Question:
I saw that the Vapor Lights won
some award for best shoe of the
year from a major running magazine
so I went to the store and tried
some on, they felt good.. at the
store.I ordered some from Ebay,
they felt good in the house. Took
these puppies for a walk and then
all hell broke loose. Something
in the right shoe starts absolutely
digging into the area around my
big toe.You would have thought that
there was like a hard piece of plastic
in there. I checked and for the
most part the shoe was soft. O.K.
so I wont be able to hike,in them
or wear them for extended periods
for now,I figure maybe I'll take
them to the gym with me and use
them as cross trainers, maybe some
good old fashioned high powered
sweat will break em in.
I get on the elliptical where your
feet basically stay in the same
place. I swear I could feel the
lugs pressing up into the soles
of my right foot like a freaking
waffle maker.Then the left foot
starts going numb as something in
the tounge starts digging into my
instep while I'm on the stationary
bike, what the hell?!! Not once
in three years did my retired pair
of New Balances cause me any problems.
What gives?
Answer:
For clarification, while North Face
had its origins in hiking, climbing,
etc, it *does* make trail running
shoes, other trail running gear,
sponsors elites, and running races
(at least I think I saw a race the
other day sponsored by them). It's
just a small percentage of their
business, I'm guessing. I've used
some of their gear for cold weather
(subzero F) running. Some of their
shoes and gear are popular with
ultra runners, with mixed reviews
ranging from poor to great, like
most brands. This is one of those
brands - along with Montrail, Merrell,
Salomon, Vasque, and probably some
others - that you'll find in outdoor-type
stores and not in the road-running
stores, even if they are listed
are trail/road shoes.
