Product: BarePadz
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Link: Kickstarter
Kickstarter End Date: August 21, 2014
Current Pledge: $4,782 of $5,000
This past February at the Heartbreaker Half I remember lining up to one runner without any shoes on. I jokingly asked if he forgot his shoes and luckily he was nice and didn’t punch me in the face. We chatted a little about it and he said that he loves it and that he expected his feet the be bloody and battered after tackling the 13.1 mile race. His shirt had a link printed to the Oregon chapter of the national Barefoot Runners Society who are all about barefoot running. It’s rather fascinating stuff.
I’m not too sure if all barefoot runners would be too keen on the the BarePadz, but who knows? To me, it seems like the perfect combination of someone loving to run barefoot, yet not have their soles ripped to shreds. From the website:
I’ve been a barefoot runner for over 10 years. Although I often run completely barefoot, there are many surfaces that are not fun to run on because they hurt too much. This is why the minimal footwear industry exists. Today’s minimal footwear comes in all shapes and sizes and I’ve tried them all: from the most popular style which entomb each toe separately to the tribal-inspired shoes that lace a flat piece of rubber to your sole. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages but none of them satisfied what I really needed: something to protect the front of my foot without covering the rest of my foot. This is what BarePadz do.
All things considered, BarePadz are very mimilistic as well. The bottom is a Kevlar threaded pad that protects the Neoprene wrap and provides a little extra cushioning.
BarePadz can be claimed for only a $20 pledge.
