I am a sucker for a good story. Being an engineer at heart, I really enjoy the stories of product inventors and company founders. Especially the geeky ones where some guy encounters a problem, passionately solves it, then creates a livelihood out of the solution. I think that almost every company that exists probably has a good story tucked away somewhere. The problem with big companies is that while they may have been founded on a good story, many are not connected to it any longer. Small companies on the other hand are often in the middle of living it.
The Instinct has all of the non-negotiables: A wonderfully shaped anatomic last, zero-drop, neutral structure, and no arch support. It also sports a nice breathable/flexible mesh upper. It then delves into the grey area by stacking all of that minimalist goodness on top of a cushioned sole.
I discovered this shoe when I was at Outdoor Retailer this past summer. A sailing shoe with minimalist tendencies.
What do you get when you put a former Nike designer, a former Reebok designer, and Steven Sashen together in room and shake vigorously? The worlds first purpose-built sole for huarache running sandals.
I have been wearing minimalist shoes for almost two years. Mostly with pleasure, sometimes with great pain (caused by a stress fracture on my right foot’s second metatarsal). The pain however didn’t prevent me from staying minimalist both on and off roads...
