Shoe Review – ZEMgear 360 Ninja

I recently took delivery of my ZEMgear 360 Ninja shoes, whilst I already own some ultra-light trail shoes, this is my first real foray into the world of ‘barefoot’ shoes. I am yet to run in them, except for a mile on the treadmill, where they felt great but I intend to remedy that out on the road tomorrow.

ZEMgear’s website blurb says – The 360 is the feather light star of ZEMs barefoot collection. The design weighs in at 2.5 oz (70g) and is equipped with a pliable but abrasion robust phylon outsole ideal for runners. Integrated gecko grip rubber pods add traction & secure footing. An updated tech band design contributes increased lateral hold and stability. The split toe pattern and the high “mold-ability” of all materials maximize barefoot agility for many activities.

KungfuRunner says – The 360 is very light, it really does feel like going barefoot. The ‘tech band design’ does mould the shoe to your foot and they fit like a glove. I spent a full day wearing them while walking around Disneyworld in Florida and they felt good. The split toe design works really well and allows for independent big toe movement, which feels nice and natural. Grip is awesome on dry surfaces although one concern I have  is with wet, I did find a couple of times on slick surfaces that I felt they may slip. I’m not sure I would trust them in the mountains on wet rock slabs unlike my Inov8 X-Talon 212’s.  It’s raining outside now so I am sure I will have ample opportunity to test them in the wet tomorrow!

They look great, distinctive and different. I went for the lime green variant shown below and they certainly attract attention, I was stopped by a number of people whilst wearing them and i did notice a number of people looking and in certain cases pointing and staring! Some people expressed a real dislike for them and think they look stupid but I love them.

Overall at $59 / £40 they are great value, comfortable and perfect for walking, running and wearing to the beach and I would be happy to recommend them.

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Less is More

OK so I want these shoes! I am going to have to buy them, but seriously I have been thinking a great deal about minimal running recently. I seem to get injured more and more easily now and there is some evidence pointing to heavily cushioned running shoes being one of the main culprits.

The Tarahumara of Copper Canyon in Northern Mexico run virtually barefoot in home made shoes; they run fast for incredible distances and just don’t get injured. Humans are made to run, designed specifically for it, but our comfy, cushioned modern shoes mean that we run unnaturally heel striking sending 2 to 3 times our body weight up through our joints with each foot strike (in my case almost 270 kilos/540 pounds!), so it’s no wonder we get injured .

Professor Daniel Lieberman phd of Harvard University and others  are researching human physiology and why we move how we do and they have done extensive work on the Biomechanics of Footstrikes which should make fascinating reading for any runner.

I have just ordered Chris McDougall’s book Born To Run, which looks amazing. The plan now is to buy myself a pair of those Vivo Barefoot Evo II bad boys and see what it’s all about.

Watch this space for road tests and reports.

Related Articles

• Minimalism revisited. (ask.metafilter.com)
• New Balance Minimus Video (hypebeast.com)
• Nike Mayfly Running Shoe (slamxhype.com)
• Inov-8 Baregrip 200 Preview: Minimalist Trail Runner from Inov-8 (runblogger.com)