As a fan of barefoot shoes I jumped (not very high, because you don’t get a lot of air with bare feet) at the chance to try out Fila’s new Skele-Toes EZ Slide barefoot shoes AKA the crazy monkey shoes not made by Vibram.

These shoes are marketed as “casual” monkey shoes and are not designed for running. They are, luckily, fairly attractive in a “weird dude who wears barefoot shoes” kind of way but the first thing you’ll notice is that they have four toes instead of five. This is the EZ part of the name and they make them considerably easier to put on and take off. They also make you feel like Fred Flintstone.

They’re quite sturdy, with a thick rubber sole (relatively thick when compared to Vibrams) and two huge velcro straps along the heel and instep. The shoes fit more like sneakers than running shoes which is obviously why Fila is selling these to casual users. Sadly, most of this odd design is intentional. Vibram recently sued Fila for patent infringement and I suspect most of the 2.0 improvements are based on not trying to look like Five Fingers shoes.

I wore these around the neighborhood last weekend and did a bit of biking in them. While I don’t want to equate them with 21st century Crocs, I worry that this style may soon trickle out of the world of high-performance running (and the fat people like me who think barefoot running helps them a bit on their short runs) and into the world of backyard barbecues and 30-something Dads toddling through Disneyland, much as I imagine myself doing in the next few years.

I found the Skele-Toes to be quite comfortable if slightly less abrasively ugly than Vibrams. Fila made these into sports shoes rather than performance foot gloves and while I wouldn’t go marathoning in them they’re fine for treadmills and biking. At $60 they’re also a bit less expensive than Five Fingers ($80 for the Sprints, for example and few online sales to be found). I’m generally inclined to recommend these to folks who may want to dip a toe (chortle) into barefoot running but, to be clear, these aren’t “performance” shoes. However, for six bills (and these are Filas so they’ll probably go on sale sooner than later), you’ve got some conversation starters, to be sure.

Product Page

Marty McFly’s crazy kicks in Back To The Future II have long been a geek’s dream. Ostensibly made by Nike in the film, they would tighten themselves around your feet automatically and, more important, they’ve been the paragon of ultimate geekiness for a certain subset of shoe fanatics.

Well, now it looks like you, too, can go back… to the future. Nike just sent out invitations to an event in LA tomorrow hinting at the actual existence of the Air Mags. The invitation included a pair of Doc’s aluminum shades and a bunch of BTTF merch, so clearly something is afoot.

The company patented the Mags’ power laces back in 2010 so it’s clear that the final product is ready to at least unveil to a legion of panting shoe-heads.

There are folks on NiceKicks already willing to camp out in line for these things, so you’d best act fast.

Unless you’re chicken.

I hope you’re not eating anything because you’re about to see some real Jame Gumb stuff in a second. Vibram, famous makers of Sergey’s crazy monkey shoes (that I actually wear while running, much to my wife’s chagrin), have released two new models, the acceptably styled Trek LS, a lace up trail shoe/sneaker, and the absolutely abhorrent (yet strangely alluring) Bormio boots.

BirthdayShoes has reviews of both the Bormio and the LS but we’ll highlight a few points below.

The LS shoes are more like a sneaker with Vibram soles and toe pockets. They’re actually quite classy if you ignore the monkey-feet aspect and, if you’re man enough to wear them on the street you may actually get compliments as opposed to smacked. They cost $139 and come in brown and black.

And here are the Bormios:

If you’re anything like me, you’re imagining Hobbitses in their holes right now. These are basically boots with toepockets, which makes them pretty much amazing. BirthdayShoes notes:

As Vibram FiveFingers go, the Bormio is surprisingly not as eye-catching as it appears at first blush — this assumes you’re wearing them with jeans or pants. Obviously, the ankle-height design makes them look very unusual when they’re sitting “empty” on the floor (like leathery or frostbitten feet chopped off at the ankles), but as Mrs. BirthdayShoes put it, when they’re on, the Bormios just look like any other pair of Vibrams.

