For many years, I’d heard of stand-ins purchasing heel lifts — otherwise known as “lifts” — to increase their height when they stand in.

I was largely a holdout — mostly not knowing how on earth I could fit something in my shoes to increase my height without making it painful to wear my shoes.

But recently I purchased some lifts after hearing enough times from a camera operator about the difference in my height from my first-teamer’s.  While I was told it wasn’t a big deal, I was hearing it enough that I thought, What the heck, let’s see if I can reduce the incidence of this kind of comment.

After a search on Amazon of different kinds of lifts, I settled on ones that were small, comfortable, substantial enough to make a difference in my height, and well reviewed.  I settled on Skyfoot’s Height Increase Insole, Heel Lifts for Shoes, Gel Lift Inserts, which were advertised to give me a one-inch increase in my height.

Here is my review after using these lifts in my stand-in work.

Convenience

First off, Skyfoot’s lifts are quite convenient.  Often I bring just a fanny pack with me to set when I’m standing in, so I don’t have a lot of room to pack things. These lifts, which are not full insoles but instead for my heels, are a small enough to fit in my fanny pack when I’m not using them. I put them in a normal Ziploc® sandwich bag to keep them away from other items in the fanny pack, and that works great for storage.

These heel lifts are also convenient in that I drop them in my shoes and I’m good to go. Recently I’ve been wearing Chelsea boots to work, which are known for elastic panels on the sides of each boot. This flexibility of Chelsea boots means the boots give way when the heel lifts are in, lifting the feet up from the soles a bit without a lot of compression of the feet.

When I take the heel lifts out (also easy to do), my Chelsea boots tended to return to their original fit — if not immediately, then eventually.

Comfort

In reading various Amazon reviews for different heel lifts, I read how uncomfortable some lifts were. As I didn’t anticipate always wearing them, I wasn’t sure how concerned I should be about negative reviews. Skyfoot’s heel lifts’ reviews inspired confidence in my purchase, and they certainly delivered.

Skyfoot’s heel lifts are a gel-like material with webbing on the bottom, presumably keeping the heel lifts in place as effectively as they do. They are comfortable at the beginning, and even after a day of wearing them, they continue to be comfortable. At the one-inch height I got (they also make heights of 0.6 inches and 1.4 inches), it took maybe just a few seconds to adjust to the new walking height, and eventually I forgot I was even wearing them. I sometimes would even wear them to work or wear them coming home, a testament to the comfort of these heel lifts.

If there was any issue with them, that issue was negligible. After a long day of wearing them, the next morning my feet might feel sore or tired. That might be expected, as presumably the muscles in my feet might be working in a different way that they usually do. But the morning discomfort was short-lived after walking around just a little bit.

Effectiveness

While it’s hard to say whether the one-inch difference in my height made a difference to the camera operators lining up their shots with me, I can report that while wearing the one-inch heel lifts, I don’t recall hearing any negative comments about my difference in height from my main actor. This might mean that wearing them reduced the amount of (mild) criticisms I overheard. It’s hard to really say, but it’s just something to report.

But knowing that I was about one inch taller made me a bit more confident that I was that much closer to my actor in height if it did suddenly matter. Also, because I would also stand in for other actors on the production, the ability to quickly remove the heel lifts meant my height was all the more flexible.

Summary

In sum, getting heel lifts was a great decision, and it was an affordable addition to my stand-in “kit.” Skyfoot’s one-inch heel lifts were small, comfortable, and only around $13. I expect they will last me a long time, and help me hold on to stand-in jobs I book. I highly recommend them!

Have you worked with heel lifts? What have you to share about working with them? Do you recommend a particular brand? Share your thoughts in the comments below!