Seal Registry
This is the public record of every Podiatrist Tested seal: which shoes earned it, which shoes were tested and did not, and why. Every seal has a permanent verification address of the form podiatristtested.com/seal/brand-model-year/. If a badge you see on a box, a product page or a listing does not resolve to an entry on this page, it is not a real seal.
Written and medically reviewed by Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS · Last reviewed 17 October 2026
On this page
No shoe has completed the standard yet. The first results will be listed here.
Seals awarded
The site launched on 2 September 2026. The first wear tests are in progress and no shoe has yet completed the standard, so nothing is listed. Entries appear here on the day a review publishes, never before. An empty registry is what an honest one looks like on day one.
| Award ID | Shoe · model year | Overall | Comfort | Tested | Status | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No seals have been awarded yet. Each row will show the award ID, the model and model year the seal applies to, the weighted overall score, the comfort score, the date testing closed, the current status (active, expired, withdrawn) and the verification address. | ||||||
Tested — did not earn the seal
Shoes that were tested to the full standard and fell short are listed here with the criterion they missed. This list is as important as the one above. A seal that is never withheld is a sticker, and a reader who can see what fails has a reason to believe what passes.
| Shoe · model year | Overall | Criterion missed | Tested | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No results yet. This list fills at the same rate as the one above, and we do not tune the standard to change the ratio. | ||||
What a shoe must do to earn the seal
The standard is versioned and dated, and any change to it is recorded below with the date. Under Standard v1.0 a shoe earns the seal only if every one of these is true:
- Physically tested by Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS. Measured with calipers and a scale, then worn. A shoe nobody here has worn cannot earn it, whatever its reputation.
- At least 50 logged miles or 14 wear-days before award. Durability stays provisional under 100 miles and is marked as such on the review.
- Overall score of 8.5 or higher on the weighted nine-criterion scale published at How We Test.
- Comfort score of at least 8. Comfort carries the most weight, and a shoe that is not comfortable does not get through on the strength of everything else.
- No individual criterion below 5. One failing criterion is enough to withhold the seal.
- Awarded to a named model and model year. A new version is a new shoe and is tested again. The badge always states the year it was earned.
There is no application, no fee and no sponsorship. Brands cannot request the seal, buy the seal, or see a review before it publishes. The full promise is on the Independence page, and the badge terms are at Seal usage.
When a seal is withdrawn or expires
A seal is a statement about one model in one model year, and it stops being true when the shoe changes. It is withdrawn, with the reason recorded here, if the manufacturer materially changes the shoe under the same name, if a safety recall affects the model, if a re-test under the same standard falls below the threshold, or if a brand uses the badge in a way the usage terms do not allow. It expires automatically when the model year it was awarded for is replaced; the entry stays in the registry marked expired, because a seal earned in 2026 remains a fact about the 2026 shoe.
How to check a seal you see in a store
Every badge carries a verification address. Type it in, or scan the code on the badge, and you land on the entry for that exact model and year: the scorecard, the measurements, the wear log, who should not buy the shoe, and the date the test closed. If the address does not exist, or the page shows a different model or year from the one on the box, the badge is being misused, and we would like to hear about it through the contact page. Misuse is recorded on this page.
Changes to the standard
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| v1.0 | 3 September 2026 | Standard published: physical test by Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS; 50 miles or 14 wear-days minimum; overall ≥ 8.5; comfort ≥ 8; no criterion below 5; awarded per model year. |
Podiatrist Tested is an independent publication of Foot & Ankle Web Services LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the American Podiatric Medical Association or any other professional body. Nothing on this page is medical advice. A seal describes how a shoe measured and performed under a published standard; it is not a treatment claim for any condition.
Recently reviewed
Individual shoe pages state their evidence tier, published measurements and who should skip them.
Saucony Endorphin Speed 5
Spec AnalysisLight plated neutral trainer. Saucony publishes both stack heights and they match its 8 mm drop — not yet tested.
HOKA Mach 6
Spec AnalysisLower, firmer neutral HOKA. HOKA publishes a 5 mm drop and neither stack height — not yet tested.
ASICS Novablast 5
Spec AnalysisBouncy high-stack neutral. ASICS publishes an 8 mm drop and neither stack height — not yet tested.
Our funding and evidence policy
We earn affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases. Our policy is to assess published evidence and fit needs rather than rank products by commission rate. Current reviews are specification analyses; see our method for their limits.