There will be people reading this thinking, “Running? Dave? With sandals? Are you nuts?”.  No, I usually don’t where any shoes at all. You might need to read my last post as a filler.

To all the other barefoot and minimalist runners out there. Welcome! You know my joy and frustration.

Onto the review.

I bought these online here http://www.runbranca.com/ two months ago because.

1. They were new

2. They were cheaper than other huaraches type sandals available online.

3. I made a pair of my own huaraches from 4.5mm insertion rubber but they were heavy, stinky and left my feet black.

They arrived in this

They arrived about 3 weeks later (I’m in Australia) in a flat post pack.  I don’t have a photo of them before I cut the toes end but I’m a size 13 shoe so there wasn’t a lot to trim. You’ll notice how NOT-Handy I am with the scissors. Was going for the rough unshaven guy look in my cutting style. Not true again, I had crappy little scissors.

You notice on their site they give some instruction videos on cutting them when you get them. It’s good  to be generous at first with your size. You will be running in them so cut a little, wear them, go for a run and trim again to suit.

The back of the sandal is already styled and cut. Very nice and neat and not small considering the size of my foot. In fact, given the price, the craftsmanship on the sandals is quite good.  The video on their site outlines some of the sandals features and is worth watching if you are considering a pair. Which brings me to the materials.

THE MAIN STRAP LACING is standard nylon shoe lace material. Ties up well and feels alright.  I’ve not owned a pair of running sandals with leather straps so I can’t compare but these are fine.  The strap is protected under the sandal with an additional rubber patch. Clever but I wonder how replacing the strap lace will go considering its sealed underneath.

THE BACK STRAP is rubber and I must say, very comfortable. Nice, light and makes the sandal easy to get on and off without having to do the laces again. Clever.

THE SOLE is rubber. Just smooth underneath and I needed to scuff them on some rough rough to take the shine and slipperiness off them.  I’ll be honest with you though, you can smell the rubber. It smells like the insertion rubber I made my own huaraches from a while back.  The smell hasn’t gone either.  I do like the thickness of it. Just right so it’s a little flexible but doesn’t flap and curl under the toe line.

THE FOOTBED is, well… looks like a wide piece of gaffer tape that’s been stuck on and obviously is how they make the custom crazy colour models so cost effectively. It seems pretty well glued on and is trimmed well. Didn’t un-stick when I cut them with my crappy scissors.  The footbed is smooth and doesn’t take any moisture. Which sucks for me because I have sweaty feet and slip all over the place – which is probably the thing I dislike most about them.

THE COST:   At $30USD & delivered to Australia in three weeks. These are great value. Don’t know if I’d pay double or even $50 for them. The price seems fair to me considering the materials used.  Actually, it is really good value for Australians with the dollar the way it is now. I mean they get delivered to your door and you’d pay that for a decent pair of thongs (FLIP FLOPS – hey downunder we call ‘em thongs OK mate!?)

WEARING THEM:  I have worn them a bit. Honestly, because I love barefoot running on concrete I’ve only ran maybe 1-2KM in them but the slapping sound of the material, the lack of proprioceptive feedback on my skin and the sweaty, slippery surface puts me off and I carry them.  HOWEVER, casual wearing to shops or out and about is good. Again, the wet sweat underneath put me off if it’s warm (which it is in the state of Queensland) but they beat a pair of thongs or fully enclosed regular shoes for casual wearing.    I am still to wear them more and may be able to report the long term wear and tear in a year or so.

THE LOOK:  Hey, if you go minimalist sandal, you are asking for comments, looks and laughs so you can’t be too hungup about the looks. I will say though, the shoe lace tying method on top is both great (for practical reasons) but a little girly looking for my liking. But that’s just me. I’d like for them to tie a little differently and considered cutting and tying them but the lace stretches after a few wears like a normal nylon shoe lace does, rendering the cut and tie idea a little useless.  My wife may get a pair of crazy color ones for the summer and she won’t mind the look of a bow on her ankle.  I mean, leather strap huaraches look sort of Roman and eastern. These, on a guy, look a little too feminine in my opinion.

OVERALL:  I can’t really compare these to other minimalist shoes/sandals (feel free to send me some to review) but I think these are good value for money and will probably suit the female not-sweaty-feet-sole market really well.  They have a great range of colours and they are custom made to fit you well. The back strap and the lace system is great and quick and easy.  The smell (although not drastic) may go after a while but if you leave them in a hot car you will smell them when you get it.  At size 13 mine weigh about 370gram from memory. Not super light but no super heavy  either.

Although I’m yet to wear them more across summer and I’m not a fan of running in them (personal preference). As a whole, I like them and the team who made them have thought through the production and lacing system well.

FOR YOU?  I say, try a pair – it’s a $30 risk which, in the scheme of things isn’t a massive one for minimalist shoes/sandals.

Still, to my surprise, I met plenty of people who didn’t need internet at home. Or they couldn’t afford it. Working people. Men. Women. Married. Singles. No internet at home.

“But it’s so cheap!” I shouted after coming from 512K expensive speeds in Australia 2006.  ”Yes, but I don’t need it, I have my cell phone if I need.” was their reply.  Or “I use it at work if I need the speed and download.”

I was in IT at the time and needed the net at home for work and staying in touch with family overseas.  I needed wanted the Pay TV for the English channels.  I needed the net and liked Pay TV but the super high speed connection speed… it was just a bonus really.  Still, many seemed to be OK without it at all in the home. Saving their YEN for other things like clothing and food and using their mobile devices for net access.

I recently ditched my fixed line and ADSL at home. I bought a Samsung Galaxy tab with Telstra and use the Wifi HotSpot app to provide net usage to the home. $59 for 7GB per month and we take it everywhere. Saved ourselves over $600 per year and just cut back on a couple of browsing and downloading habits.  And now, I’m OK without the massive speed. So would about 80%-90% of the people I know…. and I’m talking 100′s.

Which leads to the question in the title. When the  Australian Government spends billions of dollars to roll out an Optic Fibre based network, will we use it or feel we need it?  I mean really NEED it?

Do I need Pay TV? Or am I happy with the large number of free to air digital channels available to me now? I mean there is satellite too right?

Do I need insane download speeds? Or can I wait a couple more minutes?

Do I need to see the doctor on webcam? Because last I looked, I could do that now if I wanted. Speeds are fast enough… and I don’t do it.

Will my children be part of a learning environment where it’s really needed? I mean what can’t they do now that’s of great value?

Do I need VOIP a phone system on a giant high speed system? Mobile phones remain our choice of voice communication in Australia and you’ll have a hard time convincing us to do otherwise. Besides, VOIP run fine through ADSL.

In my opinion

Should the network be upgraded? Yes, create a sustainable upgrade plan for the next 3 years, and revisit it after that to take into account trends and technology.

Should it be at a huge cost to the population as is currently planned? No, I think it’s overkill. While everyone is talking ‘Green’, ‘Sustainable’, ‘Simple’, ