SUPERfeet has a reputation, and I understood why when I opened the box — they feel substantial. But the rigid plastic shell meant my foot couldn't settle into them. The arch hit in the wrong spot for my foot shape, and it actually kind of hurt.

PowerStep felt more promising at first; softer, with a gentler arch. But "softer" turned out to be the problem. By lunchtime the foam had compressed enough that I was back to my old gait. I could literally feel myself starting to pronate again as the day wore on. Seven weeks in, I returned them.

Fulton was different from the first step. The cork base is firm enough to hold your foot in position but has a give that lets it slowly mold to your arch over time. Most importantly, the heel cup was the deepest of the three — and I could feel it actually catching my heel and keeping it neutral instead of letting it drift inward. Within two weeks, the morning foot pain was almost completely gone. By week three, so were my knees.

"I'd spent six months thinking my feet and knees were two different problems. Fulton fixed both — because they were always the same problem."

What I didn't fully appreciate until after was that cork is doing something foam can't: it responds to heat and pressure, so it conforms to the specific shape of your foot rather than a generic mold. For someone who overpronates, that specificity matters. A generic arch hits a generic spot. Fulton's arch actually met mine where it was.

If your feet hurt and your knees are starting to follow — or a doctor has mentioned overpronation, flat arches, or poor alignment — I'd start here before spending money on anything else.