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Sockwa G2 Long Term ReviewBy Robert on Apr 19, 2012 | In Barefoot Shoes | 8 comments »

We featured a mini-review by a guest contributor back in March—James has been a big fan of his Sockwashoes and was kind enough to share his thoughts on why he enjoys the Sockwa so much. You can check outhis original review here.

Meanwhile, back in January Sockwa was kind enough to send me a pair of Sockwa G2 to test out and reviewfor BirthdayShoes and I have been spending the past few months testing them out. I think I am finally ready toshare my thoughts.

OverviewThe Sockwa line of shoes are a different take on minimalist footwear. They utilize a stretchy plastic sole insteadof the rubber soles most shoes have. The sole is very thin. This helps to provide one of the best ground feels ofany minimalist shoe I have tried to date. They also feature a stretchy upper that feels more like a sock than ashoe. Unfortunately, the Sockwa does come with some drawbacks.

Want to see how the Sockwa preforms as a minimalist shoe? Follow me after the jump for my full review andphotographs of the Sockwa G2!

SizingBack when I ordered Sockwa G2 to test out, I followed the sizing chart on their site and asked for a size 10.The shoes turned out to be too short. Customer service was great. They handled my issue quickly andprofessionally. I sent those back and exchanged them for a size 11. The size 11 fit me fine in terms of thelength. Unfortunately, I found them to be incredibly tight on my wide feet.

The Sockwa G2 fits closer to a sock than a shoe. The elastic, almost spandex like material of the upperstretches to conform to your foot's unique shape. This should be fine for people with narrow feet. I feel like mytoes are crammed into the toe box because of I have wider than average feet. I spent several days trying tostretch the fabric and the sole of the shoe in order to relieve the excess pressure on my pinky toe. I foundleaving the shoes in a shoe-stretcher for a few days helped some. I will get back to that in a moment.

Take a look around the Sockwa G2 with these photographs:

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Ground FeelThis is where the Sockwa G2 shines. The sole of the G2 is incredibly thin and flexible. There is less than 2mmof material between you and the ground. Each shoe weighs 2.4 - 3.5 oz. depending on the size. If you careabout ground feel, you can't get much better than these shoes. I was able to feel every pebble and crack in thepavement. I have been very impressed with the amount of ground feel the Sockwa G2 provides. I am hardpressed to come up with another minimalist shoe that provides more ground feel.

The sole also seems pretty puncture resistant. I tested the shoes by stepping on some sharp pointy rocks. Thesole did not get punctured and looked no worse for the wear. I was not exactly comfortable with that muchground feel during that one particular instance. My foot did seem to be protected, but I could see getting bruisesif you don't watch where you walk. I don't think I would like to trail run in these shoes. Over the four monthperiod I have been testing this shoe, the sole has held up very well.

I once saw a video of the Sockwa sole being stretched and pulled in all sorts of directions (You can watch thevideo on YouTube). I found I was not able to do this with my shoes. They secured the sole to the fabricfootbed. The fabric footbed apparently greatly reduces the amount of stretch that you actually get from the sole.

The FitThis is where things start to fall apart for me. My feet feel extremely cramped in these shoes. Even after I sizedup to a size 11 my toes were craving more room. I could feel my pinky toe being pushed under the 4th toe. Mypair of Sockwa is only four inches at the widest part. If you have wide feet, you might want to keep this in mind.

If you have a narrow or average size foot, then you should be okay with the width of these shoes. If you have awider foot, you might want to avoid the Sockwa G2. I let a few people who have similar size feet as me trythem on. They all agreed that they felt cramped in the toes.

I was able to stretch the shoes and relieve some of the issues I had with the width. I was not able to fix theissue completely though. I can only wear them for about 30 minutes before I feel the need to take them off andlet my feet flex/stretch.

The upper feels good on the foot. It breathes well and does a good job of regulating your temperature. There isa seam along the inside of the shoe that rubbed me the wrong way that runs along the entire inside of theshoe. I found it to be most irritating around the big toe and heel. I did not notice it so much around the otherparts of my foot.

I was able to fix the seam issue by wearing a pair of socks. Some people might object to having to wear sockswith a shoe like this and I do find it strange that for a product with sock in the name I feel compelled to wear

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socks with them for comfort. I hope in future models they can reduce the number of seams in the shoe.

General UsesEven though the Sockwa G2 is not wide enough for me, I still expect to use these shoes from time to time. Iconsider them to be a great emergency shoe. They are so minimal you can roll them up like a pair of socks andbring them anywhere you go.

I brought them with me on a recent trip to San Francisco. They fit easily into my luggage and I will make sureto bring my pair along when I go traveling. The Sockwa G2 provides an excellent buffer between your feet anda dirty hotel room. They also make a great shoe that you can wear as you are going through airport security.

I also think they would be a great beach/aquatic shoe. I did not do any extensive water testing but they fit wellenough that I would not worry about them slipping off when submerged in water. The grip is also good in wetconditions—I never found myself slipping and sliding on the driveway when it was wet outside.

I use these shoes most often when I want to take a quick trip outside. They slip on quickly, so I can put themon and be out the door in seconds. When I need to walk to my mail box these are the shoes I reach for. If I didnot have such wide feet. I think I would enjoy wearing them for much longer periods of time.

