Who I am
I like being on my feet. Treadnotes is roughly what I wanted to find myself, the last time I was trying to choose a pair — an independent site that explains what is inside a shoe, rather than a shop trying to sell you one.
What I do
Every manufacturer gives the parts of a shoe — the foam, the rubber, the membrane — a name of its own, according to whichever technology went into it. I check what sits behind those names: which foam suits what, which rubber belongs on which ground, when a membrane helps and when it just traps heat. Then I point to a few shoes that carry it.
How I choose
I start from the use, not the brand. Where and how a shoe will be worn comes first; what the manufacturer says about it comes second.
The list is deliberately short. A short list can be kept accurate; a large catalogue goes quietly out of date and nobody notices.
What I don’t do
I do not sell shoes. Treadnotes is not a shop and is not owned by, connected with or endorsed by any retailer or manufacturer written about here. Where a link earns me a commission, it is a commission on someone else’s sale.
I do not take payment for a favourable write-up.
I have not worn every shoe on the list. The technology comes from what the manufacturer states and the prices come from the shops; what is mine is the ordering, the checking, and the judgement about what suits what. Some links on this site earn me a commission — how that works is set out in full.
Who writes it
Get in touch
Write to me if you have a question about a particular model, or a suggestion for what ought to be on the list.
Email: office@treadnotes.co.uk