H.S.
The 'original' is the MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) shoes/sneakers that came out way before sketcher. I have owned several pairs and personally have not had any toning at all - the reason I originally got them was for plantar faciitis (sp?) pain in my heel area, and by walking with these type of shoes, they actually healed my situation (which I think I got from wearing regular sneakers while jogging). So for this reason I recommend this type of sneaker, but all the hype about toning to me is not factual. If you are interested in MBT's they sell them everywhere but I think walkers warehouse has them usually on sale (its online).