Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
No, not that kind of baked.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


         

Shoes for life

Telescoping footwear
 
(+1, -1)
  [vote for,
against]

Why keep buying shoes every year? Or every few months as some reckless people apparently do. Why not issue every child of initial shoe-wearing age with a pair of shoes-for-life? These shoes can basically be telescoped outwards as the foot in question grows. Basically a slightly larger front part, fitted over a smaller inner shoe, perhaps on small slotted runners. The outer telescoping part would need to be semi-permanently fixed - the fixing could form part of the design of the shoe - studs, buttons etc. As the foot grows enough, the fastening is undone, the outer part slid(den?) forward a little and then re-fastened.

Feet do not seem to increase in width quite so drastically during the course of life, so width adjustment could be by means of some kind of elasticated-gubbins. Also, to accommodate certain finicky users' fashion requirements, "skins" could be made available for personalisation, perhaps attachable by velcro.

Soles would of course have to be specially toughened (perhaps using the diamond-coating idea mentioned on this site).

This idea is very partially baked - I saw a pair of expandable childrens shoes in a Japanese in-flight magazine recently, but they increased in length only, and by just a few centimetres.

faffer, Oct 26 2005

Eternal shoes Eternal_20Soles
The idea with the diamond soles [faffer, Oct 26 2005]

Please log in.
If you're not logged in, you can see what this page looks like, but you will not be able to add anything.
Short name, e.g., Bob's Coffee
Destination URL. E.g., https://www.coffee.com/
Description (displayed with the short name and URL.)






       Few months? Try weeks.   

       I'm not in favour of this idea, except I do like the idea of shoe skins - invest in an expensive made-to-measure sole and cheaper covers a la mobile phones.
rubyminky, Oct 26 2005
  

       I doubt you can make a pair of shoes that last 2 years under my daily use, much less "life".
Madai, Oct 26 2005
  

       You've not had much use for duct tape until now?
reensure, Oct 26 2005
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle