Impact-attenuating elements removably mounted in footwear or other products

A method of comparing removable inserts used during an athletic activity, comprising:

• inserting into a sole structure of an article of footwear a first removable insert having a first set of characteristics, the first removable insert being inserted into at least one of a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region of the sole structure;
• performing at least one athletic activity while wearing an article of footwear containing the sole structure with the first removable insert;
• removing the first removable insert from the sole structure;
• inserting into the sole structure a reference removable insert having a reference set of characteristics that are different than the first set of characteristics, each of the reference set of characteristics having a reference value that is a value on a scale, the scale and value being assigned by another party, wherein the reference insert is inserted into the at least one of a forefoot region, a midfoot region, and a heel region of the sole structure;
• performing the at least one athletic activity while wearing the article of footwear containing the sole structure with the reference removable insert;
• comparing the first set of characteristics to the reference set of characteristics and assign values for the first characteristics on the scale;
• and
• recording information in a tangible medium of expression relating to a comparison of the scaled values of the first set of characteristics and the reference set of characteristics.

A method of comparing removable inserts used during an athletic activity, comprising:

• providing to a first tester an article of footwear having a first removable insert that is inserted into a sole structure of the article of footwear, the first removable insert having a first set of characteristics;
• instructing the first tester to perform at least one athletic activity while wearing the article of footwear with the first removable insert inserted into the sole structure;
• instructing the first tester to provide a first descriptive analysis of the performance of the first removable insert during the at least one athletic activity with respect to the first set of characteristics;
• providing to the first tester the article of footwear having a reference removable insert that is inserted into the sole structure of the article of footwear, the reference removable insert having a reference set of characteristics that are different from the first set of characteristics, each of the reference characteristics having a value that is a value on a scale, the scale and value being assigned by another party;
• instructing the first tester to perform the at least one athletic activity while wearing the article of footwear with the reference removable insert inserted into the sole structure;
• instructing the first tester compare the first set of characteristics to the reference set of characteristics and assign values for the first characteristics on the scale;
• instructing the first tester to provide a second descriptive analysis of the performance of the reference removable insert during the at least one athletic activity;
• and
• recording information in a tangible medium of expression relating to an objective analysis comparing the first descriptive analysis with the second descriptive analysis and the scaled values of the first characteristics and the reference characteristics.