Whether in the USA, Australia, or elsewhere, something needs to be done. We as consumers shouldn’t have to fall and get hurt due to shoes of any kind, and just go on with life as if nothing has happened. I fell hard, fractured my toe and had other bad bruises and swelling. After 5 days, I’m still bruised and sore and have a follow up visit with an Orthopedic Dr… not to mention I’m missing work (not earning money) due to no fault of my own. I had no walking issues, it was those shoes that caused my fall.
Don’t use Sketchers ,a trip machine.
I have a pair of Sketchers also. Maybe 4 months old. The ones where the laces look like real shoe laces, but you can’t tighten them. I find that they also cause me to trip. Like the rubber on the front of the sole catches on the floor and makes you trip. I think because you can’t tighten the laces the shoe kinda drags on the floor thus not lifting with your foot as your foot naturally lifts when you walk. They are definitely going in the trash. Not even going to bother offering them to Goodwill.
Welcome to the Choice.Community in Australia @RubyS
An interesting possibility. Thanks for adding it here.
For our domestic members, the US-based Goodwill is a Savers or Op Shop type operation that provides free career counseling, skills training, and résumé prep services that help unlock opportunities for job seekers. Every day, more than 300 people find a job with Goodwill’s help.
If your shoes are in good condition, save for your concerns about their safety Goodwill is a good organisation to support through donations of goods or dollars.
I have either slipped if on some wet surfaces path or tiles walking forward suddenly stops.
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I too had a problem with Sketcher’s Go Walk Joy Smile soles gripping the sidewalk. I had them one day, almost fell once, did fall quite hard a little later. Both times the front of the sole seemed to grab the sidewalk. Although they were very comfortable, I returned them the next day.
I have had numerous other sketcher slip-on shoes over the years, and never once had this problem. Clearly something is very wrong with the soles of those particular shoes. I sent an email to the company. I hope they take those shoes off the market or reformulate the soles so no one else gets hurt. I’m very lucky that I didn’t break anything, but my left knee and right thumb area are quite sore.
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I find they are comfortable but I have stopped wearing them because I almost tripped and fell face forward! I am 76 and will not buy these shoes because of this!
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Hi @Eliz1, welcome to the community.
There are others from the USA sharing comments about their experiences with particular Sketchers shoes. Sketchers has an extensive range of styles in men’s and women’s sizes. As you have posted to an Australian Consumer website it can be a little difficult to relate whether the exact same product is sold in Australia.
It’s useful that you mentioned the model,
although I could not find the exact same model on the Sketchers Australian store. You might find time to try and identify which model it is or is closest to assuming the same sole design. The online shop has pics of the sole design. There is a “Go Walk Joy” but no “smile” version. https://www.skechers.com.au/shop/women
If the same model is not sold in Australia it’s one less problem for us, excepting any who might order online from outside Australia. In that instance one needs to be extra careful to be sure the supplied product is genuine and not a knock-off as sometimes happens.
Note:
“Sidewalk” is “footpath” over here, which can be anything including concrete, paving, bitumen, gravel, dirt or even lawn. It can be wet and or mud, and with a few locations as exceptions never freezes over with ice or snow. Is there a particular type of surface your observation relates to it might alert others more clearly as to what to look out for.
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Hi @Donna77, welcome to the community.
Per the prior reply to @eliz1 this is an Australian Consumer orientated and sponsored website. Hopefully you have had the time to read the introduction when signing up.
‘FAQ - Community
It’s always helpful to others when content offered provides specific details of a product, and relatable details.
Noted you have yet to mention which style or model of Sketchers footwear was troublesome for you. Or other details as to the walking surface and how the shoe seemed to create a problem.
There are numerous Sketchers retail stores in Australia and online. The products include men’s and women’s footwear. This suggests a large volume of sales in Australia. We also have our own system of consumer protections, and supporting legislation.
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I did indeed identify the specific sketcher’s shoe— the Sketchers Go Walk Joy Smiley shoe. The same sole is used on other Go Walk Joy shoes. In another post I read that these soles are foam-based rather than rubber based, and that is the problem. I almost fell on concrete, and did fall on a surface that had raised small yellow bumps that sloped up from the street to the walkway/sidewalk. I was very lucky that I didn’t break any bones, but am still healing almost 2 weeks later. I just want others and the Sketcher’s company to be aware that I and others have fallen wearing shoes with those soles. I didn’t realize I was posting to Australian site, but shoes with those soles are likely sold in Australia as well.
