Skora Fit

[Ed: Runners wear zero drop shoes for different reasons. Some like the natural feel to the shoe, some are militant in the belief that this is the “correct” way to run, while others have something wrong with their bodies, forcing them to look outside of the “regular running shoe” box.

My wife is in the latter group. She’s got a large bone growth on the inside of each ankle that makes

wearing traditional running shoes impossible. “Regular” shoes are fine, but once she starts running, she experiences major ankle and foot pain. Podiatrists and orthopedists have recommended heavily supportive shoes (or, “why don’t ya try these $300 insoles?”), but she’s found the opposite to work for her. She’s been wearing zero drops for years and can finally run normally.

Sam wore Vibrams before the big craze (we had to buy them at a kayak shop!), and since then has worn Skoras almost exclusively.  She’s a casual runner (10mpm pace) who’s got another half marathon coming up and thinks ultras are a stupid waste of time.]

Here’s her review of the Skora Fit, as relayed to me.

First Impressions

Holy cow! Those are pink. That color is not something I’d usually pick out, but these are really cute shoes.  They’re not the goat skin leather like the last Skoras I had (and still wear), but I like these a lot. Everything else seems pretty  much the same as my other pair. They’re flexible, well put together, and not very complicated.

Fit

These give me some room in the toes to move around, the heel feels nice and secure, and the sizing is right on. I’m an 8 and these fit perfectly.  The drop feels the same as my others (probably because it is, duh), but I can feel a bit more cushioning.

Ride

I can definitely feel more cushioning in these shoes than I did in the Skora Form. That’s a good thing, as the bottoms of my feet are often sore from standing at work.  They’re still flexible (a necessity for me), but I don’t slap the ground as much. I’m not a forefoot or mid foot runner.

Build

The Fit has a synthetic and seamless upper with some funky graphics printed onto the airy material.  My feet don’t get hot running in them.

The shoes feature the regular hard rubber Skora sole with a dimple pattern on the bottom that’s sectioned off into a few areas. Not sure what the purpose of all that is, but it works for me.

The sole is rounded off at the heel, allowing the shoe to roll on to the earth. Why don’t other shoes do this???

Asymmetrical lacing keeps the shoe on me well without bothering the top of my foot.

 Usage

These are road shoes.  There’s no real traction for anything muddy so they’re great for groomed trails, pavement, and decomposed granite. I also wear them nearly every day to work and they’re extremely comfortable.

Stats

Zero drop with a 16mm stack height.

$95. The last pair I had was more near the $150. Cool that they’re making a more reasonably-priced version.

Verdict

I think these are a nice improvement over the last Skoras.  I miss the smell and feel of the leather uppers on my Forms, but the cushioning in these shoes  (not to mention the lower price) means that I’ll be wearing them on all my runs.