Product Review: Rx Sorbo Sorbothane Performance Graphite Arch Insoles

The Sorbothane trial period is over. Actually, it's been over for a little under a week. I started this blog 3 times over the last 5 days trying to come up with some kind of professional and formal review of these products. I got nothin'. It was killing me for days that I couldn't find a way to just spill my thoughts out. Then it hit me last night that I am, in fact, NOT a professional reviewer, so why am I putting that kind of pressure on myself? The truth is that I'm a recreational runner who loves to run, wants to continue running and stay healthy and injury-free for life. I want shoes, clothes, accessories and gear to fit me well and feel good; not inflame weaker spots in my knees or IT bands, strain muscles, or chafe my hips and back. I'm an ordinary runner who wants to gather and share as much information for and with my fellow runners so we can all make the best decisions possible when it comes to choosing a new anything!

The back story of how this review came to be can be found here. In short, I was asked by Sorbothane to review 2 types of insoles the President of the company recommended for my arch type after I complained about another Sorbothane insole that caused a flare up of IT band pain. I was sent the Rx Sorbo Performance Graphite Arch Insoles; one for medium arches and one for high arches.

Medium Arches
My first impressions of the medium arch insoles were good. I liked the added cushioning in the forefoot. I was a little hesitant about how comfortable the insoles would be considering the rigid graphite-supported arches, but other than lifting my heel slightly and causing my foot to fit a little more tight in my shoes, they felt pretty normal. After 49.69 miles, I can tell you that they did not hurt me like the previous model did. I ran normally in them for a couple of weeks with no noticeable change in the way my foot felt. I recovered from the Santa Barbara Marathon with no problems at all (I started wearing these beginning with my first recovery run). The longest run I did was a hilly 15K. I did both hill and speed work as part of the testing as well.

These pictures were taken after I put 50 miles on them.

Max height of the graphite reinforced Medium arch is about 22 mm (7/8")

Effect of the medium arch on heel lift

Insole rides a little high on the inside (see orange)

High Arches

I switched to the High arch insoles early last week, with the expectation these would be even more appropriate for my very high-arched feet. Just getting them in my shoe was a bit of a challenge. The graphite piece is SO rigid, it took me several tries just get the dang thing to sit correctly in my shoe. As soon as I slipped my foot back into my glass slipper, I knew the wrong Prince had shown up. This can't be my shoe. I had to almost completely re-lace my shoes just so I could get my foot in. I use an extra loop in my lacing to keep my heel from slipping since I have a narrow foot. Not only could I NOT do that, I barely had enough lacing left over to make even a single bow to keep the shoe tied. Already my foot is unhappy - cramped and ready to bust the shoe at the seams. I stood up and felt about 6 inches taller. 

I walked around the house for a few minutes, trying to see if I could get the shoes to loosen up a little. After 15 minutes of fussing with them, I was finally ready to give them a test spin on the treadmill. The first thing I noticed was that my feet felt heavy. As I continue cranking up the speed to a comfortable running pace, I can hear my feet slapping the belt. This can't be good, I thought. Maybe I need to change my gait a little. I tried shortening my stride but the slapping continued. I could not get my foot to roll naturally through the landing phase. My forefoot almost felt like it was in a cast and my shoe felt full of bricks. Suddenly, the outsides of my calves are tightening and I can literally feel straining in my lower legs and ankles. No way I'm taking any chances injuring myself, especially with a previous history of pain using this brand. I kicked them off at exactly 0.23 miles. Yep, all of this happened in less than a quarter of a mile. I switched to my older shoe with the RRS insole and felt immediate relief in my lower legs.                                                                                      

These pictures show the drastic effects of these high arch supports.

Max height of High arch insoles is approx 26 mm

Effect of the high arch on heel lift - an unacceptable added 6 mm heel lift

This is a comparative view of how differently the insoles sit in the shoe. The high arch insole is ridiculously high and quite frankly, now that I'm seeing these 2 side-by-side, I would go so far as to say these are dangerous for runners. It's almost "forced supination" - forcing the foot to roll on the outside- starting way back in the heel! I understand the theory - high arched runners are notorious over-pronators, but seriously, this is overcompensating and risky from an injury perspective. The top pic is the Med arch and the High arch on the bottom. Is that High arch insole crazy or what?

These are the notes I wrote down after I finished out the run in the high arches verbatim:

• It made me hate my shoe
• Severely restricted flexion
• Couldn't lace my shoes properly
• Foot sat very high in shoes, right heel slipping
• Perception was a heavy shoe because of the flopping
• Threw them off after 0.23 miles and put on an older pair with old RRS inserts and it was like running in a completely different pair of shoes
• I would never recommend the high arch graphite support for any athletic activity requiring walking or running.

Closing Thoughts

I guess it's pretty obvious what my opinion is of the high arch Rx Sorbo Performance Graphite insole. Use these at your own risk. I won't even wear these in my walking shoes. I could see how they might possibly benefit people who stand all day, but as far as athletic activity goes, I would steer clear of these completely.

I'm torn on the medium arch insoles. They didn't hurt me but there wasn't anything special about them either. The extra padding in the forefoot felt good sometimes, and other times it felt like a nuisance. I didn't realize how tight my foot felt in the toe box until I went back to my old RRS insoles. I suppose if you wear a shoe with a wide toe box and feel you need solid arch support to correct over-pronation and you don't mind adding $40-$50 onto the price of your shoe, these may be right for you.

