I. LOVE. THIS. SHOE. Since I was able to combine a couple of coupon codes, I got these for ~$67 (they retail $100). Never in my life has a shoe felt this comfortable at first try-on. And guess what? They had arrived just in time.
I returned from a trip to Texas tonight - my first significant travelling since just before my youngest was born. The Merrell Barefoot Pace Glove took me through miles of airport walking, a 3 mile hike with friends, and life in general, as it were. There was no breaking in or socks required (as has been the case for me in my past life of relying on cushy-soled athletic sneakers) - and they are super light, around 4 oz. each. I love that they're low-profile and sporty, while protecting my feet with Vibram-material soles but managing to remain zero-dropped - that is, the heel is the same thickness as the forefoot, which is important for mimicking a barefoot walking experience.
Anyway - all this to say - if you're looking for a sneaker-style, light, wide toebox, thin-soled minimalist shoe, this could be the ticket!
Some other notes from our time traveling:
- I had some of my first in-the-wild Vibram spottings! I saw no less than three pair of Vibram FiveFingers, one worn by a fellow traveler on one of my flights, and the other two pair worn by runners I saw while on the hiking trail with my friends. I was very tempted to chat their owners up, but let them go on their merry barefoot ways.
- Our daughters were staying with my inlaws. Since my girls' grandparents aren't primal / paleo, I left them with lots of nutritional resources, namely:
~ Lots of pumped breastmilk for my nursing toddler.
~ Meals! I premade a Chebe pizza from Chebe Pizza Crust Mix, baked some spaghetti squash and made a meaty spaghetti sauce, mashed soft-baked sweet potatoes with butter, and baked some organic russet potatoes. These provided a lot of "instant fix" meal solutions so that my inlaws didn't need to worry about cooking, much less primal-friendly cooking, while trying to keep an eye on the little ones.
~ Snacks! Among them:
HAPPYBABY Organic Spinach, Mango & Pear Spout Pouches (these are great for both my toddler AND my 4-year-old on outings since no spoon is required),
Cherry Pie Larabars containing only dried cherries, dates, and almonds (I picked this flavor because I know for certain that my toddler's not allergic to almonds and that was the only Larabar flavor I found that had only almonds and not other nuts involved).
- Meanwhile, my husband and I did reasonably well with airplane/airport food - not perfect, but enough to discourage us from raiding the ultra-carby selections sold on the plane and in the terminal. I had with us:
A couple of Cherry Pie Larabars
Justin's Maple Almond Butter, in individual packets (yay, 200-calorie portion control and TSA- friendly sizes!)
Justin's Chocolate Hazlenut Butter, also in individual packets
Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds
- We hit up the super-paleo-friendly Fogo de Chao for one of our meals with our friends - an unbelievable salad bar and all of the Brazillian steaks and other cuts of meat (like melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon) that you can hold! A little pricey given the concept, but I would very much recommend it for any special occasion.
One final thing: While browsing the drink options on one of my flights I decided that I was already sick of diet sodas (yes, water was also an option but I had elected to enjoy a few diet sodas on this trip). Not wanting to sugar bomb myself with an apple or orange juice selection I decided to give tomato juice a try - and the guy sitting next to me and the two people across the aisle asked for tomato juice. Then somebody behind me asked for it! Good grief, I had no idea that tomato juice was so popular. Anywho, it clocked in at 12 or 13 g. carbs, 60 calories for the whole can, which isn't shabby for an alternative drink choice. Can anybody tell me why tomato juice is so popular on planes?
How do you make staying with relatives a little easier for you and/or your little ones? How do you work airline travel with TSA-friendly primal / paleo snacks?
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I was not asked to review any of the products in this post; I simply wrote my honest opinions here, which are my own.
I became enamored with barefoot running after reading Born to Run. Of course, I have not yet bought a pair of five fingers, but I plan on doing it at some point. (maybe when I start running seriously again) Anyway, I like this option ... not toe spots ... looks more like a sneaker.
ReplyDeleteI have these same shoes and I love them. They are very comfortable. I work out in them and wear them around to work, running errands etc.
ReplyDeleteAre the coupon codes you used still active? I have been eyeing them for a few months now but don't want to pay full price!
ReplyDeleteHow funny! I also traveled that same weekend for the first time away from my little one, I wore my Merrell Pace Gloves for the first time for the trip, and I planned Paleo-friendly snacks too! I usually carry dry salami, Larabars (coconut cream pie is my fave), and some sort of homemade trail mix with nuts. Thank goodness too, because my first flight was canceled resulting in a 5 hour delay (!). But otherwise I try to plan ahead and eat nice fatty, satisfying meals so I won't get desperate and be at the mercy of what's available. Hope you enjoyed your trip!
ReplyDelete@ Valerie, I got one of my discounts for using my credit card (it was a card-specific discount), and one discount was an (I think now expired) 25% off any athletic wear purchase at ShoeBuy.com. Shoebuy.com does coupon codes all the time, though, so if you sign up for their discount emails you could do pretty well! That's one of the things I love about Shoebuy.com; you can frequently "stack" discounts, whereas other shoe sites will only allow one discount at a time.
ReplyDeleteI also did the purchase by clicking through ebates, so there was some cash back involved, there, too!
How did you measure you feet for these? With regular tennis shoes a size 10 foot is a size 11. But not with vibrams. I've got to get a pair for the girls. Do not want to stick them in tennis shoes and the kids vibrams I haven't notice back on the market.
ReplyDeleteI took a gamble by guessing my size, but I was buying from a shoe site that offered free shipping and free returns, so it wasn't that big of a risk. You could consider doing the same, or also buying in-store.
ReplyDelete