Prima Facie Luna Mono Thoughts

Alejandro 10

Barefooters
Jul 13, 2011
304
102
43
Yesterday I received my new Luna Sandals in the mail: the Mono model with ATS laces and MGT footbed. Ted has posted on his Google Group that this soling material was chosen because of how it molds to the foot over time. I am not sure if it will compress and become more flexible, or what other effects time might have on them other than that they will cup my foot like my Originals have grown to do. That said I am taking the "gets better with age" approach with these, and plan to report back later.

Nevertheless, these are my prima facie... okay, knee-jerk impressions/thoughts.

- I understand that a 12mm sole + footbed is twice as high as my 7mm Originals (sole + footbed), but putting the Mono on I feel like I might as well be 6 inches taller.

- The thickness is the most of any footwear I have owned/used in a few years, and I have been pretty much unshod lately. Thus, I found myself catching the sandal on roots, stairs and the like.

- Last night the first word that popped into my head as I walked in them was MARSHMALLOWS. In other words, there is noticeable squishiness to them.

- Today, on a longer walk, I couldn't help but think of the kick-boards we used back when I taught swimming lessons. The material feels like that to me and it is almost as stiff.

-Today I also notices that I was stepping harder in an attempt to feel the ground.

- Obviously they don't have the ground feel of my Originals just because of the thickness.

- As others have said in various reviews of the ATS laces, they have a sweet spot that needs to be found.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NickW
Maybe those would be good for trail running with that thickness of sole. Do you ever run at the Farmington Horse park south of Athens? There are some good trails there, might be a good test.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alejandro 10
I'd thought about trying those for an everyday wear kind of sandal, but I thought they would probably be too thick. My originals are way to slick in certain stores (Fred Meyers the other night dang near ended on my butt as my leg went sliding out in front of me).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alejandro 10
They would seem ideal for hardcore off trail running. Way too thick for everyday wear. I have two pairs of the original lunas i got some years back, but the best minimal luna sandal in my opinion is the Luna Equus with the cordovan leather bed. Luna's stopped making them a few years back, these take forever to break in but once they do they are incredible.
 
Maybe those would be good for trail running with that thickness of sole. Do you ever run at the Farmington Horse park south of Athens? There are some good trails there, might be a good test.

No, I have to get over there. I've gotten to the Botanical Gardens, but most of my runs are at the UGA rec. complex. Thanks for the suggestion, Moka!
 
They would seem ideal for hardcore off trail running.

Yet the Oso is supposed to be their hardcore off trail model. I'm kind of scared. Haha. That said, like Erin over at Natural Strides reminded me last weekend, a thicker sole is what the Tarahumara have run in with their tire sandals since they got access to tires.

Way too thick for everyday wear. I have two pairs of the original lunas i got some years back, but the best minimal luna sandal in my opinion is the Luna Equus with the cordovan leather bed. Luna's stopped making them a few years back, these take forever to break in but once they do they are incredible.

Yeah, I even contacted the Luna Monkeys to ask if they could make one last pair of Equus for me. It was a no go since they have long been out of the materials. :-( You know, I am curious what these will be like once broken in, but I can't imagine they will have the dramatic improvement that the Equus had.
 
Give them time, i am sure once they are broken it, you will be pleased with them. I can see how they would mold to your foot as well.

That's both what Ted has implied and what I hope to report back in a few weeks, but I still can imagine that they will compress very much. They are, as you mentioned above, very thick.
 
funny as i don't think i've ever slipped in my O's. i wore my equus last night to visit my grandma, Mexican mother's day. she loves that i wear sandals. telling me everyone wore them where she grew up. she even remembered when her mom made them their first sandals out of thin tires. before that was all deer skin.
 
So Alejandro, I'm curious, have the mono's gotten any better the past couple weeks? Also, despite being thick, are they very flexible? If they are pretty stiff then that would probably be a no go for me as my feet get sore in stiff shoes/sandals. If the monos loosen up with wear I might be able to get them broken in by everyday wear and then just wearing my other lunas for runs.
 
Well Nick, I can see how they are beginning to form to my feet. Flexible... compared to my wife's Pacers, my Originals they are stiffer I would say they are the stiffest minimalist footwear I own. The biggest issue I have had with them is the height is causing me to need to alter my gait and lift my foot higher than I am accustomed to doing because occasionally the front bottom edge catches on things which causes the top front edge to drag a bit and tear the Monkey Grip Technology footbed. I hope that helps you. I plan on checking back in again soon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NickW
I ran a few trail miles in a pair of Monos last Monday and ended up getting chafed by the straps where tiny bits of damp grit got trapped - any hints as to how to prevent that? Were the ATS laces too tight, too loose?
 
