Friday, January 31, 2020

Counterfeit Superfeet Insoles - Are the inexpensive counterfeits the same as the genuine insoles?


Answer: NO.

I've been wearing Superfeet Green insoles in my shoes for many years. And I have also been rather annoyed at the high price! The darn things are about $50 a pair.
So I started to look around, and I found I could buy them on eBay for about $15 a pair!
What a savings!?

Well, the cheap ones are not the same, and when I emailed pictures to Superfeet support, they told me they were counterfeit! When I asked about the differences, they said:
You can see by looking at the pattern of the fabric. Ours goes toe to heel and the counterfeit one goes side to side. Also, if you feel the shape of the foam on the counterfeit insole, you’ll notice it is narrower and there is no shape in the arch area. Ours is a normal width and has a distinct shape and feel to it. If you compare two side by side, you’ll be able to easily see the difference. At a glance, I can see how they may look similar.
I looked closer, and sure enough they are correct. Here are the differences and problems I see with the counterfeit insoles:
  • much less arch support
  • less rounded heel
  • thinner foam
  • foam is too long and wide in the toe area
  • green pattern on top goes side to side instead of from toe to heel
In my opinion, the counterfeit insoles are not good. They lack the arch support of the genuine items and the heel cup is not as rounded. I'll be careful to buy the genuine ones in the future.

Some pictures follow.

On this picture of the green tops, you can see the counterfeit is actually a bit longer, and the lines in the green patter go from side to side, unlike the genuine one which has the pattern going toe to heel. It is hard to see in the picture, but the heel cup on the counterfeit insole has a bit of  flat bottom, unlike the well rounded genuine insole.


 The bottom hard plastic is slightly different on the counterfeit but is very similar to the genuine article. The foam part is definitely longer and a bit wider in the toe area.

The side view is very similar, but the counterfeit's foam is definitely thinner.

The arch support on the counterfeit is definitely lacking! You can also see how the foam is thinner.

The boxes were actually very similar. It would be very hard to tell them apart! I will just leave these photos here without comment.