Zoot Shoes Part 3 - Drainage

In part 3 of this review, we'll review the drainage feature of the new Zoot shoes.

Most everyone has run in shoes in wet conditions, and dealt with the feeling of bricks for feet from water weight. Certainly, the longer you have to run in these conditions, the worse it is. Some people have high enough sweat rates to deal with this issue even when the weather isn't wet! (Put me on that list, especially on long runs, made even worse in hotter conditions.)

Studies have shown the average shoe can retain more than 30% of its weight when wet! Take a racing shoe which is 9 ounces, and in wet conditions it becomes 12 ounces. This equates to every 5 steps lifting an additional pound of weight. If you are wearing cotton socks, you’re talking about a nearly 50% gain in weight due to water retention, and it’s down to 3 steps for an additional pound. Multiply this by the number of steps you have to take in a half or full Ironman, and you’re suddenly considering chopping off your feet.

Of course this may sound helpful in a rainy triathlon, but it's not very often we find ourselves in one of those. But let's just consider full and half-Ironman races. Even if it's not raining from the sky, if it's hot or hydration is a big need, you will be pouring water all over yourself. Where does all that water go if not into your mouth? That's right, it drains to your feet. If it's raining, hot or even perfect temps, your feet will get wet from water and sweat, and that means you will be dealing with heavier feet for anywhere from 5-20 miles, maybe longer!

And how many people can stand to wear a light weight racing flat in an Ironman or half-Ironman? Not many, so your shoes are probably heavier than the 9 oz example given above.

Think about XTERRA races, and how many of them end up going thru mud, or running along the beach at Maui.

Or consider an Olympic distance race in hot conditions. Even though these races are shorter, the intensity demands are much higher, and if your feet get wet, you slow down, without fail. In fact, in a recent Men’s Health online article, they state Zoot claims the shoes will make a 40 sec improvement in a 10K due to sweat and water drainage alone. (The author could not find this stated anywhere else, nor find what speed of runner could expect this size gain.)

Alright, water in the shoes sucks, we've established that. Are the Zoot shoes waterproof or something? No, not exactly. The Zoot shoes have established a smart drainage system though.

First off, the upper is a mesh, which doesn’t absorb water. It’s thin and breathable, allowing for water to pass thru it quickly and easily, as well as have sweat able to evaporate from the foot easier.

See the mesh-like upper?

The insert of the shoe has many small holes to create a vent-like passage for the water.

The inserts of the shoe aid in the drainage process.

The shoe also has a downward tilt of the sole, letting gravity pull the water toward the toe box, where it drains out thru the series of holes in the forefoot.

Notice the tilt of the shoe? This produces a gravity flow of water toward the forefoot.

Holes in the forefoot provide simple exits for the water.

Ok, so now we see what the shoe is designed to do, but how does it do in the field? Well, I never noticed weight as an issue with the shoe, and that is the point. Even at Kona, when I wore a thin ActiveFit sock from Zoot, the shoe drained plenty fine in the hot conditions, and orthotics didn’t slow the drainage process.

I am a profuse sweater, and during all my training runs, I never felt sluggish in my feet, like I’ve felt in the past with my trainers. Nor do I have the squishy, squeaking noise from the water and sweat in my shoes.

So are there any negatives? Well, if you wear the shoes regularly, you'll notice the holes in the forefoot are not one-way. By this, I mean water can go in the holes just as easy as it can go out. In a race though, it won't matter, and water exits easily still.

Zoot has done well with the drainage system, and the further your race distance, the more important this feature becomes.

The new Zoot shoes - Part 2

In part 2 of this assessment of the new Zoot shoes, I am going to discuss feature #1, "Sockless Wear," and see how successful Zoot is with this feature.

The idea of sockless wear is nothing new, and is practiced by many already, but many a triathlete has experienced the negative consequences of such a choice in a race or training. Bloody, mangled feet, limping down the home stretch, a DNF or even possibly pain for weeks depending on the severity, are just some of the issues one might face if running without socks in a race.

