What's Your Vote? Running Shoe Update
We have had a lot of great suggestions for names for our new minimal running shoe - thank you!! We narrowed it down to three and would love a vote on your favorite:
A. Barefleets (submitted by "ainulindale")
B. RunAmoc (submitted by "nathan")
C. Mocathon (submitted by "ainulindale")
It was hard to narrow the field to just three... there were so many creative ideas. (The choice was made slightly easier only because some names had already been trademarked for other products/companies.) Let us know what your vote is!
The shoes will be available on our website starting April 28th. They will be available with two types of soles: street (2mm) and trail (5mm). We have tested approximately 10 different soles and chosen them based on the user feedback we have received. The soles are new and different than those we currently use on the Rambler or sandals, and are made in the USA by Vibram.
The shoes will be available in ventilated (pictured), smooth leather perforated uppers, or for colder winter climates we will have breathable suede uppers. There will be in-stock colors of black and brown as well as the ability to design-your-own for the more adventurous. We are working on a vegan option as well, but it may not be ready until a few weeks after the launch. You can wear them both with our without socks - although most testers preferred socks for longer trail runs.
The closure on the shoes is elastic with integrated lace to offer the ability to optimize to the desired tension. Once you have the shoes adjusted to where you desire, it is possible to slip them on and off without unlacing.
Finally, thank you to all of you who offered to test the shoes for us! We really appreciate the offers and regret we did not have the resources to expand our testing base. For some sneak peeks at reviews by two of our testers, check out the following links with two different perspectives:
Donald, a minimal shoe trail running and ultra enthusiast. Check out the post at his blog runningandrambling.com.
Matt, a newer convert to minimal shoes. Check out his post at Matt's Big Blog.
Our sincere thanks to Donald, Ted, Mick, Matt, Tuck, Emily & Jay for testing and feedback, and to all our readers with great comments and questions via our blog and email.
Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Tricia spent her summers running around barefoot with her sisters and brother. These early memories later inspired her to build a brand which embraced the joy and freedom of childhood with the health and science of minimal footwear. After 20+ years at the helm as C. Elf. O, Softstar proudly transitioned to employee-owned, and Tricia became the C.F.O. at Softstar. She is a frequent expert panelist for both e-commerce and entrepreneurship conferences.
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