A light weight knit running sneaker with natural motion sole that helped strengthen your feet with a close and breathable 1 to 1 fit.
Fit: 9/10
It had to happen eventually from a design perspective (Sock shoes/sock sneakers) many early designers, developers and engineers/factories looked for ways to solve multiple problems in a clean and superior way. Stripping away the use of multiple overlays, materials and animal products in the upper while looking for ways to use machinery and processes from other industries to engineer fit, support, and breathability into the upper while maintaining production costs, shipping, duty, quality and *profitability (margin, retail, direct sales, etc…).
Moving away the traditional combination of open meshes, neoprene and natural leathers or synthetic leather overlays. Knits, wovens, and textiles became the new industry norm starting in running, moving to lifestyle, training, court sports and eventually cleated and field footwear and onto the fashion world as well.
The fit on these took some getting used to as first, but stuck close to the foot. With or without socks they were great, but the tight knit collar which was necessary was a little too tight around the Achilles. Tape or socks that rise above the collar help alleviate this.
Cushioning 10/10
ergonomic outsoles, minimalism, natural motion, flexibility tooling is nothing new, but the free design philosophy helped set theses sneakers apart from the other running/walking, jogging sneakers at the time. Instead of being overbuilt, they looked to allow your feet to splay and work naturally to build up the strength you would normally have if you weren’t constantly walking/running on concrete and other hard surfaces. A good ideology for those that train for track, sports, distance running, hiking or other sports, disciplines or activities.
Comfort 9/10
Again at the time of its release knit sneaker were new and differed from the norm. Many running companies had their own concepts and approaches (performance running) that all helped push the envelope and contribute to the better quality of footwear, apparel and performance products that we have today. Your feet got used to them and with an insole swap and thick/tall enough socks (if necessary) comfort was not an issue.
Support 8/10
support is engineered into the upper (fit) and midsole (raised arch on the medial side). Not overbuilt but supportive enough to keep your foot on the footbed with out sliding off or causing unnecessary issues.
Traction: 9/10
The midsole/outsole and rubber inserts provided good traction multiple surfaces. Not necessarily noticeable, but there weren’t any issues on multiple surfaces throughout the duration.
Materials 9/10: the got the job done in a new, sustainable and cost effective way that became the new standard for running going forward (knits, wovens, and textile uppers with lightweight, ergonomic and functional midsole/outsoles).
Affordability: these released quite some time ago. There are many great knit, woven and textile sneakers that you. can find today across multiple brands and categories. This particular sneaker might still be found, online, at a thrift store, a consignment shop or even a local family owned shop.
A great sneaker at the time that helped push the material, process and category.
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