Skora Base and Form Review

I sent my first email to David Sypniewski on the 4th of November in 2009. I was expressing my excitement about learning of Skora and the project, which was to build the best minimalist shoe on the market from the ground up. Patiently have I waited. As plans usually do, they did not go as Skora had initially hoped and the release has taken a bit longer than anticipated. However, as David said, they would rather be late and release the best shoe possible, instead of releasing a sub-par shoe on time. Early in December 2011 Skora announced they were opening the shoes up for reservations, with them being shipped in February of 2012.


Up until getting these shoes for wear testing, I had done about 3400 miles in Vibram Fivefinger Classics, KSOs and Bikilas. Before that was a pair of Brooks ST4 racers. I have also done some barefoot running. 


Skora is just about as local as most shoe companies can be. A few years ago David saw how the shoe market offered very little options for minimalist runners, so he decided to make his own choice. The company is based in Portland, Oregon. The shoes are assembled in some of the newest and most modern factories Asia, the leather of the Form model comes from the UK, and other parts are sourced from the US.


A quick note, this will be a longer than normal shoe review, as there are two models and 600 miles to cover. Not your usual, "I wore these for 5 runs over two weeks" review. 

Base

Form

First, this is the last thing a person should base their choice of running apparel on, but the shoes are beautiful. Skora has done a better job than just about any other company I have seen in making a product that is just as eye appealing as it is functional. Zak from Average Guy Hits the Road feels the same way. "While many minimalist and natural running products seem to try and walk a line between crunchy, granola, earthy aesthetics (Altra Adam) and 21st century running industry expectation (Mizuno WU4), Skora is unapologetically progressive in it’s design philosophy, which should resonate with a niche area of the running market. I'm clearly biased...these shoes just appeal to me on many levels, and so does the company. 


Skora's philosophy is to "Run Real" and the shoes are made to allow runners to run as naturally as possible. Skora built a shoe that will allow the wearer to closely mimic natural barefoot running while still offering some protection from the terrain and elements. The chief characteristic of a minimalist shoe is to have zero drop between the heel height and forefoot height. A traditional running shoe has a drop of 8 to 14 millimeters. Many minimalist shoes are about 4mm, while Skora comes in at zero. Another point of minimalist shoes is that they offer ground feel while still offering protection, which are antagonists to each other and a balance must be found. Vibrams offer fantastic ground feel, but little protection. Newtons offer protection, but less ground feel. As you can see from the below image, there is very little between the ground and the feet of a runner in Skoras.

The shoes offer 9mm of thickness under foot without the sockliner, and 13mm of thickness with the sockliner left in. A weight of 7.9 ounces is what the mesh Base weighs and the Form comes in at 8.2 ounces. Not in the "super" light category, but almost. Here is a quick comparison of some of the popular minimalist shoes with their weight and heights. As you can see, Skora comes in somewhere in the middle for heights and a bit high for weight, but 8oz is still very light as shoes go. If you took out their sockliner it would lower your foot to 9mm off the ground. I cannot comment on the other shoes, but all probably have a few mm of sockliner in as well.

Shoe	Weight	Heel Height	Forefoot Height
Skora Base	7.9oz	13mm / 9mm	13mm/9mm
Altra Instint	9.0oz	11mm	11mm
Merrell Trail Glove	7.0oz	12mm	12mm
Mizuno WU3	3.6oz	15mm	15mm
Newton Distance	8.3oz	24mm	22mm
Saucony Kinvara	7.7oz	18mm	14mm
Saucony Hattori	4.4oz	13mm	13mm
Vibram Bikila	6oz	7mm	7mm

Run Blogger describes 8 characteristics of a good minimalist shoe, and Skora has their own list as well. I've combined the two into this:

• Lightweight
• Skora definitely hits the target on the head, coming in at around 8oz. 
• Flexibility



Insert stereotypical flexible shoe picture 

• No artificial support or stability
• There is obviously no support offered by the shoes. This is where Newton shoes may fall short for a natural runner. 
• I also tried on some Merrells in the past, and they definetely had some support going on in the arch area, along with having a narrow heel and midfoot. 
• Zero Drop
• For many, a make or break characteristic
• Wide Toe Box
• Another deal breaker. I do feel like I have wider feet, and the Skora's toe box feels great. They did actually expand it a bit from my first wear test pair. 
• Thin Sole
• At 9mm without the insole, and even 13mm with, the shoes are still rather thin.
• Minimal Structure in Upper
• Runblogger listed this as a characteristic, however I do feel that some have gone with too little structure, mainly the Saucony Hattori and Mizuno Wave Universe 3. Both of which feel like they will fall apart in a few hundred miles, which has actually been reported by some runners. 
• Minimize toe spring
• Brooks have the most toe spring of any shoe brand I have seen. Some may like it, I honestly don't mind either way.       

