GoLite Tara Lite Trail Running Shoes (For Men)

Well, it's my fault for not reading. I was attracted to the orange color. These are THONGS! The opening at ankle does not have an adjustment, and it doesn't stretch all that much. Going back...

Fairly lightweight slip on trail runner with good tread for off road running. BUT, be aware that this shoe uses a thong between your big toe and the next just like flip flops or the Tarahumara Indian sandals. If you have not heard of the Tarahumara or this running approach, pick up the book, "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall. I would strongly suggest you try on a pair and run a bit in them to make sure they're for you. Also, a great pack item for emergencies when heavier hiking gear breaks down.

I bought these looking for something that tended toward the "barefoot" end of the spectrum, but that did not give me "gorilla feet." The presence of the thong running through the shoe was the wildcard -- I had no idea how I would react to that. I only wear flip flops once in a while and find them hard to move quickly in. Once I had these shoes on my fears disappeared. The thong is actually a brilliant way of adding stability to the shoe without adding bulk and mechanical restriction. Now my foot is more responsible for its own stability, which gives me a greater feeling of control and a feeling of "connectedness" with the shoe. This shoe does fit a little large -- I had to order a half size down -- and there is not much adjustment in the velcro straps. (I find the heel to be a little too large for my narrow heel). Also, the thong requires you to either be barefoot or to wear tabi or toe socks. (GoLite kindly provides one pair of tabi socks). If I were to wear these barefoot i might go a full size down from my regular running shoe size, YMMV. Overall I love this shoe and will probably order it in black if I can find it somewhere. I get lots of comments on it, and they are comfortable to wear all day long. I haven't done any real distances run-wise, but I can tell they they will help me in transitioning to a mid-foot strike without forcing it. Already I feel muscles in my feet being worked that had been getting off easy.

Really awful shoes. 1. The split toe thing: unless you are a flip flop junkie you are going to hate the split toe part. 2. Split toe shoes requires split toe socks (prepare for 10-15 bucks a pair) 3. Shoes actually came with socks !!! nice surprise in the box but shoe size 8.5 socks were size 5 (useless) The tie on the back (heel )is useless too as it doesn't make the heel part tighter. (as it should ) there is no difference between open tie (velcro) or closed (pulled to max). The main tie goes through the split toe. So to make shoes fit tight you need to put extra stress right between your toes. So the only way not to have pressure between toes (split part) is no have them loose. very uncomfortable to run in loose shoes. Now running in them was out of question. So wore them to the gym (3- hour martial arts class) My feet never sweat like that before. I felt that shoes were full of water. It;s amazing that breathability of these is close to zero. It's like wearing rubber shoes. After 2 weeks I still could not get used to them and stopped wearing them completely. Bottom line: Good idea, Great Design, but very poor engineering. Why 2 stars not 1? if you love thongs and have wide feet and wide heels, and would not have pressure between toes when tied, and do not mind sweaty feet. And already own bunch of split toe socks.... You'll be OK with them

The toe divider inside requires that you wear their split toe socks. This was easy to get used to but ya gotta buy more socks if ya wanna wear them a lot!