That is, except for one thing, which is that the understated design of the Bormio FiveFingers also makes it harder for folks to discern that you’re wearing shoes. Clearly no one has flat black feet (save Mr. Deeds), but smooth, matte leather looks a little like skin, particularly as with the brown Bormios. You could have feet that were dark brown, and I say that because I had at least one person double-take on my brown crazy horse Bormios thinking I had tanned bare feet. I’m not very tan in case you hadn’t noticed (Desk job FTL!). I had another fellow — a VFF fan at that — remark, “You’ve got lion feet.” I liked that better.

If you’ve been going through life thinking “I’d like lion feet,” you’re clearly in luck here.

These demonic things cost $160 and are available in brown and black. Both are made of kangaroo hide and, personally, I wonder where they’re getting all the kangaroos for these things.

So there you have it: these are the shoes Tim Ferriss, Sergey Brin, and every sycophantic SXSW-bound SEO/Social Media/Google+ Guru will be wearing next season. Geeks, prepare to get your monkey feet chic on.

They’re currently using the service at Runningwarehouse but I suspect folks like Amazon and Zappos will soon be on the bandwagon. There is, after all, nothing more frustrating than getting a pair of running shoes and finding they pinch or warp in the wrong places.

Another interesting aspect of this is the start-up story and how the founder’s first idea failed.The creator, Matt Wilkinson, first tried to scan people’s feet in stores and, discovering that putting too much hardware in a store was a recipe for disaster, he scaled back and instead began giving recommendations based on known variables scanned in from existing shoes.

The service ensures that your choice isn’t too big or too small and when you leave a brand you trust it finds similar shoes from similar brands and, most important, it assesses the size differences in the different shoes and advises you which pair to buy. The savings come as customers pick – and buy – shoes they know will fit them, thereby reducing returns.

Product Page via The Tartan

There’s a new religion brewing in the athletic milieu that requisites fitting foot condoms around the phalanges. You know what I’m talking about: the Five Fingers phenomenon. Not dissimilar to the once popular Crocs, Vibram banks on being different as a means of selling shoes. What’s different about Five Fingers is nothing entirely new, in fact, it dates back to thousands of years ago: perambulating barefoot. While it makes sense to use your natural foot articulation to cushion the blow from today’s hard surfaces, Vibram may have taken it a bit too far with this year’s Five Fingers, with what they are calling “Casual Shoes”.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing better than running/weight lifting in Five Fingers, but frankly the style is daft. Tony Post, the company’s CEO says, “Our new casual footwear introductions [offer] dedicated consumers more alternatives for all aspects of their daily lives.” Their customers can now have winter boots, club shoes and tennis shoes. Next year, I hope they don’t come out with the business shoe.

The TrekLS is $140 and is made with kangaroo leather, complete with shoe laces and a loop, swoop and pull. They look really good, right up ’til about the toes.

Next they have the Bormio: an ankle-high, black zip-up boot also made of kangaroo, priced at $160.

Women get their own winter boot (pictured above), or “cold-weather lifestyle boot.” It runs all the way up the calf and has a thicker midsole for cushioning and warmth. Not sure if the 5.5mm midsole detracts from the original minimalistic goals.

Last but not least, there is the $100 Speed model. It looks like a classic running shoe, including colored mesh in white, black or blue.

It’s not like these can’t catch on, we’ve seen worse in the past. It’s just that I think the company has gone beyond their original goal of healthy excercise and into the realm of “let’s make profits.” Hopefully, it doesn’t compromise the original mission. And, it just might if sorority girls begin to trade in their UGGs for these uglies.

They’re made of “motorcycle jacket leather,” which I suppose is just extra thick and tough, and have zippers lining the tongue and on the back. That’s right, these shoes are rear-entry.

Too bad they cost a bundle. $200 is a lot to pay for Chucks, though these will probably last a lot longer than the garden-variety canvas versions. You can pick them up at the Converse First String retail stores.

