Effects of open shoes on microclimate inside the shoe and comfort

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In the past, people in Japan wore open shoes such as "geta" (Japanese wooden clogs) and "zori" (Japanese sandals), but the use of closed shoes has increased since the start of the Meiji Era (about 1880). It is important to prevent the feet from becoming too wet or too hot, and the microclimate inside shoes tends to be high in humidity and temperature. The present study investigated the effects of shoe design on wear comfort and temperature and humidity inside shoes.A total of 21 pairs of shoes with openings at the toes, sides, or back were specially made using natural leather. The area of foot covered by leather was the same for all three styles of shoes. Seven individuals wore each of the shoe styles for a total of 78 minutes, including six minutes of exercise. Temperature and humidity inside shoes at three places were measured. At the same time, subjective sensations were assessed.For all three styles of shoes, the temperature and humidity between the toes were higher than those at the other two measurement sites. The temperature differences at each of the three sites were small among the three styles of shoes. The humidity between the toes was lower for the open-toe shoes. As for subjective sensation, the study subjects felt that the open-toe shoes ranked the highest in terms of comfort due to the low degree of sweating.