Some of My Favorite Shoes
I just received my third pair of these shoes. I ordered my first one in beige heather about 18 months ago, followed quickly by a gray pair. I wore those two pairs nearly every day for 18 months, tending to use the gray ones for work and the beige ones at home. After 18 months of wear, and two washes the uppers are still great, but the soles have worn enough that I felt I needed a new pair for outside the house. These shoes are almost shockingly light. They are comfortable with socks or without, and the wool does its usual magic of staying comfy in hot or cold while keeping your feet from getting swampy. I have not experienced any fraying or pilling of the upper, and it washes clean in the machine. The sole reminds me of Croc material, so it's soft and squishy comfortable. It feels good, though other reviewers are correct that there is virtually no lateral stabilization and not much arch, so if you need those you might look elsewhere. It's not flat like a flip-flop. There is a shaped footbed - It's just that the "dynamic range" is still rather flat compared to something like a good running shoe or hiking boot. The softness of the sole does seem to come at the price of extended longevity. With use it wears down in response to the eccentricities of your gait and begins to exaggerate them. For me that took about 18 months, with about 1200 miles of logged walking on the grays with probably another 5-600 miles of just getting around. I'll still use them around the house, but I felt the need to update my primary walkers to get back to a more neutral sole shape. In case it's not obvious, I'll add that these are NOT good in weather. Conceptually, they're a sock stuck to a bottom. They immediately absorb anything dropped on them and wick it down to the foot, so rain is ill-advised. Snow adds slippery to the wet and is even less recommended. I bought the first two of these shoes directly from the company and the experience IS different from the last pair from Amazon. Directly from the company they come inside a cloth-and-rope backpack, along with swag inside the box. From Amazon I got loose shoes in a box. They ARE cheaper on Amazon, especially if you leverage Prime shipping. Read more
