The idea of restoration footwear is so, so tempting in the event you spend numerous time in your toes, whether or not you’re at present coaching for a race or continuously working a double. Downside is, so most of the restoration sneakers on the market are literally restoration sandals, which makes them rather a lot much less attractive when it’s not 75 and sunny.
Enter: The Oofos Oocoozie Thermo Mule ($120, oofos.com), the most recent providing from the footwear large that’s higher recognized for its feel-good flip-flops and slides. It guarantees the identical impact-blunting match as its summery sneakers, simply in a design that’s slightly, uh, coozier. I’ve been sporting the identical beat-up pair of Ugg slippers as my post-run “restoration” sneakers 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 sneakers are for
Whereas “lively restoration” is having a second within the health world, restoration sneakers just like the Oocoozie mule are usually not only for athletes. Certain, runners, hikers, pickup basketball gamers, and individuals who play different sports activities may benefit from a snug, supportive shoe, however so can people with bodily demanding jobs (say, nurses or development employees) or issues with their toes, like plantar fasciitis.
That’s as a result of Oofos sneakers are designed to “cradle” your arches (which reduces stress and distributes forces extra evenly), put your heel and forefoot within the correct place for a extra pure gait, and hold you extra secure as you stride. All of this, the corporate says, helps you get better extra rapidly after a protracted, powerful day in your toes. Whereas that is form of onerous to quantify, the American Podiatric Medical Affiliation awarded the corporate’s huge line of sneakers its seal of acceptance, which it offers to merchandise “discovered to help good foot well being.”
Christa Sgobba
Out of the field
Two issues instantly stood out to me: One, these sneakers are ridiculously gentle (which bodes properly after a tough exercise if you need to exert as little effort as doable), and two, the ugly-cute vibe remains to be going sturdy. The mules look slightly 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 someway appear like they go together with nothing and all the things. 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.
