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. Sullivan recently came by the office and fitted editor Doug Cantor and myself with our own sneaks. It turns out I’m a little lopsided.
The key measurements Somnio takes are arch height (mine are very high) and pronation, or the amount your foot rolls in when it lands (I underpronate on the right and am fairly neutral on the left). Sullivan measures this by shining a straight vertical laser on the knee and then having you squat—how much your knee deviates from that straight line as the leg bends indicates how much your leg and foot roll inward on a step. Then he props up the inside of the foot with different size wedges until the knee traces that straight line.


Best of all, the Somnio’s aren’t that expensive to begin with: starting at $110. The bad news is that they’re only in 140 outlets. Check Somniorunning.com to see if there’s one near you.
Editor Mike Haney is training for the New York City Marathon with all the help from high-end running tech he can get. Read his previous posts here.
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.


Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor: Rose Pastore | Email
Contributing Writers:
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email
Wow, these shoes seem to be pretty interesting for folks who love running http://hintcafe.com/find-singles/running And the cool part is that they are not that expensive. A starting price of $110 for a custom built shoe, count me in.
Thanks for the post.The http://bootshub.com/ shoes seem to be very cool specially who love running. I would love to know the details for these shoes to shop for.
www.bootshub.com
These appear to be the answer for the serious jogger. I have an extra large shoe size I wonder if these are available for people over sized.
www.bigshoes.com