I recently bought a pair of the new Nike Free 5.0 to replace my old worn out ones. The new model have a more restricted toe box which flies in the face of my desire to get more natural with my footstrike. Not to mention it is uncomfortable as hell.
Does anyone know of a minimalist running shoe out there with a wider toe box?
Thanks in advance.
Mizuno Wave Universe 3. Mammoth sized toebox and quite minimal. I love 'em. Do work and get these shoes.
the latest version of the free 5.0, version 4, runs significantly smaller than previous versions, especially if you have a wider forefoot. i have worn the free since its inception in 2004. in the original and later versions, i had worn size 10.5 and 11 and now wear an 11.5 in both the 5.0 and 3.0. in size 11 of version 4 i found the same constricted forefoot issues that you described. going up a half size rectified the problem. don't worry about the size numbers relative to your normal street shoe and running shoe size, as they are merely numbers. i wear a size 10-10.5 street shoe, a size 10.5-11 running shoe, and a size 11.5 free 3.0 and 5.0 and they all fit the same. hope this helps.
Without question, the Mizuno Wave Universe 3.
The latest version, 3 I think, of the Asics Piranha
has a fairly wide toe box.
x3 on the Mizuno Wave Universe 3s. Thats one of the things I really like about them.
Asics Hyperspeed 3
One thing I've done with shoes that aren't quite wide enough in the toe box is to make a cut to allow them to widen a bit.
I'll usually make about a 1-1.5cm longitudinal cut near the base of the tongue of the shoe right where my foot is widest. Many shoes have piece of leather (well, usually imitation leather) running across here. This little cut allows the upper to expand enough that it doesn't bother me anymore.
I've had many shoes go from unwearable to very comfortable with this little alteration. I've also never had any of these cuts run or expand. I have never had problems with that new small opening in the shoe, but if you'd be doing a lot of running in sand or something like that, then maybe you'd want to sew a patch over it, or use duct tape and staples or something.
I've also cut off the tops of heel counters that went up too high and irritated my achilles tendon, and made other small and easy alterations to my running shoes. I've had several people tell me how stupid that is, and that they'd just never buy a shoe that doesn't fit, or that they'd be worried about compromising the integrity of the shoe or whatnot.
My opinion is that if I can make a pair of shoes work better for me, then why the heck not do it eh? No shoe company is producing shoes off a mold of my foot, so why shoes I expect something to fit me perfectly off the shelf.
bump
The Mizuno Universe seems too stiff to me. The forefoot is flexible but the plastic in the shoe makes it hard to completely "flex". Try the Brooks T6. Wide forefoot (I always split my Nikes because they are too narrow), no plastic stuff to mess with flexibility and pretty lightweight as well.
see the thing is I usually wear wide stablity trainers like the New Balance 767, I'm not sure the Brooks t6 would accomodate width in the middle of my foot.
http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/7480915/c/174782.html
http://www.brooksrunning.com/product/1000111D/123199/Racer%20ST%204
I'm looking for a lightweight shoe( <10ounces) that I can train in every day.
Asics Hyperspeed series. I have 2, 3, and 4 versions, and all have a wide toebox.
Don't know how much the Asics Speedstar technically weighs, but I remember the 2 had a pretty wide toebox and it's under 10 oz. Not really a minimalist design, but lightweight.
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