Skechers GO WALK Joy review

We think that this cozy slip-on can be a worthy addition to your shoe rotation if:

• you prefer hassle-free slip-ons to the traditional laced sneakers
• you need a comfortable walking shoe for long walks and traveling
• you like shoes to be so light that you forget about having them on
• you want a simple yet elegant design from Skechers

The GOwalk Joy doesn't offer any arch support or additional stability components. Its plush midsole can be a problem for people with flat feet and/or overpronation.

If you are someone who needs that kind of support for your foot arches and ankles, consider Skechers Arch Fit instead.

Believe it or not this seemingly minimal Skechers shoe has the same amount of cushioning as many other walking shoes. It was even enough to keep us comfortable for the entire 10-hour wear test.

Using a caliper, we measured the shoe's heel stack at 32.7 mm. This is a typical stack height for the brand's GOwalk shoes.

The shoe also has a good amount of cushioning in the forefoot. We got a measurement of 23.2 mm under the toes.

Given the difference in stack heights, the shoe has a moderate drop of 9.5 mm.

This means that your heel sits a little higher than the toes inside the shoe and, consequently, gets more cushioning. That way, when you take a step and land on the heel, it feels very well-cushioned and protected from the impact.

Skechers and plushness have long become synonyms to us. The brand uses its popular 5GEN foam as the primary cushioning for the GOwalk Joy.

We measured its softness with a durometer and it returned 19.4 HA. Compared to the average of walking shoes, this is a whole 30% softer! If you can imagine walking on a huge marshmallow, that's probably the most accurate description of this shoe's cushioning.

Additionally, the cushioning is enhanced with the Goga Max insole. This insert felt ultra plush and adapted to the shape of our feet from the start.

We measured its thickness at 4.5 mm in the heel.

In our experience, the GOwalk Joy fits exactly as expected and true to size.

Measuring the widest part of the toebox, we got 97.9 mm. This is an average walking shoe width in a women's US size 11.

What's also great about the shoe's upper is that it stretches. As the temperatures rose around noon and our feet began to swell, the fabric expanded just enough to accommodate our swollen feet.

Another thing that makes the shoe's toebox quite comfy and accommodating is the fact that it's not tapered. Measuring the upper width around the big toe, we got 77.9 mm, which is the same as the average.

The Skechers GOwalk Joy is designed as a neutral shoe through and through. That means no arch support and no stabilizers whatsoever!

This shoe follows the natural movement of your foot, bending and adjusting to your foot's gait as you go. It was a very pleasant experience for us, making it feel like we stepped out the door in a pair of bedroom slippers.

However, for people with flat feet/overpronation, wearing this shoe can turn into an ankle-rolling disaster, and to them, we recommend the more supportive Skechers Arch Fit series instead.

Twisting this Skechers shoe in our hands made it feel like it had absolutely no "spine." With its high degree of softness and flexibility, the GOwalk Joy gets the lowest score for torsional rigidity - only 1 out of 5.

What's more, the shoe has absolutely no structure in the heel counter. If you are used to having a firm heel hold at the back of the foot, this Skechers shoe is the complete opposite of that.

On a scale from 1 to 5 where 5 is the stiffest, we obviously rated it as 1. The GOwalk Joy proves its similarity to a house slipper once again!

Even if you have a neutral gait and no issues with pronation, you still need a wide enough landing surface to feel surefooted as you go through your day.

We found that the sole of this Skechers shoe is adequately wide. Measuring the widest part of the forefoot with a caliper, we got a reading of 104 mm. But if you need a slightly wider platform, have a look at the Skechers GOwalk 6 which is about a centimeter wider at 114.5 mm.

In the widest part of the heel, we got a caliper measurement of 89.1 mm. That's a pretty standard heel width for our lab-tested walking shoes.

At this point of the review, you probably wouldn't be very surprised if we told you that the GOwalk Joy is in the top 15% of most flexible walking shoes in our catalog!

Using a force gauge, we measured how much force it takes to bend this Skechers shoe to a 90-degree angle. Turns out, it only takes 7.5N! That's a whopping 140% less than it takes a walking shoe on average!

Imagine holding a 200ml cup of coffee in your hand. Now imagine that the Skechers GOwalk Joy is even lighter than that!

Weighing the shoe in a women's US size 11, we got as little as 6.8 oz (193g). This is practically weightless compared to the average of walking shoes!

The GOwalk Joy has a fairly thin mesh upper with wide ventilation pores. A perfect formula for breathability, right?

Well, apparently not in this case. We were quite surprised when this Skechers shoe failed to meet our expectations. In our smoke-pumping machine test, we saw that the shoe's fabric didn't let the smoke pass so easily. The reason for that is the tightly woven inner lining which feels more like an extra sock.

Thus, on a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the most breathable, we only rated the GOwalk Joy's breathability as 2.

However, this doesn't mean that the shoe is toasty. We could still feel a cooling breeze on warm summer days. But it just wasn't as ventilated as we thought it would be given how breathable it looks.

It is also evident from our transparency test that the inner lining below the mesh holds back the airflow.

You can also see from our microscope shot below that there is a thicker fabric layer underneath the mesh.

Judging by the shoe's dainty construction, we wouldn't expect it to last longer than the average walking shoe. And yet, the GOwalk Joy held up to our demanding Dremel test pretty well!

After 4 seconds of drilling its toebox with a Dremel, we only scratched the upper mesh layer but never got through the inner padding. For that reason, we gave this Skechers shoe a well-deserved 3 out of 5 score for toebox durability.

Back in the heel, the shoe's padding and lining didn't do so well in the same Dremel test.

The damage here was much more detrimental than that in the toebox. Thus, the heel padding got a lower durability score of 2.

The exposed foam is SO soft on the GOwalk Joy that it showed a reading of 51.4 HC on our durometer. For reference, that's a whopping 45% softer compared to the average of walking shoes!

Unfortunately, in a duel between concrete pavement and soft foam, the latter is less likely to be the winner.

Of course, it was no surprise to see our Dremel get through the GOwalk Joy's sole like it was a piece of butter.

The depth of the dent created by our Dremel was insanely large. Using a tread gauge, we measured it at 3.72 mm, more than 2 mm deeper than average!

If you wear this pair of Skechers daily, we anticipate that it will only last one summer.

Having zero rubber to cover up the shoe's foam midsole is a huge red flag for durability (or lack thereof).

We strongly recommend staying away from slick and wet surfaces while wearing this Skechers GOwalk shoe. It has no rubber to create traction on slippery ground and the exposed foam certainly does an awful job with that.

Because there is no tongue in the GOwalk Joy, we measured the thickness of the upper material instead.

The caliper returned 2.5 mm which is an average thickness for a Skechers slip-on shoe. It feels amazingly light against the instep.

As a slip-on walking shoe, the Skechers GOwalk Joy has a one-piece upper that wraps around the foot like a sock.

It was pretty quick and easy for us to slip in and out of the Skechers GOwalk Joy in the first place. But there’s also a handy pull tab on the back of the collar which makes it even easier.

That's one of the reasons why we recommend the GOwalk Joy as a travel shoe. It is super convenient to slip off at the TSA security gate or while you are on a plane/train/bus. It is also light and flexible enough to be packed into a carry-on.

IF you need to level up the comfort with a custom insole, you can easily do that by removing the default insert.