Back inside, I shucked off my VFF's and opened the USPS bag. Wrapped in tissue paper with a Soft Star sticker (tried to salvage the sticker for my water bottle but failed. darn.) were my Moc3's.
For all the technical specs go to the Soft Star website (softstarshoes.com). The Moc3's look like ninja slippers and are super light weight! I put them on and immediately felt comfortable! no fit issues. The perforated black leather uppers smell like quality leather. The stretchy "breath-o-prene" lining attached to the leather hug my feet but not in a constrictive way. The reflective stripe on the back of the slipper adds a little sporty flair and the little green tabs at the heel bear the Soft Star logo, refreshingly unobtrusive branding.
On my very short test jog I was able to test the shoe on a variety of surfaces: asphalt, concrete, gravel, and grass. The soles, which are cut in a foot-like pattern are 2mm Vibram rubber and not as sticky as the VFF rubber. My guess is Soft Star is forgoing a little grip to get more durability for the super thin soles. These thin soles basically allow you to feel EVERYTHING, and on gravel was a little painful for a novice like me. I also noticed a little pressure on my achilles when walking (not running) due to the breath-o-prene, which is necessary to keep the shoe on. I will see if this is something that i will just get used to.
I am very happy with how the shoes feel so far. They allow my feet to spread out naturally. My goal is for the Moc3's to be my everyday shoe when I'm not wearing sandals. This will include running, walking, hiking, work, and ninja.
Some things I expect to find out as I use this shoe more:
will the leather at the toes abrade with use?
how long with the soles last?
will I be able to resole them?
how long will it take for them to start stinking?
stay tuned for more updates!
