FullSoul Running Pad

macdiver

Barefooters
Dec 22, 2010
210
268
63
I won these FullSoul Running Pads back in August and received them in September. I wanted to wear them for a little while before posting a review.

My initial impression is that these are very well made. As an engineer I was impressed by the process in using a single piece of leather to make these sandals. You can see how the straps are cut out and are still attached in the picture below.

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My first few runs in them had my right heal sliding off to the inside of the sandal. I tried several different lacing techniques until I found one that keeps my foot more centered on the leather. One advantage of this type of sandal is the flexibility in lacing to accommodate different people. You can see in the picture below how my foot was not staying on the sandal. Once that was corrected, I did experience some chaffing from the strap on top of my foot. As the straps were broken in and softened, this issue went away.

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I used these sandals for running on roads that I can not run skin to ground barefoot on and found that they provide good protection for chip seal and heavily cracked pavement. I considered wearing these for my marathon in November which had about 15 miles on gravel. I wore them on the same gravel paths for some test runs and found that I had to slow down almost to a walk for the rougher sections. Based on that I decided not to wear them for the marathon.

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I will continue wearing them for my runs especially as we move into colder weather I will wear them with socks to protect the socks and keep my feet warm on runs.

Overall I would recommend these sandals with the caveat to check the standard size based on your foot width and toe length. I think I would have been better off with a custom pair that would be a little wider in the forefoot and had the toe strap positioned a little further back.
 
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