Falling in love with my water shoes all over again...

[Barefoot Mary]

Just had to mention water shoes for the less hardy souls bearing the winter out there. I went for my first run in my highly ventillated pair of cheap water shoes due to temperature (20ish degrees!) Wore athletic socks underneith and enjoyed every moment of it.

They beat the crap out of my Vibrams...more flexible by a million degrees, more ground feel, and light as air! A great idea for your upcoming turkey trot. Only problem is they don't sell them at wal-mart or target or meijer these days. Also not much room to spead the toes but watcha gonna do...

These babies have foam soles which means they'll last me maybe 1 month. But still....gonna load up come next summertime for my winter running.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

www.SwimOutlet.com has aqua

www.SwimOutlet.com has aqua socks/water shoes galore! They don't have a "season" like the other shops, since swimming is their business no matter what time of year it is. During winter time, they have THE cheapest prices, which makes it well worth the shipping cost, since the price is so affordable. Also, if you search www.RetailMeNot.com, you can find coupons for free shipping and/or other discount offers for Swim Outlet. In fact, if you are going to make a purchase online, be sure to check www.RetailMeNot.com first each and every time. I always save money this way.

Now speaking of aqua socks/water shoes, my friend has a bad hip problem that has been deteriorating with each and every run, and sometimes she has pain in her knee. I kept begging her to try something more minimal. I didn't expect her to go barefoot, although that would be nice. Anyway, before our run last night, I handed her my aqua socks and said give them a try, I'll carry your shoes, if you start to have problems, we'll swap. About a mile and a half into it, right when I was about to recommend she change back, since you don't want to do too much to soon, she stopped and said her arch was hurting her, so I said, it's time to change over. She did. She couldn't get but less than a half mile more and was begging for the aqua socks again. She finished the run and didn't have pain in her hip the whole time. We chalked the arch pain up to atrophy, so she will be running only a mile in them at a time until she can build up. I told her to carry her boat anchors with her otherwise, since she's not willing to give up the miles right now, and she's not willing to go barefoot. She only runs 3 miles at a time anyway, so she should be okay. Cool! I talked a neighbor-friend into running minimal!

 

[miqie]

I've been using my $10

I've been using my $10 auqashoes from Sports Authority for about a month now. I only use them on grass because they don't look like they will hold up on asphalt/concrete. I use them with wool socks on cold mornings and they've been great. I would like to venture away from the field I currently train on, though. Thought about maybe glueing some Vibram Cherry on the sole. Wonder if that would work. I just need to make these last until Spring, when all the new minimal shoes hit the stores.

 

[tutaepaki]

I had a few pairs of aqua

I had a few pairs of aqua shoes resoled. Didn't do it myself because I could never get the new sole to stick. But having a cobbler do it for me has been highly successful.



The other thing I've has some success with, is 'painting' the sole of the aqua shoe with one of those 'resoleing' compounds. I doesn't last as long as the proper resoling, but it's easy and cheap to do.



Marc

 

[Nyah]

Does anyone have a favorite

Does anyone have a favorite water shoe they can recommend? Something with good ventilation, a wide toebox, and maybe even a way to adjust the fit would be really nice.

 

[Barefoot Fresca]

I hear and read about people

I hear and read about people recommending aqua socks all the time. I have to admit I don't really know what they are. I went to the web site Barefoot TJ linked to above and found the water socks and slippers but I have no idea what is recommended. The sand socks?

It would be great to see a picture of exactly what is used.

Thank from a clueless person here.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

There are so many to choose

There are so many to choose from.

They don't seem to be carrying my exact ones, but this one is close. I'm sure there are comparable ones in men's. The sole looks thicker in these, but I'm sure that's just looks.

http://www.swimoutlet.com/Water_Shoes_s/356.htm
ClubSwim Women's TriMesh Water Shoes

 

[stomper]

 One thing about cheap water

One thing about cheap water socks: they come in so many different versions and qualities you'll just have to experiment. Some have been awful, seams in all the wrong places, etc. But the ones I really liked were "Oxide" label from Sports Authority. Neoprene upper, so very warm, and an extremely supple flexible sole that lets you feel a lot. I think they were $10! Only thing that beats that for price is bare feet.

 

[jschwab]

I tried to get a pair of ones

I tried to get a pair of ones without holes (all of mine have holes now) for my half last Sunday. They are $6 at my local discount store and, honestly, they are the best running shoes I've ever had. I have no idea why all these companies can't just make identical ones with soles suitable for running.

 

[jschwab]

I tried to get a pair of ones

I tried to get a pair of ones without holes (all of mine have holes now) for my half last Sunday. They are $6 at my local discount store and, honestly, they are the best running shoes I've ever had. I have no idea why all these companies can't just make identical ones with soles suitable for running.

 

[Barefoot Mary]

I second the motion on the

I second the motion on the Ooxides! Go to Sports Authority...! I just got back from there with a lovely $9.99 shoe (they sell them in November, what!?!), neoprene and thin as can be, even thinner with the insole pulled out!

They look a lot like the speedo...but smoother.




Also love the reflectors, they'll be great for night running this winter!

So stoked! I'm officially a water shoe junkie!

 

[Mike]

Is the sole thinner than a

Is the sole thinner than a VFF?

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

...and can you run in those

...and can you run in those without socks? Aqua socks posts always have a familiar pattern to them once it gets cold.

 

[Barefoot Mary]

Just checking with my fingers

Just checking with my fingers the soles seem thinner than my KSOs...? They're TONS lighter and more flexible than a VFF because they're not made to last at all...probably will fall apart in no more than 3-4 months. That's as long as I need them though. By March I'll be ready to go barefoot again!

I ran in my cheap ventillated ($5?) water shoes yesterday with socks on.

Gonna try these today without socks, but my feet were sweating when I was walking in them and I couldn't feel any seams, so they feel promising...fingers crossed.

I know someone did a review of a pair of water shoes here: http://www.barefootrunners.org/images/barefoottj/Run%20Free/MinimalistFootwearReview.pdf

Scooba booties are pretty popular too, but I think that's more for snow running because of the ankle coverage.

 

[jschwab]

They feel more responsive and

They feel more responsive and thinner to me than the Bikilas, I think partially because the sole is not molded at all. I don't know if they are really thinner but the fact that they are completely flat makes them feel more like barefoot to me.

 

[Barefoot Mary]

UPDATE:Just got back from my

UPDATE:

Just got back from my first run in the neoprene ones, still very very happy. Went 2.7 miles in the booties with a 1 mile barefoot spurt in the middle of the run. Toes are nice and warm together, but there's enough room for splaying. These may be my new favorite shoes. Kept me warm but also could feel every rock, so much so that I avoided the railroad tracks.

There is absolutely no padding on these babies...I know since I kept smashing my heel into the ground when I got lazy with my form. Very, very nice. Especially for $10 worth.