Looking for comfortable footwear and hose.

[MacCathail]

In almost half a century, I have never worn a pair of brogues that were comfortable right out of the box. All of them needed a period of breaking-in, some a longer period than others. But there were still achy feet at the end of the day. The only thing that ever worked for me in making ghillie brogues comfortable for all-day wear was buying a pair a size larger and have custom-made orthotics fitted. That made a world of difference.

Can't help with the hose. I've never had a problem with any of the ones I've had. Well, except this one:
http://www.jhiggins.net/sf_proddetai...EDK4SDPWH1CMQL
The knitting on the soles was not smooth and after a short bit of walking it was like walking on small pebbles. Not pleasant. Even so, I suppose if you weren't doing a lot of walking they'd do in a pinch.
(Actual hand-knit hose, however, were not a problem. The soles were smooth and all the knobbly decoration was on the leg part where it belonged.)

Cheers,

-John-

[StevieR]

I bought a pair of army surplus brogues as issued to Highland and Ghurka regiments. They are all leather and came with steel tips on the heels and toes. I had them re heeled and soled with rubber. "Robust" is the way I would describe them and they took some breaking in, but now they are exceptionally comfy. I also wear them with a suit and have had no problems with very long days and lots of pavement pounding. You should get a new pair on eBay for about 45 quid, but might have to wait a bit for your size to appear.

[James Hood]

10-16 hours is nuts!

However, personal combination which has worked best:

Rockports best walking shoes, liberally broken in
Dr Scoll's gel insert insoles fitted by a shoemaker
Thin surgeon's quality support hose below kilt hose
Kilt hose over support hose

Get off your feet whenever possible
Hydrate with water and electrolytes only

Best of fortune.