What are your thoughts on minimalist shoes for running in packed snow?

Olarte

Barefooters
Sep 27, 2011
14
0
1
Trying out different minimalist shoes to get ready for when the snow hits the ground. So far my order of preference is Barefoot, Luna's, Invisible shoes... Tried bikilas but they feel tight, my feet may have grown a bit since I bought them.

Looking for good water resistant shoes, as minimal as possible. May try vibram Trek LS or some Merrell gloves. The Bormios look too restricting at the ankles to run in.

The further away I get from bare feet, the more downright uncomfortable It gets. In any case the shoes I pick, will be used only on an as needed basis.

So what are your thoughts on minimalist shoes for running in packed snow?

Ivan Olarte
Rhode Island Chapter President,
barefoot Runners Society.
 
ok here's my 0.02:VFF Flow:

ok here's my 0.02:

VFF Flow: not water resistant. They are neoprene, so they stay nice and toasty, but they get wet like anything else I've worn. They also have very bad traction in snow as the soles are nearly smooth. If you get some, get a size slightly larger than you think you need. The ones I got wound up being the right length, but because the material is so much thicker than the other VFF models my forefoot gets very uncomfortable in them to the point of pain. Needless to say I don't wear them anymore.

Merrell Trail Gloves: not water resistant at all, but have much better traction in the snow. These are the shoes I used last winter when it became obvious the Flows weren't cutting it. I wore smartwool socks and moisture and heat weren't too much of an issue. The downside here is they are way more "shoe" than I really like running in these days, and towards the end of last winter I found myself overstriding really bad and "pounding" a lot harder than I otherwise would. My plan for this winter involves hte TG's but it will depend heavily on snowfall and how my first couple runs in them go (I haven't run in them since May).

Merrell Sonic Gloves: never tried them, but everything i've read says they are a water resistant version of the TG's, so these may be many people's answer to snow and cold.

Huaraches: this is my experimental plan for the winter, combined with either some wool toe socks or maybe a waterproof "ninja" sock. This one has the most potential problems with moisture I think, but it's hard to tell just yet.

Zem 360 (honorable mention): These look really intriguing to me for winter, but Jimmy said a waterproof sock may be in order for winter wear. if my other options start stinking up the joint I may head for the Zems and try my luck.



ultimately my tentative winter plan goes like this:

dry roads: (1) barefoot or (2) huaraches if the surface is too grueling

wet roads: (1) huaraches or (2) barefoot if it isn't too cold

snow: (1) trail gloves, (2) huaraches with wool or waterproof socks or if all else fails (3) Zem 360 (I don't own them so they are a last resort if I have to spend the money)
 
I suggest forgetting about

I suggest forgetting about anything that's water-resistant or even waterproof. You'll be all-around more comfortable if the uppers have ventilating mesh and you wear merino wool socks (or any kind of wool socks, as long as you wear a base-layer sock w/them. Make sure the shoes are big enough to accommodate all of that sockage). Smartwool is a brand of merino wool sock that people tend to choose because it's as thin as a typical athletic sock. Any merino wool sock will work just as well though.



Case in point: During the ultra-snowy winter of 2009-2010, I got a pair of Feelmax Osmas. I was wearing them with knee-high wool socks while slogging through 30-inch deep snow and then spending 4 hours digging my car out. That experience sold me on the concept of ventilated uppers in snow.



Right now, it's looking to me like the Altra Adam is going to be the best choice. I haven't tried the Altras yet but, none of the other shoe companies (with possibly the exception of Stem) considered toe-room as an important factor. There's still room for improvement in this aspect of shoes (I'm hoping that some companies will offer shoes that get really wide on the side of the big toe - flaring out there like how an unshod foot is). And I wish the Altra had a rear strap such as what the VFF Sprint and KSO have. And I want to see shoe companies striving to match the flexibility of 4mm Cherry huaraches. Anyway, yeah, ventilated uppers are good.
 
The Merrell Sonic Glove would

The Merrell Sonic Glove would be a good one to check out, I wrote a review on them before and yes they do have a water resisent almost water proof upper on them
 
Wow thanks for the nice

Wow thanks for the nice discussion on "Snow" shoes.



I am a bit surprised nobody mentioend the Trek LS. But I'm kinda glad as I'm finding the vibrams (at least the original size I originally purchased) just too restricting.



I really like the idea of wool socks over huaraches.



although I don't know if I want to use my Lunas (Regular or Equus) in the snow for fear of "damaging" and ungluing the sueade or leather from the soles. And even more important I don't think the Lunas I have have good grip on the snow.



I think in my case my best best will be to get a pair of ruber Invisiable shoes (I was thinking of these for rainy weather) and smart socks.



The Invisible rubber shoes with smartsocks, would have ok thread, and will even be cheaper than any new pair of shoes, especially the Vibram Trek LS.



By the way you can see the Feeltrue thread here: http://www.invisibleshoe.com/921/feeltrue/
 
I've never ran in a pair of

I've never ran in a pair of Hurraches (spelling??) so I can't comment on them. The Sonic Gloves will be my choice shoe this winter when it's slushy/wet and my KSO's will be for when it's dry.

