This review is what happened after I obsessed for weeks over FitFlop sneakers. We conducted a thorough investigation, scrutinizing the side effects, ingredients, clinical research and level of customer service. Plus, we looked at hundreds of user comments and remarks from around the web. Lastly, we compacted all of the information we found to give you the facts and details you need.
What is FitFlop?
FitFlop is a footwear brand that provides superior comfort, with supposed benefits for conditions like plantar fasciitis, arthritis, back pain, heel spurs, and everything related to muscle tightening in calves, buttocks, and thighs. As a footwear brand, it includes various kinds of shoes, such as clogs, boots, sneakers, FitFlop sandals, casual shoes, and the most famous of their products, the flip-flop.
All the footwear is developed by a biomechanical engineer and a personal trainer, both from Britain, who have designed new technologies: triple-density Microwobbleboard, dual-density SuperComff, single-density Anatomicush, and the single-density iQushion. These are all types of midsoles that provide superior underfoot comfort and cushioning.
How Did FitFlop Start?
The brand was created by Marcia Kilgore, an entrepreneur from Canada, who built the company back in 2007.
Marcia Kilgore came to the US from Canada when she was just 19, to study and work. She became a personal trainer to afford her college tuition and in 1990, decided to start her spa. In 2005, however, with her business booming and with excellent results with her company Soap & Glory, she decided that women needed a new type of footwear that could provide comfort and at the same time offer a simple way to tone up muscles. After two years of designing the brand and multiple product options, FitFlop was launched successfully.
After ten years in the market, FitFlop is now one of the most famous and successful footwear businesses in the USA and the UK, as shown on FitFlop’s Official Website.
Scroll below for one of the best products we’ve seen over the last year.
Where Can I Buy FitFlops?
If you’re asking yourself, “Where can I buy FitFlops?”, the company has hundreds of distributors around the world, including locations in Europe and Asia, and you can find them online as well, with distributors like Amazon, Macy’s and Lady Footlocker.
Due to a lawsuit the company had a few years ago, they are prohibited from distributing, advertising and manufacturing their gold FitFlops, silver FitFlops and FitFlops winter collection in Canada. The brand can sell, manufacture and advertise their gold FitFlops, silver FitFlops and FitFlops winter collection in the rest of the world without complications.
Types of FitFlop Footwear
As found on the FitFlop Official Website, this brand offers a wide variety of shoes like the FitFlops sandals, boots, ballet flats, sneakers, flip-flops, and casual shoes, both for men and women.
The brand even offers a FitFlops winter collection for women, uniquely designed to be used at Christmas time. Options in the men’s FitFlops category provide exceptional designs in FitFlops sandals and sports shoes as well.
Among other designs, there are the canvas FitFlops, red Fitflops, clogs for men, shoes specially made for party and work, and models for athletes, like high-top, low-top and knit sneakers.
FitFlop Benefits and Results
From the gold FitFlops to the leather FitFlops and even the silver FitFlops, the brand is supposed to provide superior effects for conditions like back pain, plantar fasciitis and also improve muscle toning by walking.
Other benefits of using this brand are:
- Improvement of muscle strength
- Burning additional calories
- Reduction of lower-back pain
- Reduction of cellulite
- Reduction of knee, ankle, and hip joint stress
- Reduction of foot pressure concentration
They also help at increasing muscle activity in the thighs, quadriceps, buttocks and even back and stomach. Each footwear option is meant to provide better shock absorption and encourage better posture.
These effects depend highly on the user. While many reviewers have affirmed that the shoes can help relieve some pain in the joints and release some tension, others state that the shoes can increase pressure and be uncomfortable for different types of feet.
FitFlops Side Effects
According to a FitFlops review made by experts, the benefits of the use of these shoes is not as advertised by the company. However, even though the specific benefits and positive effects are not proven, they still offer exceptional comfort and an excellent design.
Fabio Comana, MA, MS and physiologist for the American Council in San Diego, affirms that “the intentions are good, but the shoes are not what they are all cracked up to be.” According to him, the shoes work well because they are comfortable and offer great cushioning that is translated into better shock-absorption, helping to avoid overpronating.
However, those who suffer from this condition may eventually have other side effects, as the shoes may subsequently twist the foot, knee, and shin, and thus provide further pain.
The DPM and podiatrist Cary M. Golub affirms that these shoes are not for everyone, especially for those who have flat feet. The shoes supposedly push the arch up, creating calf pain and other painful foot conditions, according to many of her patients who have complained about the shoes in the past.
FitFlop Scientific Research
One of the few studies related to the effectiveness and benefits of the flip-flops sold by FlitFlop, is called, “Does flip-flop style footwear modify ankle biomechanics and foot loading patterns?” with the participation of the academics Carina Price, Vaidas Andrejevas, Andrew H Findlow, Philip Graham-Smith, and Richard Jones.
The study had the purpose of investigating the real effects of walking with FitFlops in contrast with regular flip-flops and walking barefoot. According to the study, 40 participants were recruited to test the results and find out more about the differences between using FitFlop, regular flip-flops, or being barefoot. Among these 40 participants, there were 20 women and 20 men, none with any orthopedic or gait pathologies that could affect the results of the study.
The FitFlop was found to increase the activity on the ankle dorsiflexor compared to the activity of walking barefoot. FitFlops, on the other hand, had less foot motion but offered superior impact shock absorption. However, the effects of using FlitFlops over using ordinary flip-flops or even walking barefoot had no real impact on the 40 participants. It wasn’t made clear if the use of FlitFlops could significantly or minimally reduce potential injuries.
In other research, regarding flip-flops only, without mentioning a Fitflops review, it was made clear that using this type of footwear could significantly increase discomfort in the lower limbs, creating possible pain and further difficulty walking in the long run. This study compared the use of thong-style flip-flops with the use of sneakers, in different men and women, where the usage of this type of footwear has significant effects on the kinematic variables.
FitFlop Review Lawsuits
Even though it is a brand with great success and excellent reviews, the company has received many complaints, and at some time it was brought against the law due to a class action suit started by Emily Cunning and J. M. Murray, which ended in an agreement with the company.
In October 2012, the Consumer Law Group filed the class action on behalf of all users who bought any the FitFlop footwear, including their FitFlops sandals, shoes, clogs, slippers, and others. According to the class action, the advertising of the company was misleading, deceptive and false, especially when it comes to the FitFlop’s ability to provide health benefits like muscle toning, reduction of joint stress, and an increase of muscle activity.
According to an independent and reliable study about the scientific effects of the footwear, it was demonstrated that these claims from FitFlop were not accurate, restraining the right of the company to sell, promote, label, manufacture, or distribute any of the footwear included in the study for four years. This settlement was agreed upon on July 5, 2016, and took action in Canada only.
FitFlop Alternatives
There are many options out there when it comes to flip-flop designs for footwear, with the majority of them also offering excellent benefits for the muscles, posture, and overall comfort.
One option is Fleur, a brand of low-style footwear that offers impressive properties like the ability to relieve back pain, release knee and heel tension, and even improve posture.
Another is Nike Comfort, which looks very similar to FitFlop sandals, yet their superior cushioning provides excellent shock-absorption.
Other options to consider are:
- Reebok Refresh Lip
- Crocs Huarache
- Dansko Sophi
In simple terms, if you are looking to improve the way you walk and how you tone up your muscles, there are hundreds of options for footwear that could help you. However, an excellent diet and regular exercise are what most experts recommend to lose weight and burn fat, instead of using certain types of footwear.
What Users Are Saying
“Love these sandals. I have a Morton’s Neuroma and Plantar Faciitis. I can wear these shoes for hours in comfort. They’re expensive but well worth the cost. I have 2 pairs and will buy another this summer. Comfort meets style. Plus they last forever! I’m a very satisfied customer.”
“Fit flops used to be my favorite summer wear. But the last few times I have purchased them, they are too loose. The space between the foot bed and the upper leather is too deep. I own 11 pairs of fit flops. The original styles fit the best. The new styles are not a good fit for me. I’m so disappointed that the fit flop company No longer offers the original styles. Those were the best.”
“This shoe fell apart after wearing it about a month. At the price these sell for and the reputation of the company you would think they would last longer. Now with the 30 day return policy I have a broken pair of shoes that I cannot exchange. Not a happy shopper.”
The Bottom Line on FitFlops
So, should you spend your hard-earned money on a pair of FitFlop shoes? Well, we like that there are all sorts of styles available for both women and men alike. We also appreciate that it’s easy to purchase this footwear online. Then again, we have some reservations because we could not find any actual clinical research. Also, we’re concerned about the aches and pains that some customers have experienced.
If you want to boost metabolism and spark fat loss, we recommend you go with a product that’s supported by documented research, is backed by encouraging user reviews and does not cause any aches or pains.
Among the best products we’ve seen this year is one called Burn HD. This formula offers four ingredients, which are shown to help increase metabolism while boosting fat loss. We have not discovered any user complaints at all, and customer comments posted on the web indicate people see real results.
Try Fitflop Today.