Shoe Advice for my Wife

[Sid]

I don't see the Adam on the Altra website. Were they discontinued?

I received the Vivobarefoot Ultra and One from 6PM. Initial impressions on the One are good. They seem even more minimalist than the Aqua Lites. The upper is thinner. There is more flexibility where the sole melds into the upper, making the whole shoe feel more flexible. They are a bit narrower by perhaps 2-3mm, probably not a big deal for most people. I haven't run in them yet, and don't have any plans to at this time. (Barefoot is best!) Then again, I shelved the Aqua Lite for several months before putting a few hundred miles on them.

I noticed on the Aqua Lite that I've managed to wear down the outside edge of the heel a bit. I don't recall heel striking, but apparently did a few times. It's amazing that even thin minshoes will promote heel striking. I switched back and forth between barefoot and the Aqua Lite a good amount and fortunately my feet were able to make the transition fairly well.

I got the Ultra without the liner and it's a bit big. I'm going to order a size down and see how that goes.

 

[Longboard]

My own Aquas came yesterday. WAY too tight for me but if I exchange them for a size up they will be too long and still probably too tight. I was surprised, because my Ra's were so roomy, and now I also got a pair of Jay's in and they are roomy as well. The Aquas I'll send back, not sure what to try next.

 

[Sid]

Tight across which part of the foot? If it's the toebox, the Aqua Lite are the roomiest of all of the Vivobarefoot running shoes that I own (Evo, Neo, One). I don't know about midfoot, arch, or heel.

 

[Longboard]

Midfoot area. Plenty of room at the front of toe box area, but squashed at the widest point on me, which is the 1'st phalangial-metatarso joint to base of 5'th line.

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[Sid]

Oh good, I was looking for old photos of yours. Hmm, I'm not sure what to say. I think that I actually do have nearly an inch of room at the tip of the Aqua Lite and the One. However, the shoes fit snug enough along the rest of my foot to prevent them from jostling around too much. I wear some thin socks, and that probably helps, too. I agree that companies still don't make shoes that are a good fit for the habitually unshod.

I read about these custom shoes a while ago. They could probably make something to your specifications, but it might be springtime with their backlog. Fortunately, I convinced myself that I could make do with slightly floppy mass produced shoes.
www.russellmoccasin.com/new_products/minimalist_footwear.html

 

[Longboard]

I had never heard of those before. It would probably be cheaper to move to a warmer state though.

 

[Sid]

If mass produced shoes list at $120, surely custom shoes are good for $300+?

There the NB Minimus Zero which comes in a 2E width. Looks wide where you need it, but toebox seems narrow to me. Stack ht of 12mm, so not exactly thin.

 

[Longboard]

It's hard for me to even think about 3 mm soles. My Pankas work for cold but probably only last 60 miles on pavement. I'm dreading even thinking about treadmill season approaching , something's gotta give.

 

[Sid]

What about reinforcing the sole of the Panka with 1mm cherry vibram and resoling glue?

I used to get my dress shoes resoled every year. One time I had the cobbler add a layer of thin rubber, so that I'd have more traction than bare leather. It was about 1mm thick.

 

[Longboard]

Never thought of that , probably because I've only run 3.1 miles in shoes (other than the treadmill) since 1985. The treadmill as well as the 3.1 were in the Pankas.

 

[Nyah]

Oh, great, so many people hyping pseudo-minimalist stuff like Vivos and Merrells, that Altra now can't even keep their foothold in the market.


Longboard, I'm not sure of what the "base on 5th line" area you're referring to is. Still, I suggest you consider the Altra Adam, one size up from your foot measurement. If, for you, that means size 9.5 or larger, there's an Ebay seller offering them for $30/pair. I have no connection with the seller. Just trying to share with a fellow barefooter, what I know to be a good minimalist shoe. When I bought the Adams, I was also able to examine all of Vivo's, Merrell's and NB's offerings as well (in person, at Dr.Mark's Shop in Shepherdstown). Everything else was really stiff and thick, in comparison. That was before the Merrell Vapor shoe but, it still looks to me that the Adam keeps the most minimal spot, since the Vapor has less big-toe width.

 

[Longboard]

Nyah I wasn't sure if anyone would get my descriptive jargon either, that's why I included the dot drawing. My feet are short and wide and have high insteps despite low arches, so any normal shoe is way too tight. Even flip flops won't stretch enough to get on unless they are several inches too long. My Pankas even are a bit long and I fear I might trip in them outdoors. My Altra Insticts fit, they are just way too much shoe for me. My Jays and Ra's fit as well. Maybe the Adam might indeed be my answer! There is a store in Ann Arbor an hour away from me that carried them when I bought the Instincts there, I should give them a look. And yes, the 9.5 would be clown shoe tripable for me.... I only measure 7.5 in length, but always go to 8.5 even in Feelmax, Vivo, and Altra.

 

[NickW]

Hey Lb, what size do u think in the Adam? I have a pair that I think are a size 10.5 that I would send you if you wanted them? They are just a touch to small for me so I would rather someone got some use out of them, otherwise they are just cluttering my garage.

 

[NickW]

Oh I just saw your sizes LB, guess I need to read a little slower. In anycase, if anyone wants them send me a message and I'll get them out for you.

 

[Longboard]

Thanks Nick, wishI could fit.

 

[Longboard]

My own Aquas came yesterday.... WAY too tight for me.....I'll send (them) back......

O.K., I ordered them from Amazon which was the only place I could find them. $69 and free shipping, so not bad. BUT....they were shipped from Sportsshoes.com in the U.K.!
Now I'm supposed to pay return shipping charges to England!
Never thought to watch out for THAT Amazon "gotcha!"
I know they're light, but I'm guessing this return will not be cheap.

 

[Spinningwoman]

You might be better selling them locally on eBay - I wish I had done that with the Lems I ordered from the US. The package went astray when I returned them so I was out the shoes plus two sets of shipping and the postal insurance only paid up half the price of the shoes.

 

[Longboard]

I just tried them on sockless with the sock liner removed. Maybe I'll give them a chance this winter rather than pay for shipping and insurance. Even on eBay how much could I possibly get?

 

[Sid]

Longboard, did you ever find a shoe that fit?

 

[Longboard]

Longboard, did you ever find a shoe that fit?

Have'nt been looking. Still barefoot outside for now, but either treadmill or shoes by New Year's Day I'm guessing .