Minimal Moves Closer To Mainstream

[Abide]

jschwab wrote:I think it's

I think it's absolute crap, too. I am always shocked that other barefooters can put up with wearing this stuff. I put on the trail glove and got the willies. I am not super hardcore about going bare, but I can't stand the built up stuff they say is minimalist. But alot of folks here appreciate these shoes, and it's a big step for someone in clodstompers to move down to a pace glove.

I tried on a pair of free's over the weekend for old times sake. How they or anyone can call these minimalist is beyond me. They are virtually indistinguishable next to any other Nike shoe I used to wear, other than being slightly more flexible (if that even matters).

TG and the minimus are closer but still so far away in my opinion. And the fit is so confining it really does feel like a foot coffin, actually more like straight jacket.

 

[ajb422]

The problem is that to have a

The problem is that to have a truly minimal shoe you give up nearly all protection. I don't think you are ever going to have a trail shoe that basically full time barefooters will call truly minimal because the vast majority of the population needs/wants more protection than that on trails. Now road shoes there isn't a huge amount of excuse for since you really just want protection from the rough surfaces if you want any at all, but in that case the full time barefooters would say why do you even need shoes. I don't think any of these shoes are designed with purists in mind, there isn't a market for that. And the trail shoes aren't designed with road runners in mind. So they are going to go after people who want to be able to naturally midfoot strike on a trail and still have protection. The protection is what the merrell rockplate and the white rubber on the nikes provide at the cost of the things real barefooters love. That doesn't mean they still aren't a huge step in the right direction though. If the point of bf is to reduce injuries and frees, racing flat styles and minimal shoes all do that then great. Not everyone needs to be in completely minimal shoes to get the benefits of it. For some people the inbetween may even be the best fit.

Although I do have to add that I don't understand how anyone who is anti-free can like the trail glove. If you hate them both than I get that, but completely hating on Nike while liking the merrels seems odd. Other than getting caught up in numbers and measurements I really don't see how there could be any difference in ground feel. My huarches and zems were damn near close to barefoot, when I tried on the merrells (granted I didn't buy them so I never ran on trails in them) they seemed far closer to my frees and 2000+ mile/bombed out/falling apart/wonderfully destroyed new balances than the zems and huaraches in terms of how "barefoot" I felt.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

What about a good ole pair of

What about a good ole pair of Walmart water shoes? Anyone? I'm wondering why the manufacturers aren't trying to fo for that fit/feel/level of protection. Those have got to be by far the best minimalist "enclosed" footwear out there, if you ask me. (Huaraches, of course, are much more minimal.)

 

[jschwab]

Water shoes are loose, lack a

Water shoes are loose, lack a defined arch and often have very good traction. For me, they are the compromise - just hot because neoprene.

 

[Abide]

ajb422 wrote:Although I do

Although I do have to add that I don't understand how anyone who is anti-free can like the trail glove. If you hate them both than I get that, but completely hating on Nike while liking the merrels seems odd. Other than getting caught up in numbers and measurements I really don't see how there could be any difference in ground feel. My huarches and zems were damn near close to barefoot, when I tried on the merrells (granted I didn't buy them so I never ran on trails in them) they seemed far closer to my frees and 2000+ mile/bombed out/falling apart/wonderfully destroyed new balances than the zems and huaraches in terms of how "barefoot" I felt.

A couple of reasons, the TG's have much less between you and the ground and a lot of it is tread. To me that is better than having cushion for the sake of shock absorption. Also they have zero heel to toe drop. Those two features make the TG's a much more minimal shoe than the frees in my eyes.

I used to run exclusively in Nike waffle racers which are very similar to the TG's and minimus in my opinion. The free is more like the old pegasus. Just my opinion and from what I understand there are older versions of the frees that are better than the newer ones?

Oh yeah I forgot to mention I don't like the trail gloves and the minimus either they are way to narrow for my fat feet and their soles are too thick

 

[Nyah]

ajb422 wrote:Now road shoes

Now road shoes there isn't a huge amount of excuse for since you really just want protection from the rough surfaces if you want any at all, but in that case the full time barefooters would say why do you even need shoes. I don't think any of these shoes are designed with purists in mind, there isn't a market for that.

There is certainly a shoe market for BF purists. The significant portion of the world's population who can not live barefoot during Winter, due to their geographical location, may want a shoe that does nothing more than protects the bottom of their sock from moisture and abrasion.

For some people the inbetween may even be the best fit.

A good fit is a basic need. I'd think anyone would agree with that. Yet the glaringly erronous aspect of the Merrell design is the toebox, which is clearly not shaped for the foot. All of these Merrells have the same sole so, this problem is inherent to all of them, not just the Trail Glove. Crocs and the NB Minimus Trail have this part right, at least.

 

[ajb422]

The lack of a market I was

The lack of a market I was referring to wasn't that barefoot purists don't wear shoes ever. There just aren't very many of them is all. And alot of the existing ones want very very cheaps shoes. This doesn't add up to much of a profit. I think the shoe companies are trying to get at the vast majority of the population especially the ones who are willing to shell out a hundred bucks for shoes. Barefoot purists are not either of these two things. The minimal shoes that you hate on all the time do exactly what they are designed to do, make companies money.