 You've seen how little amount of material goes under your feet. No bags of gel or air pockets. We can now make our way to the upper.

The shoe slips on super easily, more so than the Hattoris I have worn. I will recommend these to any triathlete looking for a good short course shoe. They are super light weight, no laces, and made to slip on. What more can we ask for? The upper mesh is thin enough that even on the hottest days I never felt my feet getting warmer than they should. The nylon X-strap system on the top of the foot and the elastic heel strap both do a great job giving the Base adjustability. I generally like my shoes rather loose. They have a moccasin like fit and my toes never feel constricted inside the toe box and the shoes allow for plenty of movement. When I am doing trail runs with steeper down hills I will often tighten the X-strap so on the descents my feet move less inside the shoe. For the production shoes, Skora upgraded the velco from earlier generation shoe I tested, and it is some pretty heavy duty stuff. 

I can not speak of the long term durability of the shoes at the moment. The first pair I wore for 200 miles before I sent them back to Skora for analysis. My current pair, as of writing this, are at 340 miles. The good news is the rip in the mesh from the trail race has held together nicely and does not appear to be growing. The X-straps are showing a bit of wear at the plastic hook however.  I believe the shoes will last for many hundred miles and am doing my best to test this out. The rubber is built very dense so it will not spread and deteriorate like many other shoes.The upper is built very well and I believe will hold together for quite a long time. Often you can tell what will cause a shoe to be retired first, wearing through on the upper or the bottom. With Skora I feel both are constructed equally well.

The box is held closed by a hidden magnet. 
Is it necessary to have a shoe box this nice? Is it necessary for me to drink my own urine? 
No, but I like the taste.

In terms of sizing, I wear a 9US in the Skora, in Newton Distance, and in the Brooks ST4. Skora has also commented on the shoes being very true to size.

I believe for the production models the laces will be shorter.

One of the biggest gripes I have seen about the Skoras are the price. However there are many aspects that go into the cost of a shoe. I believe the two main points are material and how large the company is. First, material. When looking at the $195.00 price of the Form model take into consideration it comes with a full leather upper made from Pittard's "World Class Leather" Armor-Tan Goat skin and a liner of WR100X Sheep skin. Like leather bike saddles, the Form's leather will mold itself to your foot bones, or sit bones in the saddle example. Thus the "Form" title. Second, Skora is a very small company and cannot afford to pump out shoes like Nike or Brooks can. Consequently the shoes cost a bit more. That is expected when purchasing any item from a local or smaller business. I visited Running Warehouse and checked out the prices of a few minimalist shoes:

Shoe	Price
Skora Base	125.00
Skora Form	195.00
Altra Instinct	100.00
Merrell Sonic Glove	125.00
Mizuno Wave Universe 4	120.00
NB MT10 Minimus Trail	100.00
Newton Distance	155.00

As you can see $125.00 is generally the top end of the shoes, and a few go down to 80, which I believe the Saucony Hattori is at. I also feel the Hattori sacrifices build quality for low weight, but that's just me. The Form destroys all others at $195.00, but no other running shoe is made from such premium material either. 

The bottoms are holding up great. The above photo has 331 miles on it. This is a point where I often see runners getting knee pain from their shoes wearing down in spots. However, there is very little wear showing here.


My race experience with the Skoras include a 100 mile gravel road ultra marathon and a 50 mile trail ultra. During the 100 I wore their first wear test model. My feet felt great for the entire duration of the event and the shoes held up very well.

My first wear testing pair after at the finish line of my first 100 mile ultra!

After the 50 mile trial race. Note the tear.

