OMG (Soft Star)Shoes.

Some time in the last year or so, I became obsessed with minimalist shoes.  Not just "barefoot" shoes, and especially not those ridiculously hideous Five Fingers.  Instead, I focused on sustainable shoes, more specifically, SoftStar Shoes based out of Corvallis OR.  

Soft Star originally started out as a slipper company, manufacturing sheepskin mocs by hand.  Then the big bang of barefoot running happened(most say it was the book Born to Run that caused it) and people started running in Soft Stars slippers.  Well, wouldn't you know it, the good Elves in OR decided to compete with the likes of Vibram and came out with their own line of "barefoot" shoes, The SoftStar Shoes RunAmoc.  Pictured above are two versions of the RunAmoc, 5 pairs of the Dash model, and the newest addition to my collection, a boarskin bottomed pair of the original RunAmoc(the all black ones).  What I love about these shoes, and Soft Star, is that they hit the minimalist shoe movement head-on in all the right ways. 

BOAR SKIN SOLE!!!

While most companies are trying to figure out the best way to minimize their shoes to best appease avid barefoot runners looking for the "bare" minimum(harhar!) in terms of protection, Soft Star already had that down.  Where they excel is in their use of materials.  The original RunAmoc is technically 2 pieces of leather, the front and the back and a Vibram sole(2mm/5mm your choice). The leather comes in an assortment of custom colors, all made with vegetable dyes.  Once your shoe wears out, rip the sole off, cut up the leather and your shoe is ready for the compost.  Can you say the same about the Barefoot Trail Glove?

Trail Sole(5mm)

While the sheepskin may offend some Vegans(my BFF is vegan, so I'm allow to poke fun), it may comfort them to know the leather used in the shoes were from animals not killed for their hides, in fact, the boar skin sole is scrap material(technically it's not offered as yet, these are test shoes).  Did I mention the shoes are hand made in a solar powered factory?  And that the scraps are donated to arts & crafts programs?

Street Sole(2mm)

The only other companies I'd consider buying from are Tera Plana(many of the soles of their shoes are made from recycled rubber), or New Balance(the New Sky line of shoes uses a 100% recycled upper), but still neither is made from 100% recycled synthetics, nor are they biodegradeable.  So at this moment in time I'm going to remain a devout Moc snob.

On to the shoes! mocs! Pictured above are all the Mocs I currently own.  Over the last year, that pile was at one point two pairs larger, but those went back to Soft Star.  The shoes are arranged in consecutive order, from left to right.  The orange, blue and black are actually the second pair of that specific design(the first got a little beat up after a 34 mile, 2 day hike over the highest elevation section of the Long Trail and had to be retired).  The Silver and Shiny Sapphire shoes I still wear.  They were what helped me conquer the Beast, and several other obstacle races last year.  They were with me for all of my trail runs, and are still holding up!  They also spawned my first ever experience testing shoes mocs.

One shortcoming of the 5mm trail sole Soft Star uses is that it's stiff.  It's definitely welcome support over sharp, rocky terrain, but it doesn't flex with the rest of the shoe. Specifically, it begins to separate at the inner arch on the Dash model.  At the Beast, this happened to my lucky Sapphire pair, and so, the Elves at Soft Star asked me to evaluate new glues, effectively making me a Tester!  Anyway, my first pair of test shoes isn't pictured, since they didn't fair well.  They were another Shiny Sapphire and Silver pair, following that an improved glue with the two Shiny Lime and Silver pairs pictured above.  Finally, for work, I have the Chocolate, Nutmeg and Suede Rust shoe, pictured on the right.

Soft Stars crowning achievement, I believe is what's pictured on the left.  A nearly fully leather RunAmoc.  The Original, with a thick Boar Skin Sole.  The soling has about the thickness of the trail sole, but is 100x more flexible, and you get the benefits of grounding/earthing.  I'll be wearing these as my primary running shoe, with my trusty shiny testers as obstacle course mocs.  They'll also be with me through the Death Race.




My biggest issue with my mocs, is that rarely does anyone ask me about them.  Meanwhile ANY time I see someone wearing Five Fingers, the wearer gets accosted with inquiries...where's the justice?  Now, I didn't get into the benefits of minimalist running, or "barefoot" running shoes, I just assume by now everyone knows the spiel, if not, watch this uninformative video:

I love my mocs.  Do yourself a favor and get a pair.  Call up the Elves, and you'll get to speak with someone who'll likely be making your shoe by hand.  That's a one of a kind experience right there.  Amazing company!

And since I already asked it today, how much BACON did you eat today?

**oh, and I'll definitely post an update regarding the boarskin mocs once I get some miles on em.