Well Nick, I can see how they are beginning to form to my feet. Flexible... compared to my wife's Pacers, my Originals they are stiffer I would say they are the stiffest minimalist footwear I own. The biggest issue I have had with them is the height is causing me to need to alter my gait and lift my foot higher than I am accustomed to doing because occasionally the front bottom edge catches on things which causes the top front edge to drag a bit and tear the Monkey Grip Technology footbed. I hope that helps you. I plan on checking back in again soon.
Thanks for the info. I like the pacer, so I figure the extra 3 mm or so shouldn't be too big of an issue with the mono.
I ran a few trail miles in a pair of Monos last Monday and ended up getting chafed by the straps where tiny bits of damp grit got trapped - any hints as to how to prevent that? Were the ATS laces too tight, too loose?
Um, not sure on that Chris. I had the original ats laces but hated them. The new ats laces look much better so I am going to try them on the monos. I read in a review somewhere that someone said it was counter-intuitive, but they found their ats laces worked better when being slightly looser than tighter. Maybe that is the case for you.
 
Flexible... compared to my wife's Pacers [EDIT and EDIT] my Originals they are stiffer I would say they [EDIT , the monos, EDIT] are the stiffest minimalist footwear I own.

Knowing how tired I was last night I thought I would reread what I had written, and I believe I needed to make the above changes for clarity and readability.
 
Knowing how tired I was last night I thought I would reread what I had written, and I believe I needed to make the above changes for clarity and readability.
Hahaha, I figured that was what you meant. So I ordered the mono's yesterday with the ats laces and the mgt footbed. I was really struggling with indecision about getting a leather footbed or the mgt footbed. Well, my family and friends all said I was an idiot for even hesitating (we live in Oregon and it rains quite a bit) and that I should order the mgt. Few hours later when I went back to the luna site to place an order they had changed their site and had run out of the pittards leather and only had the suede leather available or the mgt. This made the decision for me. Hope I don't regret getting the ats laces, but they look like they fixed all the problems from the original ats laces I had a year and a half ago. Normally I only use a traditional style lacing method because I can get everything adjusted just right to my feet, but I really kind of wanted a slip on sandal so to speak, for just everyday activities. I still have my pacers (actually these were called the ats sandals when I bought them) which I have changed the lacing and have a traditional ribbon on now. I can use those for trails and super muddy runs as those suckers don't move on my feet and are very secure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alejandro 10
Ok Alejandro, so my Luna Mono's showed up today. My initial impressions on them are wow, Luna has made great strides in making this sandal look very professional. My second thought, whoa, these seem quite thick. I do like the changes they've made to the ATS laces since their original attempts at the ATS Sandal. Much more comfortable, although there is still a bit of rubbing at the seams of the laces where they were cobbled with the different materials. I'm hoping as these get broke in these seams will become less abrasive. I also still don't like the way you can't really adjust the strap across the top of the foot much because if you do the elastic heel ends up on the side. The way the laces are set up, the front strap cuts across the toes in a diagonal fashion. For me with the traditional laces this is a big no no because I end up with toe pain and numbness. I'm going to give it a try and see if the ATS laces have this same problem or not. If they do I guess I will have to adjust it so the front strap goes straight up the first met, which means the elastic heel strap will be on the side of the heel instead of the back.

The MGT footbed, wow! Love the stickiness and smoothness of it and it is very comfortable too. I did a short little test run and they seemed fine for running, although pretty much zero ground feel (meaning you are not going to feel small rocks or small twigs on the ground). I will need to take them out for a real run to see how they do, but I think they will probably be fine. As far as sizing, I measured my feet by their chart and my feet were near the max lengthwise of their chart for the size 10.5 and I contemplated going up to a size 11. I am glad I didn't and I could almost go down to a size 10 I think. I actually think for future orders I will do the custom sizing again because my last custom sized sandals were perfect. I have read in some reviews online where people said the monos feel spongy, they obviously haven't tried the pacers. The pacers actually squish more. The monos seem to be pretty solid feeling to me with very little squish, they are just super thick compared to the original/venado so maybe somebody not used to that thick of a sandal would think it was spongy. I think the hardness of the monos should hopefully help them last a long while too, but as I just got them I can't verify that this is true. Anyhow, can't wait to try them out on my run tomorrow.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alejandro 10