The idea of restoration footwear is so, so tempting in case you spend plenty of time in your toes, whether or not you’re at the moment coaching for a race or continually working a double. Downside is, so lots of the restoration footwear on the market are literally restoration sandals, which makes them quite a bit much less engaging when it’s not 75 and sunny.
Enter: The Oofos Oocoozie Thermo Mule ($120, oofos.com), the latest providing from the footwear large that’s higher identified for its feel-good flip-flops and slides. It guarantees the identical impact-blunting match as its summery footwear, simply in a design that’s a bit of, uh, coozier. I’ve been sporting the identical beat-up pair of Ugg slippers as my post-run “restoration” footwear for the previous 10 years, so I slipped on a pattern pair of those mules to seek out out if there’s a real profit to the actual deal.
Who these footwear are for
Whereas “lively restoration” is having a second within the health world, restoration footwear just like the Oocoozie mule usually are not only for athletes. Certain, runners, hikers, pickup basketball gamers, and individuals who play different sports activities may benefit from a comfortable, supportive shoe, however so can of us with bodily demanding jobs (say, nurses or building staff) or issues with their toes, like plantar fasciitis.
That’s as a result of Oofos footwear are designed to “cradle” your arches (which reduces strain and distributes forces extra evenly), put your heel and forefoot within the correct place for a extra pure gait, and maintain you extra secure as you stride. All of this, the corporate says, helps you get well extra rapidly after an extended, powerful day in your toes. Whereas that is type of laborious to quantify, the American Podiatric Medical Affiliation awarded the corporate’s huge line of footwear its seal of acceptance, which it offers to merchandise “discovered to assist good foot well being.”
Christa Sgobba
Out of the field
Two issues instantly stood out to me: One, these footwear are ridiculously gentle (which bodes nicely after a tough exercise once you need to exert as little effort as potential), and two, the ugly-cute vibe remains to be going robust. The mules look a bit of bit like a rubbish bag and a few marshmallows had a child: They’re black, puffy (made with their Primaloft insulation), shiny, and quilted, and so they really feel such as you’re not sporting a lot of something in any respect. They by some means appear like they go together with nothing and all the pieces. Initially, I deliberate on solely sporting these round the home, however the first look intrigued me a lot—ought to they be this stylish?— that I knew I needed to take them out and about.
Match and really feel
A restoration shoe ought to really feel like stepping on a cloud, and I can report that the Oocoozie Thermo Mule definitely did. However not an amorphous one: There was a construction to the footbed that made my toes really feel actually supported and—dare I say it—cradled. The froth made for comfortable strides, and the insulation saved me heat, regardless that the design leaves the backs of your ankles uncovered.