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loving the ride

~ exploring the world (with a little vélo love)

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Category Archives: sports

comfy, custom-fit wolverine ics hiking shoes

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by lovingtheride in gear, great outdoors, sports, travel

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Tags

best hiking shoes, best hiking shoes for women, elevator inc pr company, gel cushion insoles, heel gel insoles, hiking evergreen brick works quarry, hiking gear canada, hiking shoes canada, ics individual comfort system, new athletic shoe technology, where to buy hiking shoes in canada, wolverine brand shoes, wolverine hiking shoes, wolverine ics, wolverine rugged outdoor, wolverine shoes canada, wolverine shoes for women, wolverine shoes review, wolverine shoes salina

We spent the day hiking around the Brick Works, getting the scoop on Wolverine’s new ICS technology from Yahn Lebo, product line/category sales manager for the footwear company’s Rugged Outdoor collection.

Let it be known that as much as I love cycling, hiking and paddling, I hate shopping. I especially hate shopping for – gasp! – shoes.

“How could that be?” you ask? “How could anyone hate shoe shopping?!” Alas, I detest the task. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t like shoes; what I can’t stand is the struggling to find a pair that sorta, kinda fit. I’ve resigned myself to the never-ending challenge of finding a comfy pair of sporty shoes that fit my small but wide feet while offering enough support and cushioning. I dread shoe shopping so much, I actually avoid buying athletic footwear till I desperately need new gear on vacation!

So when Elevator Inc. recently invited me to their Wolverine “Take a Hike” event at Evergreen Canada’s Brick Works – one of my favourite outdoor spaces in Toronto – I was eager to get my feet into some Wolverine ICS Salina hiking shoes  ($144.99). From Wolverine’s Fall 2012 Rugged Outdoor line, they’ve a special snazzy feature that’s perfect for finicky feet like mine.

When I hike, I usually wear my Keen boots, but lately they’ve been doing more harm than good: while training for the Camino last year, I had to buy gel heel insoles to alleviate pain in my Achilles tendons when I hiked. Boy, what a difference did those gel insoles make!

So let’s just say that I was “keen” on trying out the Salina’s gel cushion, which provides adjustable comfort.

Yes, you read right: the shoes offer built-in adjustable comfort! The Salina features Wolverine’s amazing new Individual Comfort System (ICS) technology, which lets you personalize your footwear’s level of support by rotating the gel heel disc hidden under the removable insole of each shoe or boot. The thickness of the gel disc varies at different points, so as you rotate the disc, you’ll get more or less cushioning and support.

The idea of having what’s essentially multiple gel insoles in one shoe is pretty cool! It means you can customize your hiking shoes on the go, without ever enduring the hassle of purchasing and trying out specific insoles. With ICS, Wolverine builds in those options for you!


DIAL YOUR COMFORT

The Individual Comfort System has four settings that you can adjust to suit your comfort level: Cushion (C), Firm (F), Inward (I) and Outward (O).

According to Wolverine, each setting helps reduce force and torque on your body with each step you take. It’s easy to adjust the disc: simply lift up the insole (as shown above), pull out the gel disc and rotate it so your comfort setting points to the arrow in the footbed, then insert the disc and replace the insole.

Here’s what ICS looks like in action on a demo piece. (The red piece is the gel disc for the right foot, as viewed from behind; the black part is the footbed.)

cushion As I learned when I used my gel heel insoles on the Camino, a cushioned heel aids shock absorption and relieves pressure on your joints. You can see that this setting provides a bouncy, airy support at the back of the heel. Yahn Lebo, product line/category sales manager for Wolverine’s Rugged Outdoor collection, says this is the ideal setting to start on; as such, when you try on a new pair of Wolverines with ICS, Cushion is the default setting.

firm When we started our hike through the quarry gardens, all of our discs were set on Cushion. Partway through the hike, we stopped and switched the setting to Firm, and within a few minutes, I noticed a difference. My feet felt more comfortable and I actually had a bit of a spring in my step. The Firm setting has thicker support at the back of the heel, and according to Wolverine, it gives you more energy return, so it’s best for those hikes when you want to go harder and farther.

inward This setting is for people with low arches, or those who tend to wear out their soles on the inner edges. You can see that it stabilizes your foot by providing more firm support along the inside edge of your foot and more cushioning along the outside.

outward People with high arches should try the Outward setting. The reverse of Inward, it offers firmer support for the outer edge of your foot while providing more cushioning for the inner edge. As you can see here, it also slightly repositions your foot to offer more stability.


THE VERDICT

When I showed up to the event, Yarn (shown at left) was eager to explain how ICS works, and the brand experts on site where equally eager to get us into a pair of our very own Wolverine ICS shoes.

I was given a choice: the lace-up Salina or the Outlander, a waterproof leather moc. While I love the ease of a slip-on, I picked the Salina because laces allow for a more custom fit – and what is ICS about if not a custom fit?

I’m really glad we had the chance to talk to Yahn and that he suggested we switch settings while on our hike. As I said above, I felt more comfortable walking the gentle trails of the Brick Works with the disc dialed to Firm, but I’ve noticed since then that my aching heels really appreciate the Cushion setting when I’m standing more than walking.

