[Lems Shoes #1] My new shoes are so light it feels like being naked

Hello everyone, earthlings, animals of all sorts, people, life.

As some of you have the priviledge to be aware of, I have ugly feet.

And it’s been now 2 years that I run with minimalist shoes which remind me of that tragical fact with every step I take.

I’ve hunted for the right shoes. I had a thirst for a shoe that would be…

1. super light-weight
2. large, I mean, wide, for my feet to fit – see? not only are they ugly, they’re also quite bulky (is it just me or does it sound like the beginning of a song?)
3. trendy and cool, like, you know, good-looking and stylish
4. yet with a nice grip to be able to rock’n roll around and about

My quest for the holy shoes had me buying new pairs after long and careful researches as well as in a sudden and tremendous fit of shopping crisis.

I neved quite found what I was really looking for. The most comfortable shoes I unveiled after hours on the lookout were to hot to wear all year-round, and the most light-weight still are my super-weird 5 Fingers from Vibram. As the Indian man puts it: “You must believe, my f’liend, but, hey, what to do?”

Now.

I was on the verge of giving up. And there, hurray! lo and behold, I recently stumbled on Lems Shoes website.

Stumbling is metaphorical, mark my words. My feet are ugly but very reliable. Don’t misunderstand me.

Lems Shoes manufactures, err… shoes, aimed at mimicking the natural shape of our feet.

Really?

Wait a minute.

Does it actually mean that nearly all other shoe makers actually shape their products in a way that isn’t natural to us? hence actually deforming our feet after years of wearing them?

What a disturbing thought.

But we’ll discuss this later on in a next chapter.

What I want to share here is my feelings as I…

1. unpacked
2. tried on
3. played around with

my new pair pair of Lems Shoes, a flamboyant Primal 2 Teal.

How it feels to discover those weird surprising Lems Shoes

My first sensation upon unwrapping my new pair was of utter doubt, not to say skepticism.

“There!”, I first thought, “the hippies there at Lems Shoes forgot to put one shoe in the parcel…”

It was, you see, so light.

“Or maybe even both?” I was, as you can imagine, disapointed and puzzled.

I mean, how could the parcel feel so light, yet bear in its craddle something reliable enough to wrap up my ugly feet and set them up for my daily craziness?

Sure, my 5 Fingers are utterly lightweight, but as I expected my Lems Shoes to feel more like, well, real shoes, I couldn’t believe my hands upon seizing and weighing the parcel.

Trembling, I opened it.

And there they were, shinning and glorious. The left shoe. And, miraculously, the right shoe too. And I must say, they look gorgeous. As you’ve already noticed.

How it feels to wear those weird surprising Lems Shoes

All Lems Shoes are built on a zero-drop platform. Traditional footwear elevates the heel an average of 14-24mm (0.5″-1.0″). Elevating the heel throws off the alignment of the spine and forces an unnatural heel strike. But heck, who cares? What I mean to say is that to slip those shoes on is like dressing with feathers. Their fabric is soft, so soft I could, for the first time in my life, actually enjoy to wear shoes without socks. They’re more like gloves for the feet, really. I even suspect them to actually caress and cuddle my lowest appendices. I swear. I could nearly hear them softly whisper to my ugly feet “it’s alright, we’ve got you covered, it’s alright, you’ll feel okay from now on, nobody’ll notice you’re so ugly anymore…”

I went out straight away to test them out in my most enjoyable and regular activity – be silly.

The Lems Shoes have no shock absorption capacity, mind you (that’s how I like shoes now). But the drop felt super okay nevertheless.

And this is when it happens…

Like I said…

1. my feet are ugly, but truth be told I’m quite ok with the rest of my body
2. Lems Shoes are so pleasant to wear, so light and soft, that it feels like you’re wearing nothing at all

so that’s what I did.

Wear nothing at all.

But my new pair of Lems Shoes.

’cause as they put it themselves on their website:

Ah-ah.

And for facts and figures freaks:

To be continued…

In the next chapters of this serie about Lems Shoes I intend on experimenting with them some other silliness, like…

• slackline
• bike trials
• climbing trees
• swimming
• sleeping

but feel free to feed the troll with your own absurd ideas. I’m on.

The story shall continue later. Thanks for reading.

Thanks to Audrey and Lems Shoes who trust me on putting their shoes to the test in the most absurd situations.

Thanks to my friend Christophe – North and South Pole marathon runner – for handling my digital camera for me (sorry I scared away your neighbours while you had to stop laughing in order to press the camera’s button).

All photos are availlable there.

And yes, once again I’m showing my butt. It looks like it’s becoming a custom on the Planète.D

If you don’t like it, I can suggest reading something else. If you do… 😉

[next episode: “Vulnerable and secure, with an orange sunset to top it all“]

Initialement publié le / Originally posted on 14 juin 2017 @ 1:05 pm