Review on Foam Pneumatic Walker Brace/Walking Boot By Aircast FP by Juan Russell

I was recommended to buy this cast by my family physician after incurring an injury to the achilles tendon on my right foot. I have a large partial tear about 2 inches from the bottom of my heel, at the calcaneal insertion. It is extremely painful.Right now I am in a half cast and need to use crutches (UGH). However once I am out of this I will then need to wear this Aircast FP Walking Brace for 3-6 months. So I purchased the brace ahead of time so I would have it.I found this Aircast FP walking brace size medium on other websites, however on Ebay it was priced the best as well had the option of expedited shipping. The shipping was fast and they packaged the brace well.I typically wear a womens size US 6.5- 7.0MI was very apprehensive about ordering the medium. The sizes suggest that the Aircast FP Walking Brace size small will accommodate women's US shoe sizes 6-8.However when I was reading other reviews I saw that a girl with a US size 6 noted that she got the size small brace and the boot was just at the edge of her toes.So I went ahead and just bought the medium. It is bigger than needed I have a good 2-3 inches from the end of my big toe to the edge of the end of the walking brace. I have to say as a personal choice I am glad that I ordered the medium. It give me more than enough space to accommodate my foot plus heel wedges. Plus covers my toes.I have only used the brace once to walk around my place (prior to wearing the half cast). I have to admit that I have OCD (in regards to cleanliness) so I do not want to wear this outdoors without a cover. I searched for a cover and the ones I found, none had covers for the sole. I found one website where the covers are made to cover Aircast braces but they do not cover the sole. I contacted the company and asked if they could sew a sole on for me, but they refused saying that it is a hazard to have a cover over the sole. And assured me that the sole on my Aircast was sufficient.I don't think she understands basic principles of microbiology or hygiene. But I do understand it may be a liability for their company. However it defeats my whole purpose of wanting a complete cover for cleanliness. The covers do look like they are made well, and are water resistant. I was looking for waterproof, but that proved to be impossible. Which is disappointing because it rains 90% of the winter and spring where I live.So I am just going to buy a cover from this website:http://www.castcoverz.com/walking-boot-weather-cover Then just buy some PVC fabric and sew a couple layers of that to the bottom of the cast cover.The brace itself weighs 3.3 lbs so it feels a tad heavy. But when walking it is not too bad. I also purchased a shoe balancer (from Ebay). For the other foot because there will be a noticeable difference when walking. That was a reasonable cost of $28.00 and I assume it will be a must once I am wearing this brace.I found the inside of the brace to be well cushioned and seems very comfortable (to me).I will however be purchasing a few of the Aircast socks that are available for $10.00 so that I can rotate wearing and washing them. As I can imagine that it will get quite hot and sweaty in there. I read the reviews for the cast sock and they were all extremely positive.On another note I read in many other reviews about the sole not having much support. For my particular case once I am out of this half cast I will be fitted for sole lifts (at my orthopedic surgeon's office). This is so that my foot is pointed downwards at a certain degree to take the stress off of my achilles tendon.But once the lifts have been removed after several months, I too would opt to put insoles into the brace. I purchased a pair from my local drug store so that I will have them on hand. It is larger than your average shoe so it should accommodate any insole well.Also I love how there are air cells that can be pumped up to keep your ankle immobilized properly. It is super easy to inflate and deflate with the little pump that is included.All in all I am very happy with this purchase. The boot is well constructed, excellent quality. I recommend this brace to any one with an injury needing the proper support. It makes walking actually possible.Great purchase, especially since I will be wearing this for 3-6 months.I am glad I did not cheap out and buy another brace. This is definitely worth every penny.*** Also I will update my review once I am wearing the boot and the cover that I have altered to cover the sole.