October 29, 2011

VIVOBAREFOOT Evos Coming to their Inevitable End

I am sad to say that my VIVOBAREFOOT Evos are starting to fail. Although, I have to say that I am VERY happy with how well they've lasted and performed over the year and half that I've owned them.

These have been my go-to shoes ever since they arrived in the mail. Because I write reviews for Living Barefoot, I get a lot of shoes in the mail, some are winners and some definitely are not. The Evos quickly became my favourite pair of minimalist footwear for errands, walking the dogs, and most especially running. I even wore them on several hikes in the mountains. They are one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I have EVER worn. I don't know how many kilometres I've put on them but quite a few of them have been in rocky, rooty, muddy, thorny, and downright difficult conditions for any shoe, let alone a minimalist shoe.

How are they failing, you might ask? The mesh on the upper is starting to rip and become holey. I hit a rock pretty hard once recently with the very top of the shoe (I was surprised and grateful I didn't break a toe on that one) and it tore the mesh open there as well. I'm totally impressed that the TPU cage is holding fast so I'll probably continue to wear them despite my pinky toes starting to poke through the mesh on the sides.

The sole is holding up well also. These are my favourite road running shoes as well and the sole, although definitely showing wear, still has a lot of life in them yet.

Despite their beginning to fail, I know that if I had abused a pair of conventional shoes this way, they probably would have failed a long time ago. I have other minimalist footwear whose uppers have not lasted so well so long. And I have other minimalist shoes whose soles have not lasted so well with far fewer kilometres on them than these. These Evos have been well-loved and brutally abused (at least compared to any pair of shoes that I have ever owned).

Because I love them so much, I'll probably keep wearing them but I think it's time to buy another pair soon...

Here are some pics of my beloved and abused year and half-old Evos: