PALEO BAREFOOT CHAINMAIL SHOES

There have been several ideas for barefoot shoes out there and this last one, called the Paleo barefoots, might actually prove to be the strangest of them all.

Their idea was to emphasize the difference between the barefoot shoes and minimalist shoes. The second ones are in function just like most other shoes, creating a distinctive protection of your feet from the environment and, in terms of feeling, try to imitate the sensation of barefoot walking with more or less success.

On the other hand, real barefoot shoes do not ‘protect from dirt, temperature variations, humidity and water’, because these are the ‘factors that make our feet strong and healthy’. The main idea behind the Paleo Barefoots is that our feet are filled with nerve endings so thus actually intended to interact with the environment.

However, walking barefoot, and especially running, can cause serious injury, especially to our gentle, protected feet, so they came up with the idea of creating a shoe that would allow you to feel the temperature, humidity and other general conditions of the environment, but still provide protection from the injury. The solution was the material often used for butcher’s gloves – chainmail. It is basically a stainless steel chainmail that is good enough to protect butcher’s hands and was good enough to serve as protection from swords in the Middle Ages, so we are guessing that it can easily deal with the perils of parks and even concrete, even though they are intended to be used on trails and beaches, rather than on busy city squares. You will literally feel everything under your feet, but not get cut on glass while running. How cool is that? [via]