The Anti-Shoe.

The only thing I knew about the shoes from Swiss Masai is that they were a) odd looking and b) expensive. I’ve never actually seen a pair in the wild, though I do know that walkers are raving about them. I suppose that if I sat outside the house at night and watched the legions of neighborhood walkers go by, I’d probably see a pair or two.

Ditto for the park downtown, where runners and joggers congregate en masse.

Did you know we’re not walking properly?
Recently, I’d be reading some articles and research about how modern shoes do not allow us to walk naturally - the way our bodies were intended to.

The idea that our mode of walking is caused by the shoes we wear and isn’t necessarily optimal for our bodies is interesting, but I’m not likely to wander out into the woods and re-learn how to walk and stalk.

Maybe I don’t have to though.

The shoe developed to more closely mimic natural walking

The specially constructed sole of MBT shoes is designed to mimic going barefoot through springy moss or a sandy beach. That gives the foot a less stable platform to walk upon, working more muscles in the legs.

The Swiss Masai USA site references a number of studies into the effectiveness of their shoe technology. Without doing an exhaustive reading, it looks like most of them say “yeah, you walk differently in them and there’s a good chance that’s an improvement over the way you currently walk, but we need to keep studying it to really know.”

We walk funny and that’s bad - we can walk funnier and that might be good
So, on one hand, we’ve got people telling us that our modern gait (the “cow walk”) is bad. On the other, we’ve got a shoe company telling us that their shoe will help. I’m still not sure I’m ready to plunk down $200+ dollars for a pair of walking shoes though. I love my legs and my feet and all, but I also love not spending $200.

Let’s see what others think

I took a look around the net to see what other people thought of their MBT shoes.

Desiree Stimpert of About.com wrote a generally positive review of them.

After a few minutes in the shoes, I actually began to like them — a lot. I did feel like I was getting a mini workout, but they also gave me an oddly energetic feeling.

Despite liking the shoes, I wouldn’t and I haven’t worn them every day. This is mainly because I’m a bit of a slave to fashion, but also because I view them as more of a piece of equipment, than a pair of shoes. In these shoes, I feel that a trip to the grocery store could almost qualify as a workout.

But until a time when I actually need some of the benefits that MBT shoes have to offer, I’ll leave them to the real athletes and people with foot or leg problems, like my husband.

That sounds like code for “I’d probably wear them more if they weren’t so odd looking.”

Desiree’s husband, Chris, suffers from a variety of foot and leg maladies and wrote his own review.

I have three points of pain. My heel, the back of my knee, and my hamstring. For two years, doctors have not been able to give it a name or fix it, but the MBT shoes have certainly helped.

Although the pain in my hamstring will not completely leave, I assume due to so much sitting at the computer, the back of my knee is virtually pain-free. My heel pain has been so greatly reduced that I often forget about it.

Driving was very painful before, but the thick soles of the MBT really help alleviate the pressure. I also find that I wake up with less foot pain in the morning and that walking the perimeter of Target no longer needs to be followed by “rest the old leg” time.

That’s a pretty strong endorsement. Wear MBT shoes. Less pain. But, again, like Desiree, he spends time talking about the looks of the shoe and how they really don’t look like orthopedic shoes.

Of course it borders on ridiculous to talk about cosmetics when actual physical well being is involved, but it is the human condition to what to look our best. Fortunately, MBT shoes are fairly easy on the eyes.

At first glance, and perhaps second and third, you would never think that these are orthopedic shoes. Furthermore, they are actually rather attractive. Not only in a “Hey, these don’t look half bad” way, but in a fashionable hip way. They even pay homage to the current trend of partially mesh uppers.

Ok, call my crazy, but I have my doubts. Last night, my wife made potato salad using cauliflower instead of potatoes. Calling it “fauxtato salad” she promised me that it really didn’t taste like what it sounded - it tasted great - just like potato salad! That’s what she said, anyway.

It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t potato salad either. I think she was just trying to kid herself that she was eating delicious potato salad instead of some sort of cauliflower concoction (not that there’s anything wrong with cauliflower, but it ain’t potato salad.)

What do customers have to say?

Moving on from the Stimpert’s of About.com, I decided to take a look at what the customers of Zappos.com thought. Realizing that these reviews were from people that bought the shoes and don’t represent people who didn’t, I was still surprised at how generally positive the tone was.

Some people think they are gorgeous, “The Best Shoes in the World!! These shoes look great, are extremely comfortable, and FUN to wear. ”

Other opinions weren’t so generous about the appearance, “My husband says I can’t go out of the house with these shoes on because they are so unattractive.”

Given the focus on “instability” with these shoes, I wondered how they would fare with exercise more vigorous than just walking. Apparently, not that great. “I was doing the Tae Bo workout and my shoes came off my foot and I almost broke my hip.” She did go on to compliment Zappos for expressing their concern about her accident though. (I love Zappos.com, by the way.)

A few other reviews
Dr Jenny Sanders didn’t love the shoes either. Heavy, expensive, and poor choices for wide or narrow feet was her thinking. She also noted that the research studies done were commissioned by the company and that they generally used healthy college students as the subjects.

Sadly though, the Manolo has not rendered an opinion on the shoe, as far as I can tell.

Where does that leave us?

So, the shoes are odd looking. Some people find their look attractive and some people don’t. Some research seems to indicate that they work well but a practicing physician takes issue with that. A LOT of people who wear them seem to love them though, so perhaps there is something to them.

At $200+ per pair though, you’d better tread softly. (Get it?) Zappos.com would be a great place to start because if you get them and don’t love them, returns are easy, quick, and painless.

Have a pair yourself or thinking about buying some? Leave a comment and talk about them.