OK, I ordered another pair of Dharmas for business wear. After 30% off coupon with shipping they came to $102.65, which is well below what my first pair cost when they were one of the few barefoot style shoes around and the only one that didn't look wierd, but still a bit pricey. So this is what I have currently:
- business wear: Vivo barefoot Dharma
- formal wear: Rockport w/ heels removed
- running, sprinting, hiking: Vivo barefoot Aqua; the laces enable me to run without socks, but for some reason they also have a redundant elastic-like inner part under the laces that makes getting the shoes on more difficult and makes them feel a bit tight. They should have done either the laces or the constricting material--not both.
- winter: kayak boots
I'm all set for now for business and formal wear. When it's time to replace the Rockports I'll probably buy something like the dressier Terra Plana shoes that are not truly barefoot-style but come close (but I hope there will be dressy-style barefoot shoes by that time).
Ideally I still would like something lighter than the Aquas, with a 2 - 3 mm outsole, for barefoot-style running (maybe even charity road racing some day), sprinting, hiking, and occasionally wading in water (I live near water and so do my parents and I like to be able to cool off in it or push a boat out without having to take my shoes off). I've gone through two pairs of water shoes. They didn't hold up well, it's rare to find them in my size and the fit tends to be poor. Right now the two most interesting shoes are:
1. LUNA Slip-on SANDAL: $49.95
http://www.lunasandals.com first batch starts shipping July 1st, 2010); 4 mm leather sole; 4+ oz weight; sole is a bit thick
2. RunAmoc - LITE Black: $87.00 for size 12; 2 mm sole. Several complaints of small stones getting into them too easily through the holes.
3. Feelmax Osma: from $79.99; 2.1 mm outsole and 2 mm insole; 10% off coupons sometimes offered; 7.8 oz weight for size 47
http://chrisultra.blogspot.com/2010/03/feelmax-osma-running-shoe.html; 3.5 oz for size ?; sole is the thinnest of the top barefoot shoes, but it "lacks the grip of Vivo Barefoot and Vibram FiveFingers shoes" and "also lacks the long-term wear resistance that rubber can provide"; shoe is a bit heavy
The Luna slip-on has a thicker sole than I'd like, I don't like the feel of sandal straps in between the toes, and the leather wouldn't be waterproof, but it's the lightest barefoot style shoe of all. The Feelmax Osma is nearly twice the weight but has a thinner outsole for possibly better ground feel.
For winter boots, the Kayak boots are a bit slippery, not warm enough for the coldest days (it can get down to about 20-25 below zero here in Vermont), and the boots are not high enough to keep snow from soaking my pants. Vivo Barefoot Dundan's look promising (
http://expeditionaryart.com/blog/2009/02/vivo-barefoot/), but they're only sold in-season and there's not a lot of info on them on the Web, so I'll have to wait for them to be offered at VB's site to get more info about them and maybe buy them.
I don't think Feiyue's can really be considered barefoot-style shoes, as they are surprisingly heavy--listed as 1.5 pounds per shoe at Amazon! They apparently have a thick, heavy sole.
Sidebar: I used to have a size 11.5" left foot and size 11" right foot that usually translated into a size 13 US running shoe, for some reason, but after going Paleo my feet "shrunk" a little, which I take to indicate that my semi-flat feet developed better arches, and that does look like the case. I think my feet even shortened slightly further since I started using barefoot style shoes. Both my feet now measure a little under 11". For Vivo Barefoot shoes I find that size 46 is a good fit (45 was too small). Strangely, different shoe size conversion charts list different conversion sizes. This one
http://www.dancesport.uk.com/shoes/conchart.htm says that size 46 Euro = 11.5 US and the one provided here
http://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Claw-Feiyue-High-Shoes/dp/B001TUU0R8/ref=pd_sim_sg_5 says that 46 Euro = 13 US.
Sidebar 2: What's up with people smashing bottles? The mud trail near my home is mostly soft material, yet there is still broken glass. You have to go out of your way to find a small stone or patch of hard ground to smash your bottle against, yet people are apparently doing that.
