Running in Luna Sandals

I've decided that running in Luna sandals is more comfortable for me than walking in Luna sandals. I've never worn flip flops and it has taken me a long time to get used to the hemp lace of the Lunas between my toes. That said, I couldn't feel the laces at all when I was running in them. They are fabulous running footwear (when the weather's warm).

Because they have no upper, your toes can splay as far as they need to. There's plenty of breathability, too. There's just enough thickness in the sole to allow for comfortable running even on gravel.

I think they look so great with the suede footbed that I couldn't bring myself to wear them through the mud, even for the review for Living Barefoot (which is coming soon).

You really have to have strong feet to run in these for any length of time, however. The muscles in my feet were a little sore the next day. :)

Long Review - Kigo Curv

My long review of the Kigo Curv went online yesterday on the Living Barefoot site.

Here's the link.

I think Kigo Footwear is a company that is definitely going places. They listen to their customers and adjust their shoe designs to reflect what they've heard. I'm really looking forward to what this company produces in the future.

In case you're interested in learning more about Kigo, we also interviewed Rachelle Kuramoto, co-founder and marketing director of Kigo Footwear, for the Living Barefoot show and her interview can be found here.

Foot Changes

I wrote a similar post to this some months ago but I extended and updated it for the Living Barefoot site. It's about how my feet have changed over the last two years since I switched from wearing conventional shoes to minimalist shoes.

I think it accurately captures the changes that I've noticed in my own feet. I don't know if others will experience the same kinds of changes but most, I think, will experience some similar changes.

Here's the link: Foot Changes after Two Years Living the Barefoot Alternative



(And the pictures are of my feet. ;) ).

Luna Sandal Fitting

I haven't had much opportunity to wear my new Luna sandals these days as autumn has arrived and summer is fading away (I'm a cold weather shoe pansy). I can tell you a little about fitting them, though.

The first pair that arrived was a stock pair with red leather lace. I thought they fit quite nicely when I was taking the pictures. I was sadly mistaken. When I walked around with them on outside, the lace between my toes was almost painful. It turns out the hole for that lace is in the wrong place for my feet. If you look at the picture, you can see that it wraps under my toes a little bit. This is not a good fit.



The second pair that arrived was a custom-holed pair, made from my own footprint, with hemp laces. The fit is MUCH better. The hemp lace is much softer and the holes are in the right place. As you can see in the picture, it does not wrap under my toes and is in the right place between my toes. I believe this is how the lace is supposed to look.



If you're having problems with your huarache sandals, check out the fit of the holes. Maybe they need to be in a different place. And tying is definitely an art! I've tried several different tying methods with my assorted pairs and usually go with what works best with each individual pair.

And thanks to Barefoot Ted and Jules Smuin for being so great!

I'm really looking forward to spending some time in my new Lunas. Let's hope the weather improves. The full review of the Luna Sandals will go online on Living Barefoot as soon as I can get some quality time wearing them. :)

VFF Women's Trek - First Impressions

I've gone for three trails runs in my new Women's Treks. My biggest first impression is that they are much roomier than my previous VFFs. These are size W39 but the W38 would not fit the length of my left foot, I think (specifically my pinky toe). I have only worn them with Injinjis for this reason.

When I first put them on, I felt so high off the ground. They have an 8 mm sole and all the shoes I have right now are no higher than 4 mm (forefoot and heel). Once I walked in them outside, I didn't feel like they were so high.

On rocky terrain, they are awesome! No problems at all with grip on flat, up, down, or loose rocks. Absolutely no worries about stone bruising (and I have experienced bruising on the bottom of my feet from stones, it does NOT feel good).

On paths with vegetation, prepare to deal with plants getting stuck (and staying) between your toes and/or stopping to pull them out.

My one problem, which is probably just me, is the blisters on the bottoms of both big toes. I haven't worn VFFs much the last few months because I didn't have any that fit properly (my feet got too big for them) so my VFF callouses healed. Now I'm reforming them on my big toes, but the initial blisters don't feel that great. :)

Here are some pictures of my new Women's Treks:







The long review of the these shoes will be online on Living Barefoot in a few weeks.