Kila Custom Insoles

Review by Erin Trail

Kila Custom Insoles are a modern approach to custom orthotic insoles, offering custom medical-grade inserts from the comfort of your home.

It’s been pretty well documented across my shoe reviews that I need to have special insoles to accommodate some life-long foot issues. Over-the-counter insoles are stiff and bulky and don’t always fit into running shoes well.  I’ve also had podiatrist-made custom orthotics and those were EVEN stiffer and bulkier – and also VERY expensive.

Kila takes the custom insole experience and has made it better: more comfortable, more functional, and cheaper!

Details

• No doctor or store visit.  Scan your feet via an app on your phone
• 3D printed out of NanoPEBA™, resulting in a bouncy and flexible insole
• Light – weighing approximately 36 grams (not including the factory sock liner cover)
• Top cover is made from ATPU Foam (durable and breathable)
• 180 day money back guarantee.  If you don’t love them, they’ll re-make them until their right or refund your purchase

The Process

Getting the Kila Custom Insoles is a pretty simple process with ZERO in person store or clinic visits. You do, however, need an iPhone or iPad.  I am on Team Android, but I easily found a nearby friend who was willing to let my feet be near her phone.

You order the insoles on the website and Kila sends you an email with instructions, including how to download their app and scan your feet.  Once the app is loaded and you’ve signed in, you place the phone on the floor (screen side up) and the app uses the selfie camera to scan your foot.  You get as many attempts as you want, but the app will also let you know if they have a scan suitable for insole manufacturing.  You click accept and *boom* – that’s all that’s required to get your custom insoles made.

Once the scan is received, the Kila team goes to work, 3D printing your custom insoles to meet your foot requirements.  For me, it took approximately 2 weeks from scanning to having the insoles arrive at my home.  Upon receipt, the Kila team follows up with you by email, making sure that everything fits and feels ok.

The Fit

During the scanning process, Kila does ask for your shoe size and preferred shoe, likely as a reference point for sizing. I chose the shoe I typically wear the most (although since becoming a gear tester, I’m in different shoes all the time).

The Kila Custom Insoles are different from every other insole that I’ve used, mainly because of how flexible they are.  All of my other insoles are rigid along the arch and heel, which often means that they don’t seat all the way into the bottom of the shoe.  This results in a loss of foot volume, and if the shoe doesn’t offer a lot of space, the net result is a lot of discomfort. I’ve had to give away some super amazing shoes because they didn’t have the volume to accommodate my mandatory insoles.

The Kila Custom Insoles are overall slightly thinner than my other OTC insoles, but because they are flexible, they fit inside my shoes so much better, offering a better overall fit experience, especially in shoes that are low volume.

The Feel

During my testing of the Kila Custom Insoles, I primarily focused on trail running, as I was getting ready for an off road triathlon AND a Ragnar Trail Relay.

My initial testing consisted of bringing BOTH the OTC insoles that work for me (SOLE) and the Kila Custom Insoles along for repeatable loops on a local trail in the shoes I was gong to race in.  I would swap out insoles after each lap, comparing the difference and taking mental notes.  These loops were pretty short (about 1 mile).  Once I got a feel for the Kila Custom Insoles and made sure they worked for me, I took them on longer trail adventures.  My longest run was a 2 hour long technical trail run with a LOT of climbing and descending.  I also wore them during the Ragnar Trail Relay, which was approximately 15 miles (divided into 3 loops across a 36 hour time period).

I have several foot issues, which makes me a combination of the perfect person to gear test the Kila Custom Insoles, but also a really challenging person for gear testing custom insoles. I have a torn plantar plate, which means that the tendons on the bottom of my foot no longer support my metatarsal as I run.  The result is that the metatarsal most affected bangs against the whatever I’m running on, which hurts quite a bit.  I also have had a spell of Achilles tendonitis, resulting from a MTB crash (weird but true!) and I have to be careful with low drop shoes.  And I have low arches.  And feet that are a half size different.  There’s a lot going on and let’s just say that I’m VERY good friends with my PT.

And speaking of my PT, I showed him the Kila Custom Insoles and HE was super impressed.  He’s not a fan of podiatrist orthotics because they limit natural foot movement and are generally uncomfortable and expensive.  He liked how light and flexible the Kila Custom Insoles were; these qualities still allow users to feel the ground surface and don’t inhibit natural movement. He was also impressed with the construction and the price point.

Because of my torn plantar plate, I require a MET pad on all of my running shoe insoles.  It’s basically a firm bump that supports my metatarsals and keeps them from banging against the ground with every step.  Kila can accommodate MET pads, but you need to email them and have them add it to your order notes.

For trail running, I found the Kila Custom Insoles really great. My feet felt supported and the NanoPEBA™ offers a nice bounce and pop of energy return. I wore the Brooks Cascadia Elites for my trail racing over the past 8 weeks; this shoe doesn’t have a ton of foot volume due to the one-piece construction of the shoe upper.  I was worried about my feet swelling and running out of space, but I experienced no discomfort, even on the longest and final leg of the Ragnar Trail Relay.  Once Ragnar was over, I resumed gear testing of other trail shoes and incorporated my Kila Custom Insoles as part of that testing.

All of my trail runs while wearing the Kila Custom Insoles have been great.  They offer enough support (on trail) for my plantar plate and my Achilles wasn’t impacted from running in a “new” thing. My feet never felt tired or achy.

My feet also feel great after my longer runs. I usually have some plantar stiffness (usually resolved by rolling my foot out) and sometimes trying something new makes that stiffness worse.  I still roll my feet nightly (while I brush my teeth for habit stacking!) but I have noticed that my feet feel significantly less tight than they typically do on a run day.

For road running, we are still working on getting the MET pad dialed in with enough support to take the impact demands of the harder road surfaces.  I think we are calling it a “special research case” now, but I super appreciate that Kila is open to working with me and finding a solution that might work.

As for trail running, I’m sold on Kila and will be putting them into my trail shoes from now on.

Erin Trail

Trail Boss of Stoke

Erin Trail on her mountain bike at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race

Erin Trail on her running at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race