ConclusionI really want to like the Sockwa G2. I just can't get over how narrow they feel on my feet. I would recommendthe Sockwa G2 if width is not an issue for you—James clearly loves his. On the other hand, I would pass onthe Sockwa G2 if you tend to buy wide shoes and crave lots of toe space.

The sizing can also be a little weird—they don't seem to go above a size 11 in the G2 (Other models like theG3 have larger sizes). You can go to their website to see their full size chart. Finally, Sockwas are pricedreasonably—they range from $35-50 depending on the size and style.

If the Sockwa G2 was about half to 3/4th of an inch wider. I would not have any real issues with these shoes. Ithink the ground feel is excellent, they are incredibly light and flexible, and you can roll them up and fit them inyour pocket. That puts them on the ultra-minimalist side of the minimalist/"barefoot" shoes spectrum. They'veheld up well over the four months I have been testing them, too.

Sockwa has designed a really good minimalist shoe for narrow feet. One last gripe: the Sockwa branding isvery noticeable on the side of the shoe. It makes me feel like a walking billboard. All said, I hope future modelscome out in wide widths, less noticeable branding, and fewer seams.

Pros:

Very LightExtremely FlexibleZero DropAmazing Ground FeelNo arch support

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Cons:

Too Narrow For Wide Feet.A Few Uncomfortable Seams.Excessive Branding

Do you own a pair of Sockwa? What do you think about them? Sound off in the comments below. We lovehearing from our readers!

About the Author — Robert Barr resides in Woodinville Washington. He is an avidFiveFingers enthusiast who enjoys writing about his experiences in minimalist footwear. Aftergraduating from the University of Washington with a BFA in Photography he startedWashington Home Tours LLC a local real estate photography company. He also enjoysbeing a Scentsy consultant. At the moment his favorite pair of FiveFingers are his Bormioboots. Get to know Robert better via his interview here.

Robert+ has written 19 articles and 78 comments.

Tags: review, sockwa

related posts you might like ...Sockwas - a Minimalist Shoe Mini-ReviewVibram FiveFingers KSO Trek Unboxed [First Look!]Vibram Five Fingers Smackdown, Classics vs. Bikilas [Review]

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8 commentsComment from: Anon [Visitor]

Spot on about the excessive branding. It kills a seemingly great product.

04/19/12 @ 10:49

Comment from: PB Junkie [Visitor]I agree that they are quite narrow. I have a pair and really like them, but the width in the toe boxkeeps me from wearing them very often. If you don't have wide feet though, they're great, verycomfortable and amazing ground feel.

04/19/12 @ 11:10

Comment from: Mr. Leigh [Visitor]I think the price point is a good start for those looking to get into minimalist footwear. I wouldrather see someone buy these than the Skeletoes, which are not at all minimalist. I do tend toagree that the branding is a bit much. Less is more in my opinion.

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04/19/12 @ 11:43

Comment from: James [Visitor]Yeah, good review. While my Review was different in terms of the satisfaction level, I agree withyou on all points. I tested in the black ones, which use a very dark color for the giant"SOCKWA" on the side so it blended in more but I do wish they would take that away. andalthough the narrowness of the toebox isn't that much of an issue for me (iv'e used them for 970miles!) I for some reason have started having issues with my right pinky toe getting blistered,and I think the Sockwa is to blame because of the tight toebox. greate idea, great value/duability,

but there are flaws. it's a good thing the company is very open to feedback though, we will see some of theproblems fixed. (In case your listening, Dave, in addition to a wider toebox, an antimicrobal footbed like oneused in the Merrell gloves would be nice!!! mine sell like death!!) :)04/19/12 @ 17:57

Comment from: Javier Cortez [Visitor]I'm assuming the Moc3 is pretty similar in ground feel?

I've always wondered how these would work out.

thanks for the review!

04/19/12 @ 22:46

Comment from: Sytera [Visitor]I can't believe I am just now seeing these!! I've been wearing Classics exclusively for 2.5 yearsnow. I tried Bikilas and looked at other "barefoot" shoes but they are all so blasted thickcompared to my beloved Classics. Now that I see these I think I will have to beg the husband tobuy me a pair!!! Thanks for the great review!!

04/21/12 @ 00:18

Comment from: Chris [Visitor]My Sockwa G3s just arrived in the mail yesterday and I'm loving them so far. I have prettynarrow feet (3.5" x 10.5") and I'm wearing a size 11 G3. They feel somewhat loose andnonrestrictive which is a significant change from my Sprints. The lack of weight threw me off atfirst but I'm getting used to it after a couple trial runs. The logo doesn't bother me but it mightactually be harder to see on the G3 colors? Dave, why is there no grey color for the G3? I likethe red but grey would've been ideal.

04/24/12 @ 12:02

Comment from: Scary [Visitor]I picked up a pair of black G2's and I do have slightly wide feet, well foot. My reason for gettingthem is because my right leg is a prosthetic and I can't really go full barefoot or I destroy thefoot shell. These provide a great cover and protection for them, but on my good foot they dotend to cut into the top of my ankle a bit. I've been told the G3 handles that issue and is not asbinding around the ankle. I also bought a pair of grey playa hi-tops and those feel incrediblewhen walking around "Barefoot" (Or as close to it as I can get).

04/24/12 @ 12:37

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