7/1/2023 0 Comments Minimalist trail running shoes![]() ![]() If you routinely run in muddy conditions, I'd suggest the Megagrip model, which uses a Vibram sole with more traction on it. The more your toes can move, the better you will run. The toe box is wide, almost comically so, but after wearing these you'll never want to go back to a smaller toe box. The leather uppers are the softest leather I've ever owned and, surprisingly, don't make my feet overly sweaty (which I was worried about going in). The soles are minimal, like those in the rest of this guide, but for some reason they seem softer and let me feel the ground more than the others. I agree these are my favorite shoes for running trails that I can't run in sandals or barefoot (usually due to mud). My wife came back from her first run in these Softstar Primal RunAmocs and said they were so good, she'd never wear any other shoe again. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day. com and our print magazine (if you'd like). Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). Updated March 2023: We've added the Xero Prio Neo and Xero Tari boots and updated prices and links throughout. They're as close as you can get to achieving that barefoot sensation without running afoul of “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” signs.īe sure to check out our other buying guides, including our Best Running Gear and Best Snow Gear roundups. In this guide, we've got advice on making the transition from padded shoes to “barefoot shoes” (also known as minimalist or zero-drop shoes), and we've rounded up our favorites. You need to ease into all things barefoot-related, and to some degree you need to relearn how to walk and run. That won't work, and it can lead to injuries. That said, please do not buy a pair of these barely there shoes and start walking or running the way you always have. Feet were made to stretch, flex, roll, and bend, and letting them do what they evolved to do can reduce impact injuries and provide a host of other benefits. The technology and padding of the modern shoe protect your feet, but protection isn't always what you want. ![]() ![]() Let me know in the comments if you’ve had success with any of these, or if you have other alternatives to minimalist running shoes.You were born barefoot, and a growing body of evidence suggests you should have stayed that way. Look for something that is fairly light, has a thin, flat sole, has a little room in the toe box, and doesn’t look like it’s likely to cause any blisters, and it might just work as a running shoe. You can try your local discount shoe store for something that might work as a running shoe, but isn’t specifically marketed as one. They usually have pretty decent grip, handle fairly well in the wet, and some have a handy drawstring to make the fit fairly secure. The soles on these shoes generally aren’t as durable as a purpose-built minimalist running shoe, but you can pick them up at quite affordable at your local outdoors store. They might look a little strange, but not a lot more than normal barefoot shoes. Running without shoes is free (as long as you don’t injure yourself). It’s pretty obvious, but I thought I’d put it in anyway. Unfortunately, the list of cheap, minimal running shoes is quite small, but here is my attempt at a list of alternatives. Here are some low cost alternatives, so you can begin minimalist running without forking out unnecessary wads of cash. The cynic in me thinks there might also be some price gouging. Manufacturers of barefoot shoes are generally quite small and produce only a small number of shoes. I suspect it’s just that the volume of sales is quite low, so manufacturers can’t minimise costs with high volume manufacturing. OK, so what else could it be? Well, minimalist running is still a niche market. Maybe it’s a topic for another article, but why do most of them look so silly? Also, quite a few minimalist shoes look ridiculous. I can’t find any hard data to back me up here, but most recreational runners I see jogging about the place are not wearing minimalist shoes. Really? I think both of those points could be safely disputed. If you ask Google why minimalist running shoes are so expensive, the top results suggest that it’s because they are “so popular and look appealing”. Shouldn’t they essentially be a thin shell to protect your feet from cuts and abrasions? So what’s with the high price tag? Is there something sinister going on? Why is it so? They don’t need the highly engineered features that traditional running shoes come with. They are constructed of much less material and necessarily weigh significantly less then a traditional shoe. Minimalist running shoes are supposed to provide as little interference between your foot and the running surface as possible. ![]() It seems counter-intuitive that minimalist running shoes are often more expensive than traditional/maximal running shoes. ![]()
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