P.S. my KSOs are so worn out that the zig-zag cuts are gone and its just a piece of smooth rubber aka NO traction
 
my huaraches are made by

my huaraches are made by Bedrock Sandals and word is they handle snow well, though I haven't had a chance to try this myself yet. they are a vibram sole with nylon strapping instead of suede/leather sole and laces.

Aside from my concerns about the Flows, I avoid VFFs of any kind in the winter because I like to run bare when I can and VFFs are an absolutely terrible... wait, let me put a little more emphasis on this: TERRIBLE!! backup shoe for cold weather.
 
For me, Merrells are way too

For me, Merrells are way too restricting on my feet which causes me pain in my foot, but I have wide feet. Someone mentioned wide toes earlier and I can verify that the Altra Adams have a very nice wide toebox and midfoot region. I love my Altra Adams so far but not sure how they would do in the snow. I think on ice they would be fine but snow I'm not sure because of the lack of an aggressive tread on them. I think they would be adequate in keeping your feet warm too assuming you wear proper socks with them.
 
I'd rather have traction on

I'd rather have traction on ice at the expense of traction on snow. Snow is a lot safer to fall on, plus not nearly as easy to lose traction on in the first place. A smooth rubber tread is fine for me, as long as it's got plenty of flexibility.
 
I was hoping the women's

I was hoping the women's version of the Merrell Sonic Glove (the Lithe Glove) would be my winter shoe, but I found them so much stiffer than the Trail/Pace Gloves that I returned them.

Right now, my plan is to continue in my Pace Gloves and Soft Star DASHes with wool (or maybe SealSkinz) socks.

As for ice, absent spikes or YakTrax, I've yet to find anything with any traction - instead, I see it as an opportunity to practice good form.
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I find that lugged tread

I find that lugged tread patterns have horrible traction on ice and smooth neoprene huaraches are actually pretty good on it. There's a lot to be said about surface contact area. Metal spikes work because they're hard enough to dig into the ice, resulting in increased surface contact. Rubber lugs just sit on top of the ice, providing less surface contact than a smooth-treaded sole would.
 
Nyah, having grown up in a

Nyah, having grown up in a colder climate myself, I couldn't agree more. On ice you need as much surface contact as possible. If on thick ice metal spikes are ok but on black ice, spikes are almost useless because they can't dig in. Snow is a different animal though and soft rubber lugs are ok because they can dig in.
 
In a post of mine on the

In a post of mine on the previous page, which I think is what Buzzie was responding to, I said that I prefer to have traction on ice at the expense of traction on snow. I'll say that in my response to NickW, here too. If I'm going to fall on something, I'd rather it be soft than hard as ice. Also, I can't think of any time when snow was ever slippery enough that I had trouble running or walking on it.
 
I just don't run in snow

I just don't run in snow anymore because I don't like falling, Nyah.
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That's part of my reason for me moving out of Montana and over to Oregon. I hate winter, with a passion and after getting frost nip in the Army I just don't handle cold weather as well as I used to. I also don't handle hot weather well either....
 
I'm going countertrend here

I'm going countertrend here and speaking up for my VFF Bikilas. They aren't perfect, for sure, but they served me fine through last winter's miserable ice season. Snow was no problem: some got in around my ankles when I ran through drifts, but that was OK and just kind of melted or steamed away. The worst part for me was running on old tracked up and refrozen paths. I can't imagine any shoe making much of a difference on that stuff. Nothing would help much in situations like stepping through a crust into a mucky puddle shin deep, either. It's all just part of winter running. I take the bad with the great runs where I get home steaming and glad-by-god to be alive.

Sitting here now I'm fantasizing about a winter run on a frozen lake that's got a bit of crust roughing up the surface of the ice. I can just about feel the wind in my face as I head out, making a beeline for a distant landmark and wishing I'd put on some sunscreen because the glare's so strong...

Oh,and here's the weather forecast for the evening before my 10 Mile Trail Race next Sunday morning:

Saturday Night: Snow, mainly before 11pm. Low around 30. North wind between 7 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

I do believe my Biks will be seeing some service on Sunday morning.
 
im kind of surprised that NO

im kind of surprised that NO ONE suggested any of the VIVO line. VIVO EVO IIs are literally made for the cold. and i think the EVO Trails would be awesome for snow - with some smartwool socks. even EVOs and ULTRAs with socks would work. I know they are expensive but they literally make a shoe for this.



just my .02

AA
 
AA, I only have the Neo's and

AA, I only have the Neo's and I feel like I give up too much groundfeel in them. I haven't tried any of their other shoes as my local running shops do not carry any other model, except for the neo and neo trail. I know I myself did not care for the neo trail much, but, I don't run trails much either so.....
 
Well for now I'll be using my

Well for now I'll be using my lunas with toe socks.



I do have Evos II's and they are great, but after 4 miles my feet feel cramped and numb on the sides.



I just ordered a pair of RunAmoc Dash in size 12, which is 1/2 size bigger than my usual shoe size but I figure loosebigger like the lunas feels better than a bit cramped like the evos.



Thanks for all the input.



ivan