What makes sockless wear so important? Well, speed of course! It's certainly faster to eliminate the process of putting on socks during a transition. How much faster depends on the overall dexterity of the athlete, but a fair estimation would be 20 to 30 seconds.

So how much value does 20 to 30 seconds have? This again returns to the basic premise of being relative to the dexterity and ability, but also in this case the length of the race. Obviously, if you're an athlete competing for a podium spot at the USAT Nationals, then 20 to 30 seconds can mean the difference between top of the podium and not even being on it.

This doesn't even take into consideration what a blister can do to your time, or better yet, what a lack of blisters can mean for your overall time! Certainly limping in the final mile of a 10K will be slower than turning on the jets and really getting after it, pain free.

Certainly, the more competitive you are, the more important this feature is to you. If you've ever lost a race by a few seconds, or missed a Kona slot by the same, you certainly would appreciate anything which could help give you back those precious few seconds. There are also plenty of people who just don't like to wear socks in a race, whether they need the seconds or not.

Ok, so now you've determined what the value of this "sockless wear" feature means to you, now what the heck does it mean? What makes this shoe so special that you don't need socks?

The first thing Zoot did with their new shoes is make the entire upper fit like a sock, with some elasticity and smoothness. (The upper is the part of the shoe which encases the foot, above the sole.) This upper is a single piece, unlike traditional shoes which have a tongue, and quarter panels on the sides. This single piece not only helps with the snug-fit, it offers a great side benefit of no seams. (Interior of shoe shown below.)


Normally, when we get blisters from running without socks, it comes from high friction points between our feet and the shoes. This lack of seams virtually eliminates high friction points within the shoes, as there is no single place rubbing more than any other.

Zoot added a very cool secondary support item for this feature, what they call a "friction-free coating" was added to the interior of the shoes. This is actually a small layer on the interior of the upper, which acts as a constant lubricant within the shoe. This further reduces the impact of rubbing within the shoe.

So that sounds great in theory and all, but does it really do what it claims?

When I got these shoes and heard about the features, I was excited. Then honestly, I was very skeptical of it. As a competitive triathlete, I certainly valued this feature, and have faced many of the negative consequences of sockless wear in regular shoes. I always just accepted it as something which was a necessary evil of the sport. I also have some mutations, (you could say), on my feet, which makes even a good shoe have some increased friction points which may not even happen for most people. (I will spare you the details and photos of my mutated feet!)

The first thing I did was walk around in the shoes without socks. The shoes claimed to have great breathe-ability, with the sock-like upper, and I thought maybe my shoes wouldn't smell if I didn't wear socks. I was wrong on that aspect, the shoes still smelled bad after walking around in them without socks all day. In fairness, I am a heavy, profuse sweater, and my feet are no exception. If you are not a heavy sweater, you may have different results.

However, I had no blisters. First test for blisters, and the shoes passed.

If you read Part 1, you know I mentioned the shoes run about a half-size large for me, but I wear orthotics. I decided for a more accurate test though, I would run in the shoes without my orthotics. I did this also because I did not want the orthotics to create any seams and therefore cause a blister themselves, as this would be unfair to the shoe.

The fact that the shoes were already running a half-size big would be compounded by sockless wear though, as the size of my foot would therefore be reduced without a sock.

My first runs were my typical bay loop here in San Diego, approximately 10K, about 40 mins each time. No blisters, each time. Impressive so far. It seems clear so far that if I were to use the shoes in an Olympic distance race or shorter, I would be fine without socks. The next test would be to see how things went over the longer runs.

The first long run I did was 90 mins, and no issues with any blisters, but I did begin to get a hot spot on the inside of the left Achilles, just above the heel. I believe these spots came from the fact I am a severe pronator, being a big guy, who was running without his normal orthotics, and in shoes which were about a half-size big. It seemed pretty clear that extra space within the shoe allowed for extra rubbing, along with my running style. This certainly made clear the importance of fit for a pair of shoes, much like many claim for bikes.

