Fitflop Rally Trainers review: 'My feet felt nowhere near as achy as usual'

Fitflop was my go-to sandal and boot brand for comfortable all-day footwear for years, and it’s back on my radar with these Rally trainers. From autumn to spring, I tend to wear trainers all day long - to work, for dog walks and evenings out - I probably own at least one pair from each of the brands on our pick of the best white trainers.

I’d never owned Fitflop trainers until now, however - and I was mildly worried from the pictures online that they would look a little heavy because I wanted to team them with skirts and dresses throughout spring and into summer. But they are actually very neatly shaped, more like classic tennis shoes than gym trainers, so they look very streamlined, and I love the suede panels.

Most surprising was just how lightweight they are, which boded well, as the first trip out I wore them for was a day at Chelsea Flower Show. Usually, I wouldn’t wear new trainers on a day when I know I’m going to be on my feet all day, but I thought I’d give these a thorough testing with 20K steps!

I have mild plantar fasciitis in both feet and I’m pretty sure I have arthritis in my right foot, so I knew this would also be a good test of the ‘Anatomicush’ technology which, says Fitflop, creates an “anatomically contoured footbed that increases foot-to-midsole contact for maximum comfort”.

Actually, wearing them felt a little like walking on a springy memory foam, which meant that at the end of the very long day, my feet felt nowhere near as achy as usual. For me that’s the biggest sell.

It’s worth mentioning that I’d started the day with a pre-existing blister, too, and that gave me no trouble in these trainers. And while I have fairly narrow feet, I did note that lots of reviewers on the Fitflop website said how great they were for wide feet.

By the way – I did scuff them as I walked around London but the suede is Scotchgard protected so they came up like new when I got home and wiped them with a damp cloth.