Shamma Sandals Warrior – Review

Shamma Sandals have kindly supplied me with the Warrior Sandal, to provide an honest opinion. They have had no input in the review.

Why do I believe in the Barefoot Lifestyle? (Taken from my post – “Barefoot Running”)

When I say Barefoot Running I don’t literally mean going out with nothing on my feet.

The standard terms/definitions are below.

Unshod – not wearing any shoes or sandals, dirty foot time.

Barefoot – wearing shoes or sandals, which allow your feet to act naturally. Yet there is some protection against the terrain.

I am a big audiobook consumer, and one of the audiobooks I gobbled up was Christopher McDougall’s – “Born to Run”. Not only does the book tell a cool story about American ultra-runners taking on the best of the Mexican tribes. It goes into scientific details, on why barefoot running may be superior to wearing normal trainers. This was important to me. As running is a part of a long term health goal, I do not want it to be detrimental to my health.

I have read numerous articles outlining how our bodies evolved to be amazing endurance creatures. For example our ability to sweat through our skin, or the length of our Achilles. There are numerous aspects of our bodies that suggest we are built to be able to walk and run long distances. If you accept this hypothesis, then you also have to accept that our feet would have been an important aspect of the evolution. So basically our feet are the best running shoes we can have?

Who are Shamma Sandals?

They are a Minimalist Sandal company based in California, however they were happy to ship to me in the UK. They started out by making running sandals for themselves and friends, and it progressed from there. They only sell sandals, but now have a range of sandals that can fit into any lifestyle need. Whether that is running, walking, hiking, camping, leisure, adventure, anything really.

https://shammasandals.com/pages/about-us

What are the Warriors?

I went for the Warriors as I wanted a really thin sandal. I have a thicker sandal from another company for more robust trails. So I needed a sandal for road running, light trail running, and general walking about with my dog. They are described as being as close to being barefoot whilst providing adequate protection; this is exactly what I wanted.

https://shammasandals.com/products/warriors

Style

I love the look of these. The tan leather is a beautiful colour, and look really smart. The Shamma name stamp looks cool too. The soles are badass, and the tread looks awesome. They look so sharp I almost didn’t want to get them out of the box, and get them dirty. Although that feeling soon passed!!! When I first started thinking about getting into running sandals, I did have a bit of a fear I would look like some old Jesus wannabe. However these definitely have a bit of style about them.

Quality and Durability

The tread is made by Vibram which is a well-respected brand name, so they should perform well over a long period of time. The leather on top looks and feels great, so I have no initial concerns about how they will cope with the running and walking I will put them through. The straps look good too, and they seem to be securely fastened to the shoe. If the straps wear out quicker than the shoe, you can buy replacements on their website.

Fit and Comfort

Their online size guide is really simple to follow, and I ended up ordering a sandal that fit really well. The straps are stupidly easy to put on, and just as quick as putting on some trainers. That’s a big plus, as I have another brand of sandal and their straps are a little more fiddley.

Walking and running in these is a dream, they are so soft but you never feel unsafe. They just seem to merge into your foot. I can’t wait for my feet to indent into the leather a bit more, for maximum comfort.

Conclusion

They may be a little hardcore for people jumping into barefoot/minimalist running off the bat, as they are very thin. However if you handle the transition properly you would not have a problem running in them, and of course you could always just start out walking in them to begin with. I am about 9 months into my transition and these are just what I need now. Not only for running, but for my day to day life. I am trying to build a range of barefoot shoes that will cover all my day to day activities, from work, to walking to running. These sandals will be an important part of that.

Photo Credit: https://theinformalphotoco.com/

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