Goodyear welted shoes normally use vegetable tanned leather as the insole.
The benefit is that the forefoot has better air permeability, which is the embodiment of the hygroscopicity of vegetable tanned leather. What’s the downside? Vegetable tanned leather is relatively hard, especially true for new shoes, so many people who are new to Goodyear welted shoes will not be used to it and feel uncomfortable.
However, it is this hardness at the beginning that provides the ability to shape the soles to your feet. If you observe the inside of shoes that have been worn for a period of time, you can see the shape of the soles mimicking your feet, and it is indeed comfortable.
This shaping is not only provided by the insole, but also by a layer of wood chips underneath the vegetable tanned leather.
I have seen some Chinese brands that provide a softer foot feel in order to make it more acceptable to people who are new to welted shoes.
It is to use a full sock lining, which is leather on the side that touches the foot, but foam underneath, which is something that looks a bit like rubber and a little like a sponge.
This does bring a feeling of “stepping on”, the disadvantage is that the sole shaping ability is lost, and the breathability is poor.
Today, when I was wearing a pair of shoes that I hadn’t worn for a long time, I accidentally pulled out the insole and found something new, and sure enough, the wisdom of the people of all countries is infinite.
This is a pair of Budapester from the Hungarian handmade shoe brand, Rozsnyai.
The color scheme uses the Hungarian national flag, which is the MTO model that I made. The biggest feature of Budapester shoes and itslast is the platypus shape of the toe.
Norwegese construction with Eastern European taste.
Large square waist looks very thick and solid. There are a lot of copper nails on the heel.
The insole is also red, and the logo pressed into it.
The dimples on the insole manifest it is handwelted.
Full sock lining pulled out.
Bottom side is cork!
Alas? Corks should be positioned between insole and outsole, why it exists here?
So the shoe puts corks between the insole and outsole, so is there still some between the midsole and the outsole? I’m afraid this won’t be known until resoling.
Assuming this brand uses corks only once, is there a filler between the midsole and the outsole?
I have a guess that Ferragamo’s Tremezza construction is used, that is, leather is used as a padding between the midsole and outsole.
Summary
In order to make it possible for people who are new to welted shoes to have a softer foot feel without losing breathability, corks attached underneath are a solution.