Just recently, I decided to hop on the minimal shoe bandwagon and picked up a pair of FiveFingers by Vibram. It’s easy to see why these things are getting popular. Racing to keep up with consumer demands, many running shoe companies have decided to follow with the minimalist shoe design.

With the Minimus, New Balance also joins the bandwagon of barefoot running. The shoes are going to offer a very breathable mesh material on top of a Vibram sole. Vibram, usually a sole maker, has its logo shown quite boldly on the shoe. We’re still not sure if it’s planned competition or some other partnership. And we’re also not sure if the New Balance shoe is going to have five fingers.

The Minimus looks great, and definitely will be worth looking into when the release next March. I’m all for the minimalistic barefoot running idea even after only days with the FiveFingers. Our own waddler-in-chief, John, however, swears by them. Remember, more competition is going to bring down those prices. $80 for a piece of rubber and mesh isn’t exactly bang-for-buck friendly.

If you’re skeptical of the whole thing check out barefootrunner. They have a lot of interesting info about the topic.

Generally, if it’s too good to be true it probably is. VFFs cost about $125 and are worth it if you have issues with your feet, ankles, or knees. These fakes could pull apart or hurt you in ways you don’t want. In short, anyone selling them below $80 is suspect right now.

Here is a list of fake VFF sites. Both the good folks at Birthday Shoes and I agree: Avoid at all costs.

vibramfivesfingers.com (Note the “S”)
vibramofficial.com
vibramfivefingersstore.com
vibram-five-fingers.cc
vibramfootwear.com
topvibram.com
unshoessales.com
tefta.lot.my
dhgate.com
handbagsboots.com
pickmbtshoes.com
fivembt.com
jordans-cheap.com
eurluxury.com
tradevv.com
zhengshi-trading.com
tradetang.com
glauke.com
b2bsharing.com
timberlandshow.com
fbikey.com
martorder.com
sotobuy.com
mbtshoes-store.com

A few years ago a friend of mine brought me to a little town in Mexico to see the Tarahumara race. The Tarahumara are an indigenous people who live in a massive canyon and run incredible distances in sandals, called huaraches, made from old car tires. When I tried to wear a pair of these homemade huaraches, the straps chaffed the top of my feet and pulled at my leg hairs as I walked. It was terrible. But I still wanted to wear shoes made from old car tires and other upcycled materials. So I decided to make a homemade running shoe, similar to the type of shoes Bill Bowerman made for Steve Prefontaine — the original Nikes.

Exciting news, friends. I’ve just come back from the future, and I have some news to share. In the year 2050, the United Nations will hold a “Remember Blogging?” panel, and it will be chaired by the encapsulated head, à la Futurama, of Cory Doctorow. There will come a time in the panel when Doctorow’s head turns and says, “Now, blogging wasn’t all shits and giggles. Some of it was truly dreadful. Par example…” This will all be done in Mandarin Chinese, of course, which replaced English as the lingua franca of the world in 2035. Anyhow, Doctoro’s head will say, “You see, I seem to remember a post on reasonably popular tech blog CrunchGear that described some sort of wire-frame shoe. It was rubbish.”

He continued,

It was a strange little post. I think Nicholas Deleon wrote it. He was very sick that day, which may explain its lack of quality. Then again… It was something about a wireframe shoe that his bosses found on Make. Now, Make was a fine magazine, and later Web site, but not every article was appropriate for CrunchGear. It had a photo of a strange woman, who glowed yellow, holding a shoe that was created using a primitive technique called selective laser sintering.

He was right: the post stunk.

Oh-kaaay. So Reebok has developed something called ZigTech – basically a zig-zag type foam for running shoes that’s supposed to ease the load on your leg muscles. And one of the first snippets from the press release is, “ZigTech allows your key leg muscles to do less, so you can do more. Simply put, it’s like an energy drink for your feet.”

And the title of the press release is “Reebok Debuts ZigTech – An Energy Drink for Your Feet…” The shoes will be available for $100 on March 11th and “The launch will be supported by a major marketing campaign including TV, print and online advertising.”