The Base shoes had a bit more trouble during the trail race. There is one very small tear in the mesh upper of my left shoe from kicking a stick, and the straps show a bit of wear at the loop. For light trails the Base model is great, but for more technical/dirty courses I would hesitate to use these. Traction was never an issue, only that the upper is not built for kicking sticks, rocks, falling/tripping, dealing with tough terrain, etc. It is built for being light and keeping for feet cool, dry, and aired out. 

The shoes feature stitch down construction, which means extra seems and stitching are eliminated inside the shoe to make going sockless in the shoes possible. However, I would rather wear socks for the improved moisture wicking. My socks of choice, Injinji, by the way

One thing I like about the Base is that it is such a simple design. The Form is great and all, but as you add more, there is more potential for something to go wrong. Making things as simple as possible is how I race, how I plan on my training, how I fuel my runs, and how I like my shoes. 


I have also had the chance to use them after a snow fall and in weather down to 4 degrees F. Traction has not been an issue in the snow. During low temperature runs I will either wear one thicker pair or a thin pair of Injinji liners and the thicker socks, and have not had any problems with my toes going numb. I imagine, like the majority of shoes, if I was running through a foot of show my toes would get quite a bit colder. This is an issue for socks, not the shoes.

          So what are the reasons to buy Skora shoes? Here is what Skora has to say about that:

• Zero Drop
• Keeps movement natural and biomechanically correct.
• Minimal Cushioning
• Better ground feel. Allows foot and body to work together.
• Asymmetric Lacing
• Your foot is asymmetrical, so is their lacing and straps.
• Stitch Down Construction
• Eliminates extra seems and stitching for improved fit and comfort with socks or barefooted.
• Anatomical Last
• Curved bottom, wider toe box, larger ball girth volume = more natural fit
• Curved Outsole Forefoot Profile
• Mimics foot shape and encourages medial to lateral role
• Curved Outsole Heel
• Encourages natural roll
• Concave Outsole Forefoot
• Fits natural foot shape 
• No Heel Counter
• Lack of reinforcement allows best fit and comfort
• Elastic Heel Strap
• Enables personal fit

Now please understand I have been provided these shoes as a wear tester. After I sent the first pair back I requested a second pair to use during my 50 mile ultra. I had no affiliation with Skora and could have chosen any shoe on the market to wear, but I wanted Skoras.


There are a couple of improvements that could be made. I feel the strap's material on the Base could be more heavy duty. Also some of the sewing along the side support on my Bases is coming out where the shoe bends during toe off when running. These are both things I have noticed at 300+ miles. The important thing is that the bottoms are showing very little wear, which is generally what forces most shoes to be thrown out. Early on in the Form, I did experience a hot spot above and behind my left little toe. It made me a bit nervous as I wore them around the house that first day since I had a longer run planned for them. However the hot spot never showed up during the run. Next time I wore the shoe around casually I could again feel that spot pressing down on my foot. But during the next run, nothing. Now with 50 miles in the shoes I wear these around casually and they are super comfortable. The Bases look like they have been through hell, so I would like to at least keep my Forms clean for a while still. 


I have tried on many different minimalist and natural running shoes. Just about each one has had some little issue that turned me off. Merrells are too narrow and had arch support. Hattoris and Wave Universe 3s felt too fragile. The Newton MV2 is zero drop and the Distance is 2mm, however they are much taller than other natural running shoes, and lose much ground feel. Along those lines is the Hoka OneOne. It has only 4mm of heel to toe drop, but there is also a lot of material between your feet and the ground, they also seem to not have a very anatomically correct. Newtons do have a sensor plate that is designed to bring the ground closer to your feet at least. Vibrams look funny and do not offer as much protection as I would like. The Brooks Green Silence has too much of a ramp angle and felt stiff. The MV2 was too narrow. For their first generation of shoes, Skora has done an impressive job of getting a lot right and very little wrong.


That is why the Skoras have worked so well for me. Everything about the shoe meets my needs as an ultra marathon runner. Every body is unique and different, and these shoes will not work for all. But the truth is the shoes made by Skora are top quality and built from the ground up to be the best shoe for a minimalist runner. And they are the best shoe for this minimalist runner :)


Here is an update of the shoes at 0, 100, and 600 miles: LINK