I was never really interested in the Merrell Road Glove until it reached version three. The primary reason for my change of heart is the new sole. When I run, I always try to hit as many off-road trails as possible. The suburban area where I live has a lot of off-road possibilities, but I always have to combine it with running on tarmac and other hard surfaces. While the Road Glove 2 (with its flat sole) is a good shoe for hard and even surfaces, I would not trust them for off-road running. The Merrell Road Glove 3 is a different story...
Oh the warmth of wool. It is a fact that my feet are perpetually cold in the winter, no matter the quality of my wool socks. The Joe Nimble Woolster is made of soft, flexible, felted wool that moves with my feet. Is this the winter shoe I have been waiting for?
Summer is in full swing, and I want my little one's toes to be free and bare as often as possible. However, there are times when that simply isn't practical. I like to have a couple pairs of summer shoes on hand for such occasions. The KidoFit Lily and Frogy have been my four year old's "go-to" shoes for the summer.
In claiming that they've built a shoe which works well for both minimalist-style trail running and climbing/scrambling/approach use, Patagonia has set themselves a high bar with the Rover. No other shoe claims the same, likely because there are a number of traits normally considered essential in minimalist running shoes which fundamentally contradict those found in good approach shoes. Patagonia managed to thread the needle and combine those traits, as well as pay attention to fundamentals and make a comfortable and durable shoe which does a lot of things well.
In 2013 Vibram launched the FiveFingers EL-X; their most minimal shoe to date, designed for low impact activities and light fitness. The EL-X was built on a completely new sole, created to provide the ultimate barefoot feel. Vibram now has a few models with this sole, all of which are in Vibram’s new Max Feel range. I will talk a little bit about these other models later on in this article.
