These ball of foot cushions have taken a beating for three years of non stop wear. These are my summer go-to thong sandals, plus my 'house slippers' when it's too hot to wear my aboriginal made beaded moccasins. As you can see the name of the shoe brand Luca Ferri wore off completely from the thong sandals , indicating that these sandals have been worn a lot since 2015 ! These are lovely thong sandals size 9 that fit very well except for being a bit like flip flops. I put in the ball of foot inserts to hold back my foot away from the toe post - this is the only way I can wear thong sandals without very uncomfortable toe-web-pain. However the bonus of the ball of foot inserts is that the thong sandals now behave - they are no longer acting like flip-flops which is a big plus.
The cushioning was still good and the inserts had not slipped out of place in three years of wear, but some chips of foam had torn off the edges. Three years ago the adhesive pattern that I used was for an adhesive strip to be down the middle of the ball of foot cushion. This pattern of ball of foot cushion tape is common, however with the very soft PORON foam of the ball of foot cushions the edges of the cushion was vulnerable to rips.
I have since changed the adhesive pattern for all new ball of foot inserts, plus I went back and re-did all the inserts in my inventory of ball of foot cushions, plus all my inventory of high heel shoe inserts so that the adhesive tape now covers the entire underside of the cushion. A cotton fabric in between the two sides of the turning tape adhesive adds strength to the tape, and when applied to the PORON foam cushion it adds strength to the foam to keep it safe from tears.
If you buy the ball of foot cushions or the high heel foot cushions of the new style, you will get cushions with two sided adhesive tape covering most of the underside of the foam cushions, as you can see in the photo. The tape I use for the inserts is turning tape. Turning tape is sold by Lee Valley for wood craftsmen to keep a piece of wood attached firmly to a lathe during carving of the wood. The tape is made to hold wood in place so it never ever lets go on foam. As you can see in the photos the tape was successfully removed but it left behind some places on my thong sandal where the paint was pulled off the insole.
The new ball of foot cushions were placed exactly where the previous ones were so most of the spots where the paint got removed is covered by the new cushions. I am looking forward to the summer of 2018 spent in my old-made-new thong sandals.
Eight (8) patent claims for the forefoot cushion/ball of foot cushion that make it unique and better (more effective & more comfortable) than any shoe inserts previously patented or sold anywhere.
The following is a summary of the invention claims for the forefoot cushion/ball of foot cushion.
A NEW INVENTION FOR THE BEST FOOT COMFORT IN HEELS & FLATS The forefoot cushions have a, 1. novel 'invisible' underfoot shape, 2. perfect custom fit, and 3. effective function. No other forefoot cushion for high heeled footwear or flats has a cushion in the ergonomic shape of the present invention, is fitted exactly into the correct place with measurements taken from the wearers feet, and has a 'raised portion' (to stop forward slide) and a 'cushioning portion' (to comfort the ball of the foot) that BOTH function well in all shoe styles and for a variety of people with different foot sizes and shape of feet.
The permanent adhesion system of the forefoot cushion is, 4. optionally temporary or 5. optionally permanent. No other forefoot cushion for flats or high heeled footwear is attached to the insole of footwear using a two part adhesion system employing a template so that the correct position of the cushion can be determined accurately by the wearer. No other forefoot cushion adhesion system for high heeled footwear enables the wearer to have the option to keep the cushion and footwear attachment as temporary and move it from shoe to shoe, or make it permanent in one favourite pair of shoes.
The novel 6. rebounding cushion material PORON of a very 7. specific softness and hardness and has, 8. optimal size of the cushions for a space saving fit inside the toe box of women's footwear where there is very little space, are features that are unique to these shoe cushions. No other forefoot cushion for high heeled footwear or ball of foot cushion for flats has been designed with rebounding material sculpted into a shape and that is made from a specific hardness and softness that is both hard enough to function to hold back a lot of pressure and is soft enough to function to cushion the underside of the ball of the foot.
When you are an early adopter and buy these unique, effective and innovative forefoot cushions/ball of foot cushions from Amazon.com or from the website www.killerheelscomfort.com you will be buying them from the ONLY TWO PLACES THAT THEY ARE SOLD.