So, I just reviewed the Lems Nine2Five and now today I have the LemsPrimal 2 (in Cardinal).
In the Nine2Five
review I mentioned reviewing this company’s first ever shoe (under their “Stem”
name) which was called the Primal Origins and now I get to review the 3rd
gen model which, I’m pleased to say, has indeed stuck with its “origins”.
Four years ago (almost to the day) the first gen shoe was hitting
preorders and now this 3rd gen shoe is available to the masses. While the company has grown and evolved,
their roots are the same, they’re still helmed by the same guy who dreamt it
all up, and they’re making constant improvements without losing touch of who
they started off to be.
This Primal 2 shoe combines an incredibly light and super soft combination of microfiber and extremely breathable open-weave air-mesh (100% vegan) upper, their proprietary LemsRubber outsole (8.0mm), and a 100% MoistureWick mesh liner to create one of the lightest and most flexible shoes you will ever encounter.
Honestly… I struggle with using the word “flexible” because it just
doesn’t quite do it justice. Here’s what
you need to know. There is nothing to
this shoe. It weighs nothing (~6oz), has
zero support, zero stability features, zero reinforcement, zero drop, zero (for
all practical purposes) cushioning, zero, zero, zero. Now, for some people, that will scare the
heck out you – this shoe is not for you.
For those looking for true minimalism, no greater… less, can be
found. Honestly, without actually being
barefoot, this is as close as you can get.
It’s like walking around in a house shoe designed to be used for
anything you want. Here’s what I
mean: yes, it’s ultraminimalist, yes it’s
as close to 100% ground feel as you can get while wearing a shoe, yes it’s like
a house shoe, BUT, due to the design and Lems sole, I have worn this shoe
running, hiking, bouldering, working out, camping, on an Olympic lifting
platform, to the grocery store, and everywhere else you can think of.
The only limiting factor with this particular model is that the Crimson
color is so dang cool that I want to baby the shoes so as to not mess them
up! Definitely the first “minimalist”
shoe I’ve felt that way about – it reminds me of my old traditional shoe
obsession where it was All about looks….
Seriously though, the red really does pop and makes a great fashion
shoe.
One of my favorite details about this shoe is the soft and smooth (and reinforced) heel slide (as seen here in grey):
If you’re a technical trail runner and spend your time on jagged rocks
and navigating through sharp gravel hidden underneath the leaves of your
favorite blackdiamond mountain trail, these shoes probably aren’t for that
purpose. Think of it like this, because
we’ve all conditioned our feet differently so, therefore, our barefeet can
handle different things: if you would do
it completely barefoot, then these shoes will be Perfect for it!
I’ll conclude with this:
After testing shoes from over 2 dozen different brands over the years (and dozens more models) I’ve come to a place where I can honestly say that Andrew and the crew at Lems would definitely make my top 3 shoe brands.
After testing shoes from over 2 dozen different brands over the years (and dozens more models) I’ve come to a place where I can honestly say that Andrew and the crew at Lems would definitely make my top 3 shoe brands.
what are your other top 3 shoe brands?
ReplyDeleteRight now I would say Altra (trail running), Topo (gym/workout shoes), and Lems (Everything else: everyday shoes, everyday boots, work boots, dress shoes, etc).
DeleteRussell Moccasin are amazing and by far the best boots, no question, BUT they are also extremely expensive and to me that puts them in a "non-standard" category
cool thanks! i just purchased my first lems - nine2five and like them a bunch. i wish i could find a good minimal pair to wear with a suit (vivo makes some, but ive read mixed reviews).
Deletemy fave are the merrell life excursion, which sadly they stopped shipping in the us. i was able to find a place in uk that would ship to us and just stocked up to replace by aging pair. the leather tough glove was a winner too, but merrell seems to be moving away from the lifesytle/casual in us and just focusing on the running shoes.
For suits and true dress shoes my favorite is Tunefootwear.
DeleteI have a pair of the "Ornament" http://secondwindbook.blogspot.com/2013/09/tunefootwear-company-and-product-review.html
and here's their lineup: http://tunefootwear.com/categories/