Finally got out in my Zems,
Finally got out in my Zems, the low cut split toe, awesome! Did an easy 16.5 miles yesterday around town. A good mixed bag of terrain. Road, sidewalk, dirtroads, and a little gravel. A conservative 8:30 pace for most, w/ some 7 minute miles thrown in for speedwork toward the end.
The good: The fit and feel of the shoe was perfect. They didn't slide around on my feet, but weren't too tight either. The upper is flexible enough to really allow the foot to splay as it should. The ground feel was excellent. I could feel everything, even the rougher sections of road translated through the shoe, but offered enough protection to avoid the abrasion I'd normally suffer after long miles barefoot.
The bad: My only concern is durability. The tread shows no sign of wear at all but the upper wraps under the outside of my forefoot. Though it may only contact the ground lightly, I feel this will wear quickly. I thought this would be the case prior to even running in them. When I compared the tread to my foot, it was a little more narrow in the forefoot than my footprint.
Overall: Great shoe, great price, great fit, and ground feel. If you have a wide foot like my Fred Flintstone feet, don't expect to get a ton of miles out of them. But for the price it may be hard to beat.
Finally got out in my Zems, the low cut split toe, awesome! Did an easy 16.5 miles yesterday around town. A good mixed bag of terrain. Road, sidewalk, dirtroads, and a little gravel. A conservative 8:30 pace for most, w/ some 7 minute miles thrown in for speedwork toward the end.
The good: The fit and feel of the shoe was perfect. They didn't slide around on my feet, but weren't too tight either. The upper is flexible enough to really allow the foot to splay as it should. The ground feel was excellent. I could feel everything, even the rougher sections of road translated through the shoe, but offered enough protection to avoid the abrasion I'd normally suffer after long miles barefoot.
The bad: My only concern is durability. The tread shows no sign of wear at all but the upper wraps under the outside of my forefoot. Though it may only contact the ground lightly, I feel this will wear quickly. I thought this would be the case prior to even running in them. When I compared the tread to my foot, it was a little more narrow in the forefoot than my footprint.
Overall: Great shoe, great price, great fit, and ground feel. If you have a wide foot like my Fred Flintstone feet, don't expect to get a ton of miles out of them. But for the price it may be hard to beat.