I’m curious to see if Reebok sticks with the “energy drink for your feet” angle for this upcoming marketing blitz since it’s so bat-shit crazy it might work.

As for the actual technology:

“Everything about Reebok’s ZigTech footwear is designed to conserve and return energy to the athlete for a soft and springy ride. The one-of-a-kind ZigTech bottom unit features an innovative, lightweight foam that is engineered into a dramatic, geometric, zig-zag shape. This unique zig-shaped sole absorbs the impact of heel strike and sends a wave of energy along the length of the shoe to help propel the athlete forward with each step.”

There are apparently “hundreds” of athletes who train in the ZigTech shoes, including Peyton Manning, Chad Ochocinco, Santonio Holmes, David Ortiz, Allen Iverson, and more.

Full press release:

Reebok Debuts ZigTech – An Energy Drink for Your Feet…

CANTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–What would you do if you had more energy? Run faster? Train longer? On March 11^th, Reebok allows athletes to find out with the highly anticipated launch of ZigTech, the brand’s most technically advanced running and training shoe. ZigTech allows your key leg muscles to do less, so you can do more. Simply put, it’s like an energy drink for your feet.

Everything about Reebok’s ZigTech footwear is designed to conserve and return energy to the athlete for a soft and springy ride. The one-of-a-kind ZigTech bottom unit features an innovative, lightweight foam that is engineered into a dramatic, geometric, zig-zag shape. This unique zig-shaped sole absorbs the impact of heel strike and sends a wave of energy along the length of the shoe to help propel the athlete forward with each step.

“Traditional energy return is focused only on the vertical impact of the heel strike,” said Reebok’s Head of Advanced Innovation, Bill McInnis. “In contrast, ZigTech is designed to transfer energy horizontally along the zigs so the athlete gets that energy back in the forefoot.”

The lightweight, flexible bottom unit, minimalist upper, and whisper-quiet ground contact also contribute to making ZigTech a new standard in running and training footwear. In fact, by wearing Reebok’s ZigTech footwear, training longer just got easier. The technology causes up to 20% less wear and tear on key leg muscles, especially the shins and hamstrings.

“Shin splints are extremely common for pro athletes like me,” said NFL superstar Peyton Manning. “Wearing ZigTechs give players a bounce, an energy that lets us train longer with less strain on key leg muscles, like shins. This ultimately enables athletes to stay healthier during the season.”

Reebok’s ZigTech footwear collection is available for men and women in an array of bold, bright colors that will truly stand out in the gym. Edgy, trend setting athletes like football phenom Chad Ochocinco are big fans of the aggressive design. “I had my ZigTechs in the locker room and all my teammates were trying to check them out,” said Ochocinco. “ZigTechs stand apart from any training shoe out there. They are bold and confident, perfect for an athlete like me.”

Manning and Ochocinco are joined by last year’s Super Bowl MVP, Santonio Holmes, 2008 Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, World Series star pitcher Andy Pettitte, Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, Stanley Cup winner Sidney Crosby, NHL All-Star Alexander Ovechkin, boxing great “Sugar” Shane Mosley, basketball icon Allen Iverson, home run king David Ortiz, soccer standouts Thierry Henry and Ryan Giggs, and hundreds more athletes who run and train in Reebok’s ZigTech footwear.

ZigTech debuts at major retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker, Finish Line and on Reebok.com on March 11, 2010 for a suggested price of $100. The launch will be supported by a major marketing campaign including TV, print and online advertising. To learn more, visit Reebok.com/zigtech.

Star Wars sneakers from Adidas are coming. Fair enough. This new commercial features what looks like a scene from Indiana Jones at the very beginning, then we’ve got a random shot of Snoop Dogg, Darth Vader, and then Daft Punk looking at Darth Vader as if to say, “That guy stole our shiny helmet look.” You guys look more like bounty hunters, Daft Punk. Just saying.

You like stickball? Cool, that’s in there. Howsabout urban foot races? Covered. Break dancing? Yes. Swing sets? That too. R2D2 sweatshirt? Check. Hip hop remixes of Star Wars music? Affirmative. Shots of the actual shoes? Maybe for a split second or two. Not really, though.

