Athletic Series Sport Massaging Gel Insoles vs Pulse Performance Insoles: which is safer?
PowerStep Pulse Performance Insoles is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Dr. Scholl's
Athletic Series Sport Massaging Gel Insoles
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleUnspecified polymer coating leaching
PossibleGel degradation and microparticle shedding
ReportedMoisture trapping and bacterial/fungal growth
Our pick
Powerstep
Pulse Performance Insoles
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleAzo dyes in fabric blend
PossibleFormaldehyde resins in fabric finishing
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Unspecified polymer coating leaching, Gel degradation and microparticle shedding, Moisture trapping and bacterial/fungal growth and Thermal instability and off-gassing on the Dr. Scholl's and not on the Powerstep.
- We flag Azo dyes in fabric blend and Formaldehyde resins in fabric finishing on the Powerstep and not on the Dr. Scholl's.
- The Dr. Scholl's is Gel compound with synthetic polymers, unspecified coatings where the Powerstep is EVA foam, gel, fabric blend, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 35 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Powerstep is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Dr. Scholl's grade, at 35% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.
Both products run through the same public rubric: materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →
More synthetic athletic insoles & orthotics: see the full ranking