10 Best Commuter Shoes for Size Lords
162: Arbitrage Andy Top Picks
In my time working in offices in Manhattan pre Covid as a young sales/trading guy, I frequently would walk to work and from work in my dress shoes. Deal sleds, oxfords, cap toes, etc. etc. I would power stomp with those babies on even if I had a 20+ block commute to do.
I quickly learned that the soles would take a beating, the shoes would wear much faster, and I would regularly scuff my luxury shoes. Manhattan made it worse, with the storm drains, hobo crap, rough sandpaper sidewalks, and the occasional spilled coffee, rain, or grime.
If you missed our Deal Sled Review last week you definitely have some homework to go review before you move into this post.
When I started out in my first sales and trading role in Manhattan one of the simple joys (pre pandemic) was walking to work. I had lived in midtown, Hell’s Kitchen, the Upper East and other places usually taking the walk from my apartment to the office pretty regularly. Aside from the exercise there was something cool about walking to work in a suit and nice dress shoes or deal sleds.
As a young twenty something I felt on top of the world and loved seeing others on their morning commute as well, bankers, tech folks, people who had just hit a morning workout, women in business casual, and more.
In the early days I would rock all of my nicest shoes. Gucci, Ferragamo, Allen Edmonds etc. it didn’t matter, I’d throw them on and sometimes walk 20-30 minutes to get to and from the office. Not only did that rapidly de-sole my shoes, but they also smelled worse, aged faster, and weren’t as comfortable if it was adverse weather or too hot.
In the present aftermath of the Covid 19 pandemic, work has shifted in many places to a hybrid model - some folks work in the office constantly now, some are still fully remote. From what I can gather most are half in and half out.
We received some requests to rank our top picks for the best commuter shoes for size lords in the corporate world. We compiled a list of the best picks from a style, function, and cost perspective so you can easily select a pair to wear and start treating your nicer shoes better - prolonging their lifespan by ensuring you’re not constantly grinding them down day after day.
Make no mistake, if we’re popping out to lunch or a client meeting we aren’t constantly switching into different shoes all day - but for the journey to and from work - generally we will pack away the nicer pair and opt for something more comfortable and functional.
But Andy! I’ll look like a goon without my Ferragamo Vader loafers on all the time!
Maybe it’s an age thing - but at 30, I’m now less concerned with my appearance and more focused on functionality, comfort, and chief of all - compartmentalizing my time - but more on that shortly.
Some will claim wearing sneakers is a back office move and critics do have a point, you want to keep your professional image intact so we reccomend that these shoes only be used for transit or commuting purposes. Once at the office throw some shoe trees in these bad boys, move them out of sight, and slip into a nice pair of expensive deal sleds or driving loafers.
The shoes we cover/review today are:
New Balance Fresh Foam Roav V1
Salomon Men's Hypulse Trail Running Shoes
Saucony Men's Endorphin Speed 2
adidas Ultraboost 5.0 Alphaskin
ON-Running Mens Cloudflow Running Shoe
HOKA ONE ONE Clifton 8
Nike Men's Air Max 2017
New Balance Men's Fresh Foam 1080 V11
New Balance Men's 847 V4 Walking Shoe
All Birds Men's Wool Runner Mizzles
*We also provide 25+ variants to pick from as well
We’ve provided the initial list to all subs but given the time it took to compile all of the info and sift through various reviews and rankings, our full review and analysis will be for premium subs. (We do deep dives and reviews like this 1-2 times a week if that sounds like something you are interested in).
So let’s get into why these shoes are some of the best options for commuters, corporate busy bodies, and other folks who have a lot of walking to do in their professional lives and want to be more comfortable while adding some lifespan to the nicer shoes that they spend much more money on.