and "sneakers". I just forgot to specify a pair of sneakers will be good for my goal, can you forgive me please? I've already got "shoes" in the sense of formal shoes for business time and elegant shoes for proper happenings, therefore I'm looking for a... "serious/conservative" pair of sneakers, I mean with sober colors like black or brown and one not contrasting with the others. My goal is comfort so if sneakers are better as Color 8 said I'll get them and not shoes.
I hope that explanation sounds less odd as Woofa defined my first one
Let me point to some other options I found on UE amazons: they're a pair of mephisto and 2 ecco's (indianapolis and derby).
Anyway I correct my mistake and add "sneakers" to my 1st post

 

[Zengineer]

I'm not sure how most of us will be able to help. I have dress shoes, dress boots, casual boots, casual shoes, work boots, hunting boots, snow boots, boat shoes, bowling shoes....and sneakers. You are looking for a hybrid that I can't warm up to.

Your best bet if you aren't terribly fussy is going to be the clearance area of a giant online retailer.

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[Vecchio Vespa]

I’d suggest for comfort oriented shoes in that price range that you look at Rockports. For pure sneakers I’ve never worn any more comfortable than Nike airs. Another pair of Merrells would also be an excellent choice. Lastly and somewhat amazingly a pair of black Toms with black soles would be very workable and comfortable.

 

[OldRaincoat]

I'm watching ecco website right now and a pair of their shoes are defined "A TRUE OFFICE HYBRID". It sounds quite weird to me but I think hybrid can be the real key word I was searching as Zengineer said I've corrected and added "hybrid" to my 1st post, now I think the overall definition of my goal is better from the beginning (I do hope)
I saw some Toms -I didn't know them before- and found they're very similar to italian shoes Superga. I had a pair of superga when I was young but now I think I'll get a pair of merrell again or mephisto or ecco.

I pointed to the so-called barefoot shoes group too but I didn't find anyone sober enough for my goal, I mean they look too sporty for me, or they seem too light for autumn time or they're just out of my budget. Anyway I accept suggestions, if any.

Maybe all you've already understood my idea/gauge of comfort because know merrell shoes anyway I'd like to stress a detail I think is important. It's fundamental for me the shoes to have a very flexible outer sole. All my elegant shoes have a stiff outer sole and my running shoes have it very flexible. My merrell had it very flexible and you could bend it in all the ways you want, the same for my puma motorazzo (301579-10) which are perfect sneakers for narrow feet like mine but unfortunately they're not cushioned enough for me so I can't use them for long walks. I've found and tried skechers in my local shops and they seemed very comfortable due to their memory foam inner sole but as soon as I walked some steps I realized how stiff the outer sole was and definitely I'm not interested in them because I think the overall quality is very poor so I don't think they'd last as merrell did.
That said I'd like to know if Ecco and Mephisto shoes have a flexible sole like merrels and if you know any other hybrid shoes with this characteristic.

 

[poppies]

For my tastes, I find that a shoe trying to fit into two very different categories (“hybrid”) tends to just be overly compromised in both areas. I let my sneakers be sneakers, and my dress shoes be dress shoes, and never the twain shall meet. My dress shoes will never be as flexible/“comfortable” as my sneakers because that would fundamentally undercut their elegance.

With that said, my tastes seem to be in the minority, because I’m seeing an increasing amount of business/sport hybrids on offer these days.

 

[OldRaincoat]

I've found a very small ecco retailer and I tried "AQUET M" (207184-02038) which were the most sober one. Not bad at all: the arch support is quite ergonomic which is the best advantage for me; an overall feeling of nice comfort with just few steps within the shop I did my "test" trying to bend the outer sole by my hands but it was quite stiff I guess due to its width, anyway more then merrel's I had used for sure. I don't remember merrell's very well but I guess both ones are comfortable as soon as you put your feet inside them and walk few steps but I guess merrell sprint blast are better for long walks because they're more flexible.
Definitely I think I'll buy merrell's again both for personal aesthetic taste and for my purpose (city walks when happen). I hope this could be taken as a personal comparison, very narrow indeed

 

[eagle2250]

^^
The one and only Merrel shoe I ever wore was a pair of their Jungle Mocs: a convenient slip-on design, well priced, very comfortable, solid footing and last but not least, butt PDU (pretty darned ugly). Recalling just ho good those Merrel's felt on my feet, I can only wish I were not so damn vain!

 

[OldRaincoat]

Yeah, comfort and aesthetics sometimes argue, anyway for this purpose (and only for this) I let comfort to win I just regret not to find rockports nor mephisto in my local shops, I know I could buy them via amazon and give them back in the case but I think that's not worth it this time.

 

[SG_67]

You may want to look into these:

https://www.samuelhubbard.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkZTXy5vd4QIVErbACh0m-wfMEAAYASAAEgIR-fD_BwE

I don't have personal experience but I've seen them worn out and about and their website claims them to be "ridiculously comfortable".

I believe this violates your $100 budget, but then again so would Mephisto.

 

[Dhaller]

Just go ahead and endure the online hassle and expense and spring for Mephisto, because that's the best solution.

I mean, they exist to satisfy the niche you describe.

DH

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

I find it interesting that when people talk about comfortable shoes they are usually focused on the footbed. For me it’s all about soft uppers. Hands down the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn are Alden suedes and Santoni nappa loafers. Not relevant to helping the OP, just a random thought.

 

[Canadian]

I honestly suggest a pair of black leather Reebok sneakers. I had two pair in black they went well with non jean pants.I didn't know better so I wore them with suits.

Another option is the Rockport Dressport line. Super comfortable for inexpensive shoes. I have a set I wear when I'm going somewhere a leather dress shoe would get wrecked or would be too formal.

The Reebok is probably as close as a hybrid as you would find on the mainstream market.

I realize some here would disagree but I can't always afford the absolute best. So I look for deals, knowing a shoe might fall apart after 150 wearing..

Merrill has some designs which are comfortable, but ugly. I had a friend backpack through Europe with a set, wearing only one pair of shoes. If I ever get to do the Camino, I'd probably use my Merrill Moabs. However, you probably aren't looking for a hiking shoe.


C.

 

[mad_data_scientist]

I don’t know if I fully understand your criteria, but I think Lems might be worth a look. I have worn a pair of the boots and the boat shoes for a couple of years, and they are very comfortable, with soles so flexible you can roll them up. They are however rather wide, especially in the toes. Vivo Barefoot is another solid brand, but they are more expensive.