Finding the perfect summer travel shoe can be an overwhelming task. No one wants to tote around a suitcase full of sneakers and sandals, but it's hard to have fun on vacation with blisters or a limp. Can you hike all day and walk into a nice restaurant for lunch? What if your travel plans include a morning run? Will French people stare at me if I'm wearing these?
Is there a shoe out there that is at once durable, sporty, good for water, and good-looking? Or should I just give up and put my Chacos back on?
With one minor caveat, I can announce that my search is over. For the past few weeks, I’ve been running, hiking, wading through rivers, and meeting friends for lunch in Vivobarefoot’s Primus Trail Swimruns.
The Swimruns were originally designed for a Swedish race series called the Ötillö Swimrun, which can be described as an off-road triathlon sans the pesky biking portion. These versatile kicks are light, athletic sneakers that are designed to fit like a sock, with a breathable and draining mesh upper for when you go into the water and a durable, sticky, bright orange sole.
You don’t need to be a dedicated barefooter to enjoy these shoes, but if you plan on running in them, you probably should be. I’ve been running for ten years in successive pairs of Merrell Trail Gloves, and even I needed a little time to adjust to the Swimruns. But once you have, you probably won’t want to take them off.
I’m not a doctor, so I can’t exactly recommend barefoot running as a method of injury prevention. But anecdotally speaking, I took up barefoot running ten years ago as a way to strengthen my legs and feet while recovering from an ACL repair. I’m a lot slower now, and I don’t think I’d wear barefoot shoes if I still wanted to race. But I haven’t hurt myself since.
I’m not the only one at WIRED who loves barefoot running, and Vivobarefoot. Galahad Clark, the seventh generation of shoemakers from comfy shoe manufacturer Clarks Shoes, founded the company in 2004 as Terra Plana. They became Vivobarefoot in 2012, and they use innovative designs and materials to activate all the bitty nerve endings in your feet by letting them feel the ground. This can help you fire up ancillary leg and ankle muscles that may be dormant in a more supportive shoe.
The Swimruns slip on like a pair of wetsuit booties, or a pair of socks. I normally wear a size 8 in running shoes, but I had to size down to my casual shoe size in a 7.5. I have an extremely low-volume foot, but it was easy to cinch down the quick laces to accommodate them. The shoes also come with a removable thermal insert for extra padding and warmth if you need it.
I’ve been wearing them without socks for a few weeks, while running and hiking in and out of water. So far they haven’t started to smell, but I do take them off and dry them in the sun every afternoon.
If you've never done any barefoot running, it feels less like running and more like padding around a forest like a kitten. it will take you awhile for your feet to acclimate. Even if you're familiar with it, I suggest taking it easy at first. The Trail Gloves are one of the most stripped-down running shoes around, but even they offer a little more support. It took a week or two of extremely short, slow runs on asphalt, gravel, groomed trails, and un-groomed singletrack for the tendons in my heels to acclimate to the Swimruns.
I didn’t wear the shoes while swimming, but I do take my dogs out on and around the rivers of Portland, Oregon, a couple times a week. Sports sandals, like Chacos, are the water shoe of choice around these parts, but I have mixed feelings about them. Dirt and pebbles can wiggle their way under the soles of my feet, and I have to shake them out. Not to mention my tendency to walk into sharp sticks, or stub my unprotected toes on rocks.