As I head out on my first major camping and hiking adventure this summer, I’m sooo gonna put my Wolverine ICS hikers to task, adjusting the gel cushion as the terrain and my pace change! I’m also crossing my fingers that Wolverine expands the Spring 2013 line to include ICS boots for women…a gal’s gotta have a good, supportive mid-height four-season hiker to muck about in the mud and snow, natch!

___________________________________________________________________

What: Wolverine ICS Salina trail hikers from the Rugged Outdoor collection.
Colours: Cement/Royal (shown), Sand/Orange, Khaki/Fuchsia
Cost: $144.99 Cdn
Where to buy: The Salina and other shoes from the Rugged Outdoor line, featuring ICS technology, are available in Canada through the Wolverine website. The Salina is also available at the following retailers: Traxx Footwear; Work N Play; Centre de Chaussures, Victoriaville, Quebec, 819-758-4389; Bi-OP; Frenchie’s Service Centre. Go! Get your Wolverine on!

winter solstice (or let’s skate, toronto)

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by lovingtheride in art, crafts, outdoors, sports

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Tags

costa rica, holidays, parade, skating, snow, toronto, winter solstice

My first skate of the season! OK, so I'm not actually in this pic, as I was behind the cam, but I was having just as much fun as those people gliding across the ice, trying not to fall.

Sadly, I’m spending the holidays here in Toronto. No, no, it’s not so bad. Spending the holidays last year in Costa Rica was divine, but as I’ve said before, I missed all the fun and family time in the Great White North while I was hiking great wild jungles in the south. But this year, we’re sorely lacking in snow here in T.O. Though it has been unseasonably warm (Toronto’s warmer than Texas and L.A.!), that hasn’t stopped peeps from having winter fun. Witness the families speeding around the rink at Nathan Phillips Square this past weekend. Somewhere in that crowd is the lovely lady who nearly gave me a black eye and bloody nose when she suddenly threw her arms out, whacking me in the face as she tried to catch her balance. And, yes, I was laughing along with her, cracking a joke that I don’t really need these glasses to see….

My goal for the holidays, aside from spending as much time with my family as possible, is to hit the rink every day. By no means am I a good skater, mind you. On Saturday, I had to ask a kind gentleman to hold my hand so I could step down onto the ice! And I had a few near collisions too – as the collidee, not the collider. But it’s always a hoot to try not to fall while feigning graceful glides (in my mind, I resemble a speed skater), and watching others fall funny or make every attempt not to fall is def good for a giggle.

So a-skating I will go before I head over to Kensington Market on Wednesday, Dec. 21, with my lantern in hand, ready to join the annual winter solstice parade. Winter solstice, symbolic of rebirth, marks the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun’s maximum elevation is at its lowest. Organized by Red Pepper Spectacle Arts, the parade in Kensington is a tradition, and many participants come prepared with a lantern made at Red Pepper’s PWYC lantern-making workshop the weekend before winter solstice. Be warned, this isn’t a parade that you watch from the sidelines – the route is usually so packed and the parade moves so slow, there’s really no room for folks to merely watch. And unless you’ve snagged yourself a prime rooftop perch, it’s ever more fun to join in the parade and light up the night!

__________________________________________________________

What: Kensington Market Winter Solstice parade
Where: Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The parade starts at the corner of Oxford Street and Augusta Avenue, proceeding through the market and ending in Alexandra Park at 8 p.m.
When: Wednesday, December 21, 2012, 6:30 p.m.
Bonus: Bring your lanterns and noisemakers.
Dress in colourful costume. Go with the flow!

__________________________________________________________

Ohh! Fire! Take a look at
how vibrant the
parade
was in person…

Winter Solstice Parade
Explodes with Excitement

Check out Nathan Phillips Square
at night…
Skating in the Rain

jennifer krissilas

A girl, her bike, a wee bit o' wanderlust...a lust for life in general. And all things pretty. We can't forget the pretty.

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about

Oh, the outdoor adventuress. Exploring the world (with a little vélo love). Disguised as a freelance editor. Just a girl, her bike, a wee bit o' wanderlust...a lust for life in general. And all things pretty. We can't forget the pretty. Or the sweets. xoxo jen

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© 2011/2012 loving the ride. No part of this blog or its content may be reproduced without prior written permission.

Recent Posts

  • happy new year to all, and to all a good (and safe) night!
  • christmas carollers bring festive cheer to toronto
  • remembrance day: lest we forget
  • TIFF in the park brings classic screwball comedies to toronto all summer long
  • toronto port authority’s sail-in cinema returns, august 16-18, 2012
  • comfy, custom-fit wolverine ics hiking shoes
  • alexi murdoch turns up the heat in toronto
  • it wouldn’t be canada if we didn’t have to stop for geese crossing the road
  • and this is why i dislike the MMVAs
  • toronto’s open roof film festival heralds the start of summer
  • world naked bike ride day: toronto cyclists bare all for the environment
  • luminato celebrates creativity in toronto and the world
  • i heart: “this bike is my car” bike bell
  • black out and speak out on july 4, 2012
  • camino albergues: where to stay between ponferrada and triacastela

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  • Hi @DrSheilaSahni! Just checking whether you'll be able to respond to that fact-check email by EOD today. Thanks! 5 years ago
  • Hi @DrSheilaSahni! A heads-up that I e'd a fact-check query re: a reprint of this AARP article: bit.ly/2jApnGw 5 years ago
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