The other long run I did was about 1 hour and 45 mins, and included a 4 mile road race on flat roads, in the middle of the run. This run had about the same results of the previous run, with a water-filled blister in the same spot on the inside of my left foot. Later this blister popped, and became a sore spot on my foot.

I also used the shoes with runs following these, with socks and with my orthotics, and no issues. At Kona, I made the decision to run with socks and orthotics, and had no issues with my feet on the run. Afterwards, in the evening, I noticed a small spot on the lower, medial part of my heel, where it had a water-filled blister, but it was small and no pain. (It probably didn't help that I ran over 4 hours for the marathon, but the fact it didn't hurt was impressive.)

Ok, so based on these experiences, what would I suggest? Here are my thoughts:

1. If you're doing a short course race, sprint to Olympic, possibly XTERRA, you should be able to run without socks, and without issue.
2. If you're doing a half-Ironman, you should consider how long you will be on the run course. If you're looking at more than 2 hours, you may need socks still, but this can be tested in your training. If you running close to 90 mins, and you don't have mutated feet, (like I do), you should be just fine without socks.
3. If you're doing an Ironman, the need for an extra 20-30 seconds is greatly diminished, yet the need for avoiding a blister is heightened, so I would suggest wearing socks for this distance.

You can also get a better sense of if you need socks by training in the shoes for your long runs.

All in all, I would give the shoes a B+ in their ability to provide a shoe with "sockless wear", but I reserve the right to change this grade to an A- if I am able to run in shoes which fit me better.

Coach Vance

The new Zoot shoes - Part 1

Disclaimer: The author is a sponsored athlete of Zoot Sports, and the shoes given to the author are NOT the completed, production models.

As an athlete who demands the best in products and performance, I was excited to hear that Zoot was attempting to the raise the bar in shoe performance, with the first triathlon-specific footwear line. The features of the shoe are definitely advances in the right direction of trying to meet the specific needs of triathletes.

Zoot has determined and focus on 4 big needs they claim triathletes have, and their shoes address:

1. Sockless wear for quicker transitions
2. Improved drainage of water from the shoes to reduce weight
   
3. Speed of entry for quicker transitions
   
4. Biomechanical differences of running off the bike versus running fresh are attempted to be addressed.

This is the first part, in a multi-part assessment of the new Zoot shoes, and how well their new shoes do in accomplishing the goal of the meeting the above 4 needs they claim to address.

I received my shoes a few months ago, and got some really funky designs, but nonetheless functional, and cool. I was given 2 pairs of size 11.5, with an all-white upper, and burnt orange tongue, (think Texas Longhorns). On one pair I decided to experiment a little, and actually traced the Zoot graphic on the outside of the shoe with a black Sharpee marker. (Notice in the photo.)

A few weeks later I received a more official pair, with the logos more clear, and more production-like.

My initial observations:

1. The shoes run about a half-size big. I ordered 11.5's, but it was clear they were a little too big for me. I wear orthotics though, so this may end up being about right.

2. The shoes are fairly comfortable, just walking around. I found no issues of discomfort.

3. The shoes look pretty good, not awkward on my feet.

4. The new lack system is clearly visible with it's differences, and for walking around, almost not even needed, as the shoe itself fits like a sock.


Those are the initial observations, and I have much more to discuss in the coming blog posts, as I will break down each of the 4 aspects of the shoes.

Stay tuned for more...

Vance

Welcome to Tri Tech Review!

Welcome to my other blog, which is devoted to the review of products and technology I am exposed to, as an elite triathlete. The products are not limited to anything specific, only that they might be used in training, racing or some other capacity for the sport.

I hope to use this blog to bring lots of cool reviews, thoughts, and opinions on new products you may be considering purchasing, or even just wonder about. This blog will be updated based on opportunities, but I am pretty sure a weekly or bi-weekly contribution is likely.

Stick around, because this should be very cool!

Thanks for tuning in!

Vance