Shop by need
Diabetic footwear
Most diabetic foot damage starts with a shoe. Something rubs, the skin breaks, and because sensation is reduced nobody notices for days. Everything about these four styles is aimed at removing the places that rubbing starts.
The one rule that matters
If you have reduced sensation in your feet, you cannot use pain to judge fit. That single fact rewrites how footwear should be chosen. A shoe that feels fine can still be quietly destroying skin, and by the time you can see the damage it is already a wound.
So the fit has to be verified by looking rather than feeling: check your feet every evening, and treat any pink mark that is still there after twenty minutes as a fitting failure, not a minor thing.
What a diabetic-friendly shoe needs
No seams across the forefoot. Stitching is the single commonest cause of rubbing. The forefoot lining runs seam-free through the toe box on all four styles.
Depth at the toes. Clawed or retracted toes need vertical room, not just width. A shallow toe box presses the nail bed from above, which is how many ulcers begin. DW-015 and DW-019 have the deepest toe boxes we make.
An opening you do not have to force the foot through. The strap releases completely, so the foot is lowered in rather than pushed in. Nothing scrapes the way in.
Removable depth for a device. The multi-layer insole lifts out whole, so a prescribed insole has a home without lifting your heel.
Adjustment without laces. Hook-and-loop lets you set the shoe accurately even with reduced hand function or poor eyesight, and re-set it if your foot changes through the day.
A closed toe and a firm heel. Protection from knocks, and enough structure that the foot does not slide. DW-006 adds a moulded toe bumper for people who catch their toes.
Which style to start with
| Style | Opens to | Choose it if |
|---|---|---|
| DW-006 Twin-Strap Wide Fit Trainer | 34 mm | Standard trainers feel tight across the ball of the foot but you can still get them on, and you want the most structured, most shoe-like option |
| DW-013 Mesh Wide Fit Trainer | 46 mm | Feet run hot, damp or sore across the forefoot, and you want the most breathable shoe and the easiest step across from an ordinary trainer |
| DW-015 Extra Wide Wrap Trainer | 58 mm | Bunions, hammer toes or a forefoot that has spread, or an orthotic that needs vertical room as well as girth |
| DW-019 Full-Wrap Extra Wide Trainer | 72 mm | Oedema, lymphoedema, bandaging, a dressing, or feet whose volume changes markedly between morning and evening |
There is no width fitting to choose. Every style comes in one extra-wide adjustable fitting per size, UK 3–12 (EU 36–46), whole sizes only, £49.99 on every style and every size. You choose the size, then set the width on your foot with the strap. "Opens to" is the gap the shoe makes across the instep with the strap fully released — the number that decides whether a foot, a dressing or a bandage can actually get in.
For a diabetic foot with no swelling and no significant deformity, DW-006 Twin-Strap Wide Fit Trainer is the sensible default: it is the most structured shoe in the range and the two straps let you set the forefoot and the instep separately, so you are not over-tightening one to secure the other. Add a prescribed insole or a spread forefoot and DW-015 Extra Wide Wrap Trainer is the better call. Swelling on top of neuropathy takes you to DW-019 Full-Wrap Extra Wide Trainer. If your feet get hot and the skin macerates between the toes, DW-013 Mesh Wide Fit Trainer is the most breathable.
There is more detail in the neuropathy and footwear guide.
A checking routine worth keeping
Every evening, take the shoes off and look at the whole foot including between the toes and around the heel, using a mirror or a phone camera for the sole. Run a hand inside each shoe for grit, a folded insole or anything working through the lining. New shoes: wear them for an hour on day one, two hours on day two, and inspect after each wear before going any further.
Contact your podiatry or diabetic foot service the same day for any break in the skin, any new redness or heat, any swelling in one foot, or any discharge or smell. Do not wait for an appointment to become convenient — early treatment is what preserves feet.
What these shoes are not
These are well-made, deep, seam-free adjustable trainers. They are not prescription devices, they are not bespoke, and they do not treat diabetes or neuropathy. If you are in a high-risk category, or you have a history of ulceration or Charcot changes, your footwear should be signed off by your podiatry team — take the shoe to your next appointment and ask.
Common questions
Are these NHS diabetic shoes?
Can I wear my prescribed insole in them?
I have neuropathy. How do I know they fit if I cannot feel them?
Do I have to choose a width fitting?
Are they suitable for someone with a healed ulcer?
Where to go next
Four styles, one price, sixty days to get it right
Every style is £49.99 in one extra-wide adjustable fitting, UK 3–12 (EU 36–46). Delivery is £4.95, free on two pairs, and if the style you chose does not open wide enough we post the replacement before the first pair comes back.