Levi Dodd
October
2012
If you’ve never heard of Skora running, don’t feel bad, I hadn’t
either.
But if you choose to not
immediately go find out more about them, I can assure you, you will regret it. I'm quite confident that this is only the beginning...
Skora is a new company (as most of you know I have a huge soft spot for
start-ups!) and they are bringing a fresh look to the market as they
enter. Their mantra is “Run Real” and I
must say, they’re making great strides (see what I did right there?) towards
that end.
The Skora Form is one of their first 2 shoes they are bringing to
market (now shipping) and with it, they did a lot of things right.
Skora is immediately setting their entire company around minimalism and
their idea of “Run Real”. Their shoes
are zero drop, minimal in cushioning, no support, stitch-down construction
(more on that later), anatomical last, outsoles mimic foot shape, no heel
counter, and a sole made to fit the natural shape of your foot and encourage
medial to lateral movement.
Check this out this product Video
(less than 90 seconds)
I’ll go ahead and say one thing right off the bat, the shoes look
fantastic! My first thoughts upon
unboxing were that they were almost Too pretty to run in! I Love shoes, and as a pure minimalist in
that department (I only wear zero drop shoes:
running, casual, dress, hiking, mowing the lawn, everything) I really
miss my old shoes style – these fit
the bill! Not only are they a great
running shoe, they look great underneath a pair of bluejeans.
- The FORM is a lightweight shoe (tipping the
scales at about 8oz) – much lighter than traditional shod shoes.
- The anatomical last, curved outsole forefoot,
curved outsole heel, and absence of a heel counter make this shoe fit very well
– the whole shoe is built… like a foot.
- Skora has really differentiated themselves in
the material of the shoe. One of my
favorite things about this shoe is the fact that it’s made of Pittards
Goadskin leather with their “WR100X” leather lining. This stuff is Awesome! It’s genuine leather, super soft and supple
(feels like old perfectly broke in leather right out of the box) feel, all
while being extremely breathable (was thrilled about that part) And water
resistant!
- The entire shoe, sole and all, is completely
flexible!
- Ground feel:
I actually expected to be unsatisfied with the ground feel and was
pleasantly surprised. There really is good
ground feel, but not as much as you would experience in a pair of Nadas or
VFFs.
- The stack height is still quite low (9mm all the
way across) and so it offers substantially better ground feel than say an
Instinct or an A86, but again, not as much as The Most minimalist shoes I’ve tested
(and this is a choice by Skora’s design team).
The sole itself is quite thin and it doesn’t have excessive padding and
sports no extra hyped up support or protection (which is great)
- I, personally, really like the aesthetics of the
“cool” lacing design, but also appreciate the functionality of being able to
choose the level of “snugness” a little better as well.
- Another + for this shoe is the fit. They wanted to focus on a glove like fit and I think they really achieved it. I like that it has a narrow “snug” heel and then it widens just a bit as it goes forward. The toe box is wide (all the way out to the end of the toes-not just where the toes join the foot) and allow for good toe splay. Excellent foot fit. I will say that I feel they probably run about a ½ size large, so keep that in mind when ordering.
So, on the conclusion end of things:
I really appreciate what Skora is trying to do and I Love new
companies! I knew I would like this
shoe, but didn’t really expect to love it as much as I did. I’m running in it (makes a good trail running
shoe as well), doing some Crossfit in them, and they are also my go to casual
shoe everyday now. You will Love the
goat Leather.
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