I may or may not continue using the medium arch supports. I've started having some IT band aching these last few days, but I cannot say it is due to the insoles because I'm starting to step up my training and these aches may very well be just normal 'growing' pains.  To be safe, I'm going back to my RRS insoles for the next month. With the Galloway Training Group having officially kicked off with an awesome and fun 3-mile run last Saturday, I simply cannot risk getting injured and this trial period did not increase my confidence that these insoles are safe or appropriate for runners.

Sorbothane Ultra Orthotic Arch Insoles - First Impressions

UPDATED: Final Review Available Here.


With a history of chronic IT band issues, I am always on the lookout for exercises, stretches, shoes and insoles that may be of some help to me. I recently posted a blog about IT band pain I developed after several weeks of using a different type of insole manufactured by Sorbothane. I made the switch based on claims of superior foot-strike protection and cushioning. In response, I received an email from the President of Sorbothane requesting a second chance using an Rx Sorbo branded insole. I graciously accepted the offer and now have a little over 12 miles in the medium arch insole. The 2nd pair I'll be trying out are geared for high arches (which is very appropriate for my foot). In addition to the 2 pairs of insoles, I was also sent a brochure with product descriptions for several other types of Sorbothane insoles and an enclosed letter from the President stating these new insoles would give me the support I needed.

I am using the exact same shoe for the duration of the testing period and will not be interchanging the insoles. These shoes have less than 80 miles on them so they are well broken in and in great condition. The plan is to run 30 miles using each insert so I expect, given my current training schedule, to be in a good position to provide a fair and balanced review of these products around the first weekend of December. I have also started a brief list of questions I would like the President to have an opportunity to review and respond to as well.

The Promise

The arch is made of graphite (this is a pic of the medium arch Ultra Orthotic). More pics from my camera are below. I have to admit, $46 suggested retail was a little bit of a sticker shock. This would increase the amount of money I spend on shoes every year by 50% if the life of these insoles is limited to the life of a shoe, but that is something to address after a full test drive and review.

http://www.rxsorbo.com/sorbothane-ultra-orthotic-arch-12

The Look

This is a close up of the medium arch insole. Rubbery on top with visible padding in the forefoot and heel. The red piece on the back is where the graphite support is positioned. I can literally make a knocking sound on it with my knuckles. However, the forefoot and heel remain soft and flexible.

Close up on the medium arch graphite support.

Side view of medium arch, top and bottom are side by side.

This picture is a side view of my tried-and-true Road Runner Sports performance insole (back of the pic) compared to the new medium arch Rx Sorbo with graphite. It's interesting to me to note the difference between the location of the arch in the insole itself. The highest point of the arch support in the RRS insole is closer to the forefoot (red vs orange). They are essentially designed opposite of each other. Where the RRS insole is flat, the Rx Sorbo is curved. Hmmmmm......

Meet the graphite insole for high arches. It was a bit of a challenge for me to recognize that these are the same exact insoles, but for different arch types. The packaging was not the same at all and honestly, the catalog included with the insoles was confusing. More on that with the pending review.

Top view does not show the same padding at the forefoot as the medium arch insole. The graphite piece on the bottom is very stiff (while still allowing for some flexibility at the forefoot and heel cup). I can knock a little louder on this one as the graphite piece is much more solid than noted in the medium arch insole.

Side view showing the contour and height of arch in the insole.

 Here is a side-view comparing the Rx Sorbo for high arches with the RRS performance insole that is also marketed for high arches. Big notable differences here. Again, the Sorbo is shaped in almost complete opposition to the RRS brand. While the Sorbo is arched from the forefoot back to the heel cup, the RRS brand is flat, with the exception of the forefoot which is actually starting to curl up. The heel of the RRS brand has plastic wrapped around the outside of it while both Rx Sorbo's are soft around the heel.

I wanted to show this view in order to point out another visible difference between the medium and high arch insoles.  Where you see the pen marking is the end of the thickest part of the heel/arch support (these points are slightly raised on the insoles themselves but could not be made visible using the camera alone).

Lastly, this is a rear-view of the Rx Sorbo's. Medium arch on the left, high arch on the right. The heel appears much thicker in this picture than it is. The heel is cupped so you are not adding more height than you would relative to other insoles (at least those that I have tried).

As I stated above, I currently have a little more 12 miles on the medium arch insoles. I wore them on a short 3-mile recovery run last Thursday and then again this past Sunday at the Calabasas Classic where I ran both the 5K and 10K on a very hilly course with hubby and our BFFs who flew in for the weekend from St Paul, MN. I was pleasantly surprised with how little residual soreness I was feeling in my quads on Thursday's run (last week was my first recovery week following the Santa Barbara Marathon) relative to the first recovery run 48 hours before. I recognize that an additional 48 hours of recovery time is significant, especially in the early stages of recovery, but could it be that that the Sorbothane insole contributed to such a huge reduction in quad soreness via superior shock absorbency?  The next question that came to mind was regarding recovery. Could these types of insoles speed recovery in terms of reducing the impact of recovery runs? Of course, not a single person would be able to make claims such as these. This would require a carefully designed study with at least 100 distance runners and my grad school days are over so I'll count myself out here. :-)

I was impressed Sunday after the races. First with myself because I ran them with relative ease - which is what I planned on since it was too soon after the marathon to go all out. Second, I'm surprised at the lack of IT band, knee and hip pain. I was actually expecting to feel tired and over-trained given the course hills but I can honestly say I had ZERO pain in any of those areas. I did have some slight lower back pain but having run a hilly marathon and then a 15K of nothing but hills within an 8-day period and only 2 short recovery runs in between, I think it's reasonable to expect that.

First impressions?  Thumbs up.