There’s clearly a problem with some of the Skecher shoes - not all… but a significant number of incidents have been posted here. Yes, this is an Australian online consumer community, but I’m glad the word is getting out. I was tripping a lot, had some really bad “close calls” - and thought it was me. But I dumped my Skechers over 4 months ago and haven’t had a single tripping incident since. There’s a problem… get the word out! For me it was “Go Walk” and “Go Pro Maxx”.
Folks - if you are wearing Skecher shoes and you start having “tripping” experiences - stop wearing the shoes and see what happens.
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Which brand and style do you suggest others might consider more suitable, given recent experience of alternative products?
Anything that doesn’t “catch” on the floor. You can test by sliding your foot and test the resistence, especially near the toe.
Are you suggesting there are other brands and models of footwear that are also a risk?
No - it was not my intention to suggest that. There might be other brands/models that are problematic, I wouldn’t know. My only experience with “trippy” shoes was with the Skechers I had.
Today I embarrassingly took a face dive walking into my gym, a man who witnessed my fall asked if I was wearing Skechers,I told him yes I am, he said don’t be embarrassed Skechers are the most dangerous shoes made, so I looked on line and sure enough he is correct. I am lucky that I didn’t get seriously injured and tossed those Skechers in the garbage as soon as I got home
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Welcome to the community and Australia @Glers
Not a pleasant experience. It’s a surprise that Skechers are so widely reputed to be a dangerous product. To hear a bystander asked immediately by brand before saying anything else.
There’s more than 120 branded retail outlets over our way. Assume they make 100’s of sales every week. Are you able to advise which model of the many footwear styles to be careful of?
Not sure how it goes where you are. Here if a product has a major defect or safety issue there are Consumer Protections through the ACL. Regular readers of the community topics will be familiar with their consumer rights and the resources available. One of course needs to follow the steps set out. Sharing an issue helps others understanding. It’s less likely to deliver a practical solution.
I fail to consider shoes a dangerous product unless they are exceptionally poor quality, I had a pair where nails were used to hold the sole and heal together , that really hurt. I consider that dangerous they were purchased from Italy.
Shoes are very personal item and are Utensil Tools that have precise strengths and optimal purposes, They are a tool and this is represented in the broad variety in stores.
extreme statements and essentially misleading statements of mass hysteria and lawsuits seems pretty unnecessary,
Sketchers were firstly a sticky brand for specific customer Street wear aka Skateboarding
Claiming an entire shoe brand is unsafe is like blaming the chefs knife for damaging the parcel you opened
I had particular models of shoe that were seemingly dangerous is certain environments but that’s why there are so many types of shoes, the models just weren’t right fit for the task
I’ve had my moments
running shoes that I felt were dangerous to drive in because the wide surface distribution that make the soles comfy but do not align with safe precise contact with brake and accelerator peddles.
A walking shoe sole that caused high potent and very painful electricity discharge when used in a certain office.
and a skateboarding street pair where the grip was exceptionally overly strong, but had the strange opposite effect super butter slippery on wet white road paint or tiles.
Hi Mark,
The reason I have bought sketchers over the years ( and tripped in them too due to their over-grippiness), is because when new they are very shock absorbent due to the spongy soles - like walking on little clouds. I am in my seventies and have lots of arthritic joints . The bounciness of the Sketchers reduce jarring considerably. That’s why they are so popular with older people. But these soles having too much grip might be an unfortunate side-effect of the shock-absorbance of the rest of the sole. If they added another harder layer on the bottom, that might help prevent the grip-and-fall syndrome.
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Hoka is a good brand of similar shoes. My husband wears those after they were recommended by his podiatrist. I have lots of pairs of Skechers that I swap around and wear daily to the gym etc. I like them because they’re comfortable and look good and come in so many styles. I also have a pair of their thongs that are great. A couple of times while wearing the shoes, the front of my foot has caught on a path, however given the dreadful state of footpaths here in the ACT, I blame them! I’ve not fallen though. I’ll have to see if it happens again and note which pair I’m wearing.
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