Here’s a really good blurb about why a shoe horn may be more important than you thought… courtesy of http://oliverspencer.co.uk. Don’t forget about shoe trees too!
A shoe horn is designed to ease your foot in to a shoe without causing any damage to the shoe’s counter. By placing the horn against the counter of the shoe it acts as a lever and gives a smoother surface to slide your foot in while also supporting the shoe’s structure. The counter is the rear of the shoe that wraps around your foot and supports your heel. If you don’t use a shoe horn then there are two ways of putting a shoe on. You can either, stick your finger in to the back and pull it on to your foot, stretching the shoe, or you can go for the worst of all options and try to put your shoes on with no hands, sliding your feet in and crushing the counter as you do so. Both ways are going to cause damage to the counter.
This is actually very serious and no good for the health of the shoe.The counter is extremely important for the structure of the whole shoe, if it is damaged and loses its stiffness then the whole shoe will lose structure and no longer fit correctly or offer good support. A firm counter supports your heel and arch and reduces over-pronation. Pronation being the flexing of the ankle. Over-pronation stresses the tissues around your ankle and foot which will lead to various foot conditions including flat feet and heel pain.
Here are some badass shoehorns for sale at Amazon:
