shoes

In an earlier column, I suggested that shoe reviews are often not worth much, since everyone is so different. Well, that’s exactly the logic behind the Somnio shoe I’m about to give a positive review. Somnio is the brainchild of Sean Sullivan, a long-time gear designer who created a shoe with modular parts, so you (or rather, the trained guy at the shoe store) can dial in just the right arch support and cushioning for your stride.

Who doesn’t want firm buttocks and rock hard thighs? That’s the question men everywhere should be asking Reebok after they became the first major shoe manufacturer to bring out their own leg-toning walking shoe, marketed, just like similar shoes before it, only to the ladies. You know the footwear in question--the shoes with the lopsided soles, which force wearers to work a bit harder to walk, toning all the while.

While men should thank Reebok for helping to further tone the gams of the fairer sex, shouldn't we demand equal access in pursuit of a tighter tush?

Last month, we wrote about Nike's "revolutionary" new shoe, the LunarGlide+, which promised to be all things to all people: a stability shoe when you needed the extra support, and a cushion shoe when you don't. The difference is a sandwich of new kinds of high- and low-density lightweight LunarLite foam in place of the typical hard "post" that keeps your foot from rolling excessively inward.

Running shoes for real runners are regularly categorized into two types: stability shoes, for those who over-pronate, and cushioning shoes, for those who don't. Nike's LunarGlide+, available July 1 for $100, claims a novel mid-sole architecture described as "Dynamic Support," which eliminates the need to choose between the two types. But more impressive than that assertion is the simplicity of the design by which Nike hopes to revolutionize the industry.

A few weeks back we analyzed some of the features of the innovative Newton Running shoe in terms of the relevant physics principles. While at the time the point was to assess the theory behind the shoes, it was suggested that I put them to the test in my "lab." In other words, out on the roads and trails where, being of the distance-runner species, I generally spend at least an hour per day. While this is in no way any kind of systematic scientific experiment (which is beyond the scope of my resources), based on my personal experience with the shoes, I'll make an informal attempt to further address the claims made by the two Newtons (Running and Isaac!).

If the shoe fits, wear it. But making sure your shoe fits just got a bit more technical. Custom insoles have long been ordered and worn by elite athletes hoping to cure an injury, or avoid one. eSoles now plans to bring that customization the masses with an impressive piece of in-store ingenuity. In just seconds, the eSole self-service kiosk will print out a detailed analysis of your foot, allowing the retailer to offer two choices of custom orthotic.

For non-metrosexual men, they’re one of three pairs of shoes on the closet floor. Between the dusty brown loafers and Adidas cross-trainers lies a pair of flip-flops. In Providence they’re worn four months a year, in Florida everyday after work and in California—from birth. Flops are an extension of man’s feet, but could the pleasure of air running through ones toes be outweighed by long term complications?