Stuffitts Shoe Insert–Final Review

So it’s been a little over a five weeks since we received the Stuffitts Shoe inserts and published our initial review.  Thanks again to the Stuffitt’s team and especially Katherine for the samples.

To recap, Stuffitts are inserts designed to extend the life of your shoes, improve the smell, and help dry your shoes.  Actually, the Stuffitts are designed to dry your shoes more quickly and the effect of that drying is the extension of shoe life.

The Stuffitts we reviewed are the second version, the original version didn’t include a removable cedar filled package making replacement the only option when the cedar aged.  The new version, more expensive than the originals, feature an outer shell that you keep and an inner cedar pouch that you can replace.  Though the second version is more expensive, the cedar pouch is the same price as the original Stuffitts, and the design of the new version is clearly more advanced and expensive to produce.

Stuffitts are made of the technical material that encourages moisture wicking.  The insert is also made of technical fabric and filled with 100% cedar.  The Stuffitts feature a strap to connect the inserts that is very handy for carrying your shoes.

Our initial impression that the Stuffitts were well made was accurate.  We’ve used the Stuffitts every day since we received them and we’ve noticed no flaws or damage to the product.  We’ve also washed the outer shell once and none of the stitches pulled loose, nothing frayed, and no color bled.

Here’s what you get from Stuffitts:

Stuffitts Out of the Box

Now, here’s what’s inside:

Inner Cedar Inserts

Stuffitts hanging out in shoes:

Stuffitts Insertion

Stuffitts Fully in Shoes:

Stuffitts in Shoes

Testing Results

For this review, we had two testers, both training for Half Ironman distance races, use the product every day since we received them.  The Stuffitts were used in running shoes and, in some cases, cycling shoes.  In the interest of being honest, neither tester normally has issues with shoe smell, largely because we both replace our shoes pretty frequently due to mileage.  We were also a bit skeptical of the claims.

That said, we were both surprised and impressed with Stuffitt’s performance.  One reviewer used the Stuffitts for less than two weeks before noticing an absence of any smell or sweaty residue in their shoes.  The cedar smell was pleasant and not overwhelming.  After the cedar smell dissipated the shoes smelled like new sneakers, a little plastic, a little leather, but certainly not sweaty.

The second reviewer appreciated the odor-killing ability of the inserts, but largely used the Stuffitts as a carrying handle.  The Stuffitts feature a strap connecting the insoles.  Once inserted into your shoes, you can attach the strap and toss the shoes over your shoulder.  This strap is a great feature, especially if your shoes are damp or dirty after running.

Each reviewer also used the Stuffitts in damp shoes.  One reviewer chose to run without socks, a sure-fire odor causing activity.  After the run, in went the Stuffitts and out came the odor and smell.  The next morning, the smelly shoes were no more and the grossness of sweaty shoes gone.

The other reviewer ran a few times immediately after a rain and was caught in a downpour once.  For the lighter rains, the Stuffitts worked very quickly to remove and wick the moisture from our shoes.  After the downpour, we left the Stuffitts in the shoes overnight.  The next morning, the shoes were bone dry and the Stuffitts a bit damp.  We laid the Stuffitts outside in the sun to completely dry.  Our shoes had no odor after these uses.

Final Thoughts on Stuffitts

Both testers were impressed with the Stuffitts, though for different reasons.  One found the strap feature to be the most important and useful part of the product and the odor and drying features secondary.  The other tester found does most of their running from home so carrying shoes isn’t a huge issue.  But wet shoes can be a training killer.  If we have to run two days in a row, we absolutely have to have dry shoes.  The Stuffitts make this happen.

Our suggestion is to use the Stuffitts after each use of your shoes.  Using the Stuffitts after each use helps keep your shoes in shape and allows the cedar to immediately start wicking moisture and deodorizing your shoes.  However, if you use the Stuffitts after your shoes are really wet, we recommend leaving them in your shoes for an entire day and then let them dry out for a few hours.  You will notice the Stuffitts cedar insert gets a little firm after wicking a lot of moisture and allowing them to dry will extend the life of the inserts.

It’s up to you if you’ll find the Stuffitts more useful as a carrying strap or as a shoe drying and deodorizing product.  Either way you slice it, the Stuffitts are a great product that lives up to it’s claims.  We’ve only been using the Stuffitts for a bit over a month, so we can’t say if they will extend the life of our shoes, but we can safely say that the product does what it claims and for that reason alone, we can highly recommend Stuffitts.  Added to that, they have a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, so you can test them yourself and if you don’t agree with us, you can always return the product.  After using them for 30 days, you won’t return them.