Friday, November 20, 2009

Cold Weather Running, Feelmax Kuuvas & Steger Mukluks

I ran two loops around Meadowbrook golf course last night which brings my barefoot/primal running up to 4 miles.  I ran 3 of it in my VFF KSO's and 1 in barefeet.  It is definitely easier to find the right form in barefeet, but at 45F, my feet were going numb after about 5 minutes.  This was fine on the grass, but as soon as I hit some gravel/asphalt, I could tell that I couldn't feel the bottom of my feet well enough to react to what I was stepping on.  Oh well, I will have to wait until next spring to truly run barefoot.

I would like to get a pair of Feelmax Kuuvas to run in this winter, but they are pretty pricey...  I'll have to see if I can sell some more stuff around the house to get enough money to buy these.  They have received some good reviews so far even though they were just released.

http://www.feelmax.com/index.php?lang=en
http://www.adventureinprogress.com/impressions-kuuva
http://www.adventureinprogress.com/midterm-kuuva
http://toegirltina.blogspot.com/2009/10/feelmax-kuuvas-arrived-in-time-for.html

I just don't think my toes are going to stay warm enough in my Vibram FiveFinger KSO's.  But I will run in them as long as I can.


I also bought a new pair of Steger Mukluks that I am going to try to go running in as well.  They are big and bulky, so I don't know how reasonable it is to do this, but it is worth a try.  I used to have the Yukon model, but I found that in any sort of exercise, I would sweat under the portion that had the canvas, but where it was leather, I wouldn't.  To me that was a simple formula of the canvas not breathing as well as the leather.  The Ojibwa Short model that just arrived in the mail is the full leather version which I am hoping will breath better. As soon as it gets cold enough here and we get a little snow on the ground, I will test them out and provide a full report.

5 comments:

Wriggle said...

Jeremy,

Great blog! I'd like to hear what you think of the full leather mukluks vs. your previous pair of canvas and leather. I'm thinking about getting a pair and the steger site has very little in the way of comparison. Hope you're enjoying the snow!

-Rigel Bloome
Hudson, WI

treklightly said...

Rigel,

I've had the full leather version for a year now and can definitely say they breathe better than the canvas version. But, at warmer temperatures the leather tends to absorb a little more water than the canvas. I probably need to treat mine again and that would help lower the absorption rate. Those are probably the only real difference in terms of performance. For me the additional cost was worth it because I tend to use them in higher level activities and really appreciate the extra breathability.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Jeremy

Unknown said...

Sorry to bother you about these again, but I am looking now too.

What did you think of the Stegers for running? I would likely be using them for snowshoeing, and maybe some late season hunting as well as daily wear while it's cold and snowy.

Also, what did you think of them in terms of minimalism? I realize that the soles are thick, which is good when it's cold.

I just wore my Vivo Kariba's hunting a few weeks ago. When I was moving (at around 25-30F) I was alright, but if I was still I could literally feel the cold seeping up from the ground.

Are the Mukluk soles adequate that my knees will again stop hurting?

Thank you, Jesse

treklightly said...

Jesse,

Sorry to reply so late on this... In general the Mukluks are too big and bulky for me for running. I generally run in Feelmax Osmas or my New Balance MT101's depending on conditions. If I don't need the traction, I stick with the Osmas. I can run down to probably -10F with either of these. Takes a bit for my feet to warm up, but they eventually do... YMMV. I usually do some exercises in the house before I step up to give my body a headstart in getting the bloodflow going.

The sole of the Mukluk is relatively thin, flat/neutral as well as flexible and offers no arch support or rigidity of any kind. It's the wool liners that give you the thickness. They work great for snowshoeing, hunting, and around town. I wear them all the time during the winter if I am going to be outside for any length of time in the snow and/or cold.

I did not have good luck wearing my Kahtoola Microspikes with them as the the boot is too flexible to keep them from rubbing on the back of my heels. I find that I can only wear the Microspikes with a stiff soled shoe like my MT101's.

Please clarify your question in regards to your knees... I'm not understanding. Feel free to send me an email direct. jeremygus (at) gmail.com

Thanks for reading!

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