Looking for a new minimal shoe

Published by Ronald on Thursday, 12 May 2011 15:55 EDT

overview

I’ve been looking online for possible shoes to get that are truly zero drop and have no or minimal support. It was a surprisingly long list I had to work through to find my seemingly perfect shoe just from other reviews online and pictures.

So I thought I would share my impressions of all the shoes I’ve looked at and why I might or might not get them. Here's the list I have looked into.

  • Altra adam,
  • Inov-8 f-lite
  • Merrell Trial Glove
  • Terra plana Neo and Evo
  • New Balance Minimus Trail
  • Invisible Shoes
  • Vibram bikila with laces

"Barefoot" March

Published by RunningPoint on Friday, 01 Apr 2011 13:51 EDT

March 2011 was my first month of the year completely back to "barefoot" running. I completed a total of 20 miles (INJURY FREE!!!) for the month wearing a mixture of super cheap grocery store Aquasox, Invisible Shoes Huaraches, and my Merrell Trail Gloves. Each shoe has it's strengths and weaknesses and I thought I would take a minute to highlight a few for each different form of footwear.

Review of Invisible Shoes Huaraches Part 2

Published by RunningPoint on Tuesday, 08 Mar 2011 16:00 EST

In case you haven't read Part 1 of my Invisible Shoes huaraches review, here's a bit of recap. Huaraches are one of the most basic forms of footwear and consist only of a material that protects the bottom of the foot and a lace to secure them. They have been used specifically by the Tarahumara Indians and have been popularized by Chris McDougall's book Born to Run. Steven Sashen of Invisible Shoes decided to modernize the huaraches and offers a DIY kit on his website or he will custom make you a pair.

Part 1 of this review chronicled the process of me measuring, cutting, and assembling my DIY kit. Part 2 is my review of running in the huaraches.

Appearance

huaraches side viewWhen you are dealing with a shoe that is designed for this extreme level minimalism, I'm not sure that appearance is even a factor. I personally like the way the huaraches look. When the laces are tied in the slip on method (which I use), they retain a bit of shape and look like a very stripped down version of any sport sandal from manufacturers like Teva or Chaco.

The only area to add a splash of personality to these shoes is in your choice of laces. There are quite a few choices for lace color with the DIY kit and I chose the black laces. I am glad I did so since I have adopted the huaraches as daily wear around the office and out in public. huaraches at workThe black laces help to not make my footwear a focal point, especially around the office. I am proud to wear them anywhere and have gotten nothing but overwhelmingly positive comments about them. There are no second thoughts involved with wearing the huaraches out in public like there would be with FiveFingers.

Review of Invisible Shoes Huaraches Part 1

Published by RunningPoint on Wednesday, 23 Feb 2011 13:54 EST

For those who don't know what huaraches are, they are simply one of the most basic forms of footwear. The huaraches consist only of a material that protects the bottom of the foot and a lace to secure them. They have been used specifically by the Tarahumara Indians and have been popularized by Chris McDougall's book Born to Run.

Steven Sashen of Invisible Shoes decided to modernize the huaraches by using a high quality Vibram (yes that Vibram) Cherry sole material which is 4mm thick and has a smooth side for your foot to ride on and a tread side to provide traction. Here's the catch, there are only two ways to get these shoes: a DIY kit or have Steven custom make you a pair. I am a complete and total cheapskate and quite handy so I opted for the DIY kit and will now chronicle the creation of my huaraches from start to finish as part 1 of the review.

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