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Xero Shoes

I currently have Xero Shoes in two styles. The first is the TerraFlex and the second is the Mesa Trail. The TerraFlex has exposed webbing that I managed to chew through while hiking cross country in New Mexico. That first pair was replaced for free based on a picture of them with torn ribbons, so that was nice. Still, they need to be in nicer environments. There's actually a bit of wear on the rest of the shoe from the harsh ground in the boot heal. The Mesa Trail is a thinner sole. Conventional wisdom is that a stiffer sole allows going further with less energy. I find I'm about done in these after 10 miles and there's just a little too much ground feel for my taste. They both suffer from being low cut, which allows more crud to get in the top and the odd rock gets kicked up to whack me in the ankle.

They've come out with some more hiking oriented shoes now as well as reworking the shoes I have into version 2. So, here is a comparison of the relevant parameters.

Xero Shoes sole thickness lug height weight
TerraFlex 6.5mm FeelTrue
3mm BareFoam
3mm insole		 4mm 8.2oz
TerraFlex 2 6.5mm FeelTrue
3mm TrailFoam		 4mm 7.9oz
Mesa Trail 5.5mm FeelTrue
3.5mm insole		 3.5mm 6.4oz
Mesa Trail 2 5mm? FeelTrue
3.5mm TrailFoam		 3.5mm 7.9oz
DayLite Hiker Fusion 10mm FeelTrue 3.5mm 8.8 oz?
Xcursion Fusion 10mm FeelTrue 3.5mm 10.5oz

Weight is for one of a size 7 pair. They don't have a "specs" tab and have just sort of forgotten to say a few. The weight of the DayLite Hiker Fusion comes from REI. Sole thickness for Mesa Trail 2 is fished from the web also and suspicious since the shoe has gained so much weight. I'm not sure if "TrailForm" is the removable insole or part of the sole. It generally sounds like part of the sole in the description.

The last two are taller and the DayLite Hiker Fusion will probably pad against bruised ankles while the Xcursion Fusion definitely will. The soles are really thick! However, they return to the slightly smaller lugs. I tend to think the bigger the better for lugs. I expect Xero thinks eventually they're like walking on stilts. A shoe that forms to the ground does grip better even with smaller lugs, but see really thick soles.

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