[YouTube via Newlaunches]

Finally, a pair of shoes with built-in Bluetooth and GPS connections. Pair them Bluetooth-ily with your cell phone and the shoes can update your location directly to your Faceboook account or send your location out as a text message to five other phones.

Let me be the first to say that I can’t wait to see Facebook updates consisting of latitude and longitude coordinates. Or can I?

Created by Isaac Daniel, the shoes will be available by year’s end for $150. You can pre-order them now if you like.

[via Navigadget]

I don’t have children, but from what I hear they’re quite expensive. Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on new shoes over the course of a couple years (that’s how much a family spends on shoes, right?) perhaps you could consider these INCHworm shoes, which adjust in size to match your child’s freakishly fast-growing feet.

Most styles are just $40 and the shoes can be adjusted in half-size increments, so you basically buy, say, a size 1-2 which goes from 1 to 1.5 to 2 by just pressing a button on the side of the shoe and then pulling lengthwise. According to the INCHworm website:

Built right into INCHworm shoes is the iFit technology. The iFit technology allows you to GROW the size of the shoe with a simple push of the button. So eliminate unnecessary trips to the shoe store and provide your children with better fitting shoes that last up to three sizes longer. Inchworm shoes grow in half size increments. Just push the button on the side, and pull the toe of the shoe to adjust into the next size.

Seems pretty cool, provided the shoes themselves are durable. They must be, because they’re sold out of a bunch of them online.

INCHworm [inchwormshoes.com via OhGizmo!]

[Via Highsnobiety]

Who knew, but apparently the world’s been clamoring for the sneakers that Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future: Part Two. Shoe collector Mark Kurath’s been trying to find an exact replica since he first saw the movie, initially purchasing a pair of 1989 Nike Air Pegasus shoes and sewing some namby-pamby cloth to the tops of them before throwing in the towel.

Fast forward to the present day and Kurath finally broke down and hired a professional shoemaker to build his dream kicks. Total cost? $4000. That sounds insane to most people but for a guy who has over 500 pairs of sneakers in a dedicated showroom in his house, that’s probably nothing. He’s planning to open up his own shoe store early this year.

[Sneaker Freaker via Neatorama]

First the awesome emergency shoes, now another shoe-related technology from Japan: NTT, the country’s biggest telecommunications company, presents sandals that are able to generate electricity when walking.

Each step users take puts pressure on the liquid-filled sole. Two tanks are positioned below the toe and heel and connected via a small pipe. Every step creates water flows within the soles, enabling a small turbine generator to produce up to 1.2W of electricity.

NTT spokesmann Hideomi Tenma told Japanese press that this level is enough to run an iPod without using batteries provided the user keeps on walking (there is no power storage function).

The shoes were developed in one of NTT’s laboratories in Atsugi near Tokyo. The company aims at doubling the energy level to 3W (sufficient to power a mobile phone) before commercializing the technology in 2010. NTT is currently looking into collaborating with shoe makers to improve the quality of the final product.

Image: Courtesy of AFP/Getty Images

Your task was to come up with a caption for the above photo, which shows our intrepid editor John Biggs wearing one of his new shoes from Aussie Soles.

Here are your winners, ladies and gentlemen. They’ll each take home an IPEVO POV webcam for their troubles. Winners, we’ll contact you via e-mail to arrange shipment.

Well thought out, poignant, makes you think. Plus, other commenters voted this one to be a winner so who are we to argue?

This one appeals to the senses. A commercial could be made in the style of the Calvin Klein TV ads made popular in the late eighties. The first three lines pull you in, the final two sentences knock you to the ground yet leave you wanting more.

This one was actually the first comment on the original review of the Aussie Soles. I can tell you with 100% honesty that I actually LOL’ed twice. Well crafted, Paul. Although you didn’t know it at the time, your comment would go on to win a contest that hadn’t even been invented yet. You, my friend, are the FUTURE!