Following on from my review of the VivoBarefoot Aqua shoes by Terra Plana, I've been kindly sent a pair of the much talked about VivoBarefoot Evo running shoes for review and critique and fast approaching two months after receiving them (I've been a busy boy) I'm finally getting around to documenting my experience.

The Box

If you've already got some shoes from Terra Plana (or read my previous review), the box and it's contents won't come as much of a surprise to you. As with the Aquas, the shoes come individually wrapped and beautifully presented in a box which encourages you to recycle or reuse it. For those who like to see the contents, here you go...

Initial Observations

First thing you'll notice is, unlike a lot of it's competitors, the VivoBarefoot Evos actually look like the running shoes you're used to seeing. They have a very low profile, thanks to the very thin soles, feature a normal lacing system including the two eyes at the top so you can use your favourite lacing methods and generally don't look too dissimilar to a pair of racing flats. You may also find yourself a little disappointed by the fact you don't get much in the way of padding, foam, rubber and fancy torsion or motion control systems for your £100 ($160).

The Fit

With the initial observations out of the way, it was time to try them on. I didn't have much of a sizing "experience" with these as the lady who sent me the Aquas already had my size so the Evos came pre-sized and are a good fit. The sizing of the Evos appears to be consistent with that of the Aquas, however you may want to get a size smaller if you're going to run in them without the insoles.

The fit itself is good. It's very comfortable with a relatively snug fit around the heel and midfoot and quite a spacious toebox, though not as spacious as the Aquas. I suspect this can be attributed to the fact they're trying to make these look like running shoes and a super-wide toebox like on the aquas may look a little silly.

The only "issue" I have with the fit, and it's more of an observation than an issue, is that the soles have a slight arch; the marketing calls it a "sucked out arch area". Unfortunately, this can be felt when wearing the shoes. I only notice this because I've been spending so much time completely barefoot or in the Aquas in which you can't feel this. The arch isn't supportive in anyway so it's not going anything, however it's presence may lead to rubbing on longer runs. Removing the insoles reduces the feeling, but doesn't take it away completely.

The Construction

The Evos, like the Aquas, are immaculately constructed. There are no distinguishable differences between the two shoes (bar the fact one's a left and one's a right) and no signs of sloppy or rushed construction. They are relatively light and come in at about 271g with the insoles and 243g without (this is actually an average as the left weighs 10g more than the right for some reason) and there really isn't much to them. The sole is 1mm thicker than the Aquas at 4mm throughout with absolutely no heel elevation what-so-ever. The upper consists of a highly breathable TPU cage that is so breathable in fact that you can almost see straight through it. Naturally this means the shoes are not water resistant, but then again, which running shoes are?

The sole of the shoes is a lot more rugged than the Aquas and pretty much all of the other minimalist running shoes on the market, however it does offer some additional grip in the wet and off road without too much loss of flexibility or ground feedback.

What I couldn't answer by looking at the shoes was why they weigh so much when there's so little to them?. A pair of mid-to-top of the range racing flats come in at about 100g lighter. Maybe they'll lighten as they evolve.

The Performance

And finally we get to the part you're reading this review for: how do the Evos perform when you actually run in them? Very well indeed. If you've run in racing flats, they perform just as well, if not better.

Naturally, the shoes protect your feet from the friction and coarseness of the road and that's about it. There's no motion control, no arch support, no cushioning and no fancy gimmicks designed to make your feet behave like the manufacturer thinks they should. The Evos allow your feet to behave as your feet want to behave with as little intervention from the shoe as possible.

The thin soles do a good job of softening the landing on some of the larger rocks and stones that may affect your stride when running barefoot, however they don't dampen things so much as to not give you any ground feedback at all. I'd say it's very close to what you'd get from wearing Vibrams with the Vibrams giving a slightly higher degree of feedback. That said, the slightly thicker and more rugged sole of the Evos trump the Vibrams when it comes to running on very stoney off-road paths.

As you can expect the ground feedback is affected by the insoles. I've taken the Evos out a couple of times with and without the insoles and I prefer them without the insoles, mainly because I actually noticed my feet hitting the ground slightly harder with the insoles than without; almost subliminally searching for the feedback. This wasn't anywhere near as what I'd expect my feet to do in normal shoes, but given I've been running exclusively barefoot since the beginning of February, I noticed it if I concentrated. If you're coming from running in normal shoes or racing flats, you'll appreciate the slightly extra cushioning that the insoles provide.

There is however one problem when it comes to running in the Evos: blisters.

In my first run in the Evos, I developed a smaller blister on my left heel. I thought this may have been due to not running in shoes for a while, but it seems several other people have encountered this problem in their first few runs. The incidence of the heel blisters seems to subside as the shoes wear and I didn't get any blisters on my heel on subsequent runs.

The second and most notable incidence of blisters, and this is certainly the most common issue seen, is blisters or bruising on the top of either your big toe or the toe next to it. When running, your foot naturally bends at the toes. The TPU cage here creases inwards and presses against your toes. After several miles of this, you soon start to feel it and if you continue, as I did, you may develop a bruise and possibly a blister or two.

