Is it a dress shoe? Or a running shoe? Maybe both? Meet the Soft Star Dash RunAmoc – Barefoot running shoe


Real Run Ryan Review SoftStarShoe Dash Runamoc

 

Company – Soft Star Shoe
Product Review – Dash RunAmoc ($97.00)
Website – http://www.softstarshoes.com 
Follow them on Twitter – Facebook

Since starting my journey to a “barefoot running”, or shall I say a mid-foot, or what some would call a “natural” foot strike I’ve been looking for that special running shoe that would help promote my form. Searching high and low little did I know that I would find it in a running shoe that looks like a dress shoe – or a dress shoe that looks like a running shoe – confusing I know! I found Soft Star Shoe while searching the internet for a dress shoe with a zero heel-to-toe drop that would help stretch out my Achilles. As I was transitioning from traditional footwear to “barefoot running” and wanted a dress shoe that would give me a zero drop but also have some style to it. Interesting I didn’t find a lot of shoes out there. When I first saw Soft Star Shoe shoes on their website I was bit skeptical as the shoes looked to be somewhat flimsy – dressy – maybe – running – no way! I’m glad to say that I was wrong! Not only is the shoe dressy, but the performance is outstanding.

Who is Soft Star Shoe?

Soft Star Shoe is a small shoe company out of Corvallis, Oregon where they make custom minimal footwear. Their philosophy is to offer “footwear for healthy development of bones, muscles and balance. Everything they do, from design to customer service, provides our customers with high quality, functional and fun shoes. All of their products are handcrafted to order.” 

The Dash RunAmoc

One of the fist things I noticed when I put on the Dash RunAmoc was the toebox, the toebox is wide thereby allowing me feet to spread out when landing. The upper is made out of formaldehyde-free leather it is soft and breathable feels almost like calf leather, I found that there was almost no break-in period you see with most leathers. I got the 5MM tail sole which is made up of  a vibram rubber while then shoe also comes in a 2MM  street sole. I found that I could wear these shoes with or without socks, though I prefer not the wear socks. The one thing I did not like about them was the shoe laces, I feel that the shoe laces are a bit high for me and they give you a lot of lace when you only have four eyelids. I’d like to see them come down a bit farther on the laces. The other issue I had is I thought the leathers was to breathable, I know, hard for me to say too. But there was really not protection from the elements like rain, the leather is no breathable that shoe would get wet very quickly.

Performance

OK, great! The shoe is comfy, roomy, and dressy, but how to they perform? Interesting enough well, very well. Though they are not my go-to running shoes, I did in-fact get some runs in them. The low profile shoe allows for the foot to hit mid-foot and the response I thought was outstanding. I never did get them on the trail, even though I got the trail shoe, but they performed quite well on road. The spacious toe-box allowed my foot to displace on landing so my feet never felt cramped. As I mentioned the leather is super breathable and allowed for moisture to wick away from my skin and out of the shoe. Even though these shoes were great for running I still found myself wearing them more as a dress shoe than a running shoe. I think with some changes to the shoe it could make for a great running shoe, but for now I find I’m wearing them as a dress shoe.

Conclusion

Likes

  • Dressy, comfy, light weight
  • Wide toe-box
  • Breathable
  • Price

Dislikes

  • Not enough material
  • To much lace
  • Not enough eyelids

Overall

If you’re in the market for a nice dress shoe that you could run in than Soft Star Shoe Dash RunAmoc is for you. As mentioned with some minor tweaks to the shoe I see a great potential for this shoe in the running market.

Would is your dress shoe – comment below?

What are others saying?

 


About Ryan Light

I started to run after a very stressful time in my life. I suffered most of my life with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), panic, and anxiety. I tried everything from diets to conventional medicines – nothing worked. Running saved my life – literally, I was at the bottom with my OCD, panic, and anxiety, and on the verge of suicide. Running gave me a new found adventure, a goal, an escape so to say. It’s been seven years since I took my first run…Currently I have run over 40 Half Marathons, Three Full Marathons, and countless amounts of 5 & 10Ks” and loving every minute of it. I’ve made some outstanding friends, overcame challenges I thought I’d never could, and best of all found a passion in life! To learn more...https://realrunryan.com/about-running/

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.