Runners and triathletes alike know that taking care of your feet and legs is an essential part of injury prevention. We buy specific shoes, socks, compression gear all in the name of protecting our lower half. But what about what goes inside your shoes? We’re talking about insoles. Now we can hear some of our readers now, “been there, tried that.” Trust us; we’re not talking about those insoles.

We recently had the opportunity to test a pair of currexSole insoles from their RUNPRO line. We’ve experimented with insoles over the years, but we never really found a pair that worked. Many of our readers are also likely familiar with the generic insoles that you’ll find at your local drug store or sporting goods shop. And of course some of us have even used custom orthotics prescribed by a doctor. By the end of our testing process, we thought the currexSole RUNPRO insoles fell somewhere in between.

Available in three different profiles—high, medium, and low—the RUNPROs can go the distance. What makes these insoles so different from those generic sporting goods store varieties is the technology that goes into every detail. We’ve seen plenty of tech when it comes to bikes, wheels, and even shoes—but insoles? Let’s just say there’s a lot more than you’d expect.

Each insole features a biomechanical heel guide, which currexSole calls the Autofit Heel Cup. Why does this matter? According to currexSole’s research, stiff, inflexible heel cups can hinder a runner’s performance. The Autofit system provides soft, specifically designed heel cups, which allow movement between the heel and mid foot while still providing the necessary support and shock absorption.

These insoles also feature a total of three individual layers. Each layer has its own purpose. In addition to the top microfiber layer, the mid-layer features Freeflex Memory Foam and bamboo charcoal (for odor absorption). Finally, the bottom layer is crafted from a mix of natural rubber and EVA.

There’s also additional cushioning built in for the ball of your foot and heel, which can take a lot of stress during high-impact activities. This special material comes from Poron, one of the leaders in performance cushioning.

Finally, as we’d mentioned earlier, currexSole uses 3D DAT (Dynamic Arch Technology) to support the arch of the foot in three different profiles—high, medium, and low.

Now that we’ve covered the technology involved in these insoles, what did we think? First, currexSole makes finding the right fit incredibly easy. Simply take their fit quiz here: http://www.currex.de/en/products/insoles/which_insole_for_me.php/ and you’re good to go. Overall, finding the right fit for us took no more than five minutes.

Once we received our RUNPRO insoles, we were happy to see that fitting them to our shoes was equally simple. We removed our shoes’ standard insoles (to create a template for sizing purposes), cut our new pair of RUNPROs to match, and slipped our newly cut insoles back into our shoes. Easy as 1-2-3!

The biggest question we had was whether we’d really notice a difference on our runs after inserting the RUNPROs. The first thing we noticed was….nothing. And that actually made us pretty happy to start. Usually other insoles will slip, slide, or bunch inside of our shows—typically resulting in removal after the very first run. These insoles stayed put and actually felt like they were meant to be there. So far, so good.

But were we really going to notice any improvements in performance or recovery? We’ve been running in the currexSole RUNPROs for a little over a month now, and we can say that we’ve definitely noticed some improvements in our post-run recovery. Our multisport editor, Tracy, has been the primary user of the insoles. She suffers from patella alta and ITB isssues. To test the insoles’ impact on her runs—and ensure the shoes themselves weren’t influencing the results—she inserted them into her preferred running shoes. Since using the insoles, she’s noticed less stiffness and knee pain. A big win in our book!

A pair of RUNPRO insoles will run you about $49.95. While these are about twice the price of your everyday drug store insole (we’re comparing to Dr. Scholls Active Series at about $25), we think these are worth the extra investment—especially for those athletes with chronic pain. They’re also much more affordable than customized orthodics, which could set you back a few hundred bucks.

All in all, we’ve been very happy with our experience running with the currexSole RUNPRO insoles. They were easy to fit, didn’t break the bank, and definitely made for happier legs and knees. What more could you ask for?