Thankfully, Terra Plana have acknowledged both of these issues and have apparently been back to the drawing board to resolve this in later releases of the shoes. There's already talk on the haurache (note to self, I must make/get myself a pair of these) forum here of the later editions looking ever-so slightly different around the heel and inside above the toes than the earlier version. If you have one of the early versions, you may find using a bit of moleskin fabric on the heel and above the toes as detailed here will solve your problems. Hey, you could always try beg and plead with Terra Plana and see if they'll swap them.

The Summary

Based on the early model I have tested, I can summarise the pros and cons as I see them as follows:

Pros

• Superb quality build and design.
• Very thin soles throughout with no heel lift so the ground feedback is very good.
• No support anywhere.
• Wide on the forefoot so your feet and toes can splay naturally.
• They look like normal running shoes so will appeal to the more conscious runner.

Cons

• Cost. Terra Plana know they're in a bit of a unique position in a niche market and have priced accordingly. Once competition picks up, I envisage the price of the Evos may come down.
• The early revision is likely to cause blisters on the heel and on top of the toes and thus may require modification. This con is probably moot given Terra Plana appear to have addressed this issue in later versions.
• Slightly narrow in midfoot, but this is likely to just be a personal thing.
• Whilst relatively lightweight, I can't help but feel they should be lighter especially.
• You're not barefoot - I had to put this one in there

So all in all, these are fantastic minimalist shoes and definitely ones I'd recommend to anyone looking to move away from wearing traditional running shoes or any barefoot runner looking for a minimalist shoe to run in offroad or in the winter.

Look what I got today (thank-you Canoe Inc). Come on everyone, I want to hear you say "Ooooooo". I've not taken them for a spin yet, but initial impressions are good. I'll write up a full review once I've had a chance to take them out for a nice long run.

Well folks, I'm back online and trying to get back into the groove again. I technically wasn't completely offline, just lacking the motivation to write or get involved due to recent events on the home front. Sadly, February has been a very tough month for my wife and I: our baby daughter, Lara, unfortunately didn't make it through the open heart surgery she had to undergo in order to rectify two congenital heart defects. I'm not going to go into the details here but if you're interested, I will be posting a series of posts, building up to my daughter's funeral on 12 March, on my main site. Suffice to say we were devastated and completely knocked for six by this, even though we'd known about the heart condition before she was born. The loss of a child is something you really can't prepare yourself for no matter how much forewarning you received.

I've now had several weeks to grieve and I think I'm starting to come to terms with it all and am getting my motivation back. I'm back into the office tomorrow so we'll see how I get on. On the plus side, I have still been running - it's a brilliant tool for coping with stress, anger, sadness and the loss of a loved one - and completely barefoot too. Yes, EVERY ONE of the 41.45 kilometers run this month have been completely barefoot and I've loved it. My feet are toughening up beautifully and I'm sure every run is getting easier and more comfortable. That said I do sometimes doubt it when heading out in the cold and wet: these are still the toughies which tend to result in a blister or two on a few of my toes but they're very quickly outweighed by the ease and comfort of the dry warmer runs. I'm really looking forward to summer when all my runs will be in the warm.

The last week has also been quite an eventful one in the barefoot running world thanks to Terra Plana. They've just released the first ever barefoot running shoe, the VivoBarefoot EVO (remember all the other minimalist shoes we use weren't originally designed with barefoot running in mind). I gave everyone a sneak peak before and now they're finally available to buy. I've not put in my order yet as I'm still debating with myself as to if I buy another pair of Vibrams (I really like my Classics), get my grubby paws on a pair of these bad boys or skip the shoes completely. Initial reviews of the EVOs (Harry here is giddy with excitement about the EVOs here, here and here) have been very positive and it sounds like Terra Plana may have just hit the nail on the head with the EVOs and at the same time being the first to market in what could potentially be a very lucrative niche.

Terra Plana do however have one potential thorn in their side with the EVOs - the price. Whilst £100 is quite reasonable and competitive in the UK where a pair of Vibram FiveFinger Classics cost about £90; $160 is just extortionate in the US where a pair of Classics cost about $75 (ignoring discounts and voucher codes). That said, it's quite refreshing to see product prices vaguely taking into account the exchange rates. So often we see products sold for $100 in the US and then sold for £100 in the UK. Anyway, time will tell how successful Terra Plana are in coaxing people away from highly cushioned and supportive Nike/Adidas/Asics/Brooks/whatever shoes.

If you've shelled out for the EVOs, I'd be happy to hear how you find them.

Looky looky what I received in my inbox from a kind lady at Terra Plana (click for full size):

These look great and, whilst not as quirky or as outrageously different as the Vibram Five Fingers, I think the VVFs may be in for quite a challenge. The proof will be in the testing when we can all finally get our hands on these early next year. I'll be particularly interested in how they feel, wear and how well they cope in the one environment where VVFs don't do too well: the cold and wet of winter.

If you take a look at these individual shoe images, you'll see they look a lot like, though not identical to this picture that appeared on Twitpics not too long ago...

Time to get saving: I might have to treat myself to a pair of these for a belated birthday present next year.