Women's Hannah Leather Sandal - Wide

The shoe is beautiful, very well constructed. I’ve never bought a shoe like this so I knew my feet would take sometime to get used to it but my feet have continued to hurt. Specifically the arch of my right foot. It doesn’t hurt when I’m wearing the shoes, but does when I’m not wearing them. I don’t really get it.

I'm a die hard Birks fan. I've worn them for years, they cradle me feet like nothing else. Six months ago, the toe ridge in my birks (all my birks) started to turn my big toe numb and painful (probably and angry nerve). "Breaking the birks in" want going to fix it, since my birks were all already broken in and in good shape.

I tried the Stegmanns since they are birk-like, cork footbed, well reviewed for tricky feet, and when I squinted at the pics on the website it looked like maybe they didn't have a toe ridge underfoot.

They do have a little toe ridge, but the footbed is also more padded than the birks, which seems to offset the "ridginess" or the ridge. Support and no numb toe! I wasn't sure about them at first because I was afraid they'd make my bunion unhappy but after a few days of wearing, they conformed to my foot pretty well... And after a few weeks, I feel pretty optimistic.

I might come back to get a second pair in a month or so -- I just really want to wear these first to see if the toe numbness returns after the footbed cushion gets crushed down. I can feel the ridge in the cork under the (slightly) cushion...but the cushion seems to offset it.

One nice thing: heel strap means there's no strain on my toes in walking (keeps my bunion happy!). Perhaps not *quite* as supportive in the mid foot as my birks (my birks cradled me deliciouly in the mid foot, with that nice deep cork... perhaps with more break in time, these will too?)...but, given my needs (not have numb toes!) it might be time for me to switch over to Stegmanns.

Fwiw, I'm a 9.5US (EU 40) with *only slightly* wider than average (medium) width feet, *slightly* narrower heel, and long (!) toes (very long second toe). I bought size 10. They fit very well to start, and after a few days they fit fairly perfectly. Not my birks, but....I can't do birks anymore. I'm really excited to have found these, and am optimistic they will replace my birks going forward. (Just need to see how this first pair evolves with wear.)

I had been looking for an alternative to Birkenstocks because they kept breaking on me. I walk MANY miles in sandals. I love these so far! They are more comfortable and fit my feet better than the previous brand I was buying. I usually wear an 8.5, and I bought a size 9 as advised. They are super cute and versatile!