3/4-Length Insoles

3/4-length insoles are designed to be worn atop your existing shoe insoles/sock liners and are intended to provide your feet with proper heel & midfoot support while leaving the toes open in order to ensure that the insoles don't make your shoes too tight.

When would I use a 3/4-length insole instead of a full-length insole?

Full-length insoles are what most people use in their shoes and are the most popular style of insole by far, but there's several unique cases in which a 3/4-length insole is either preferable or required:

1. The insoles or sock liners in your shoes aren't removable (such as if they are glued/stitched in place as a part of the shoe itself), meaning that the insole you purchase will need to be placed on top of what you already have inside your shoes.
2. Your shoes have a unique shape which makes a standard full-length insole incompatible with your footwear. The most common example of this is high heels, but you would also encounter this issue in certain men's and women's fashion footwear, cowboy boots, and other uniquely-shaped footwear.
3. Your shoes are extremely low-profile or tight-fitting, and even an ultra thin full-length insole wouldn't work for your needs.

In each of these cases, since a full-length insole simply wouldn't work, we'll want to look at 3/4-length insoles instead.

How do 3/4-length insoles work?

Just like a standard full-length insole, a 3/4-length insole is designed to be placed inside your shoe with the heel of the insole aligned with the heel of your shoe. However, the two major differences are: 1) A 3/4-length insole will be placed on top of your existing shoe insole/sock liner (whereas a full-length insole would replace your existing insole entirely), and 2) A 3/4-length insole stops around the metatarsals of the foot, leaving the toes open.

The toes of any given piece of footwear is typically the tightest-fitting part of the shoe. Since 3/4-length insoles sit on top of an existing insole/sock liner, the toes are left open to ensure that there is plenty of room for your toes inside your footwear even with both the base & 3/4-length insole inserted. The 3/4-length insole will provide heel and midfoot cushioning and support (how much of each depends on the specifics of the insole you select), while the existing insole/sock liner provides the platform on which your toes rest.

Won't my 3/4-length insoles slide inside my shoes when I wear them?

They shouldn't. This is because if your foot is placed firmly on the insole and your shoes fit will, there won't be any opportunity for the insoles to move around. Your foot will "anchor" the insoles inside the shoes while you're wearing them.

If your shoes are too big or loose, however, your insoles may shift inside your shoes if your foot does, too. In this case, the best solution is always to move to more appropriately-sized shoes, but in case that isn't an option there's a few solutions:

• You can use double-sided tape, an adhesive such as Shoe Goo, or another similar method of physically making your 3/4-length insoles adhere to the surface they sit on. This will prevent the 3/4-length insoles from moving during wear.
• You can add a flat cushioned replacement insole such as the Spenco Comfort Insoles or Pedag Soft Insoles between your 3/4-length insole and the bottom of your shoe in order to take up some of the room in your insoles, creating a tighter overall fit that will help prevent your 3/4-length insoles from moving during wear.
• You can add cushions and/or grips to the inside of your shoes that will help prevent your foot from slipping or moving around, which will in turn prevent your 3/4-length insoles from moving during wear.

Will I feel the edge of the 3/4-length insoles while I wear them?

In general, 3/4-length insoles are designed with a tapered front edge that helps minimize how much of the front of the insoles you feel under your forefoot when wearing the insoles. That said, there will always be a slight difference in feel at this transition point, though most people stop noticing it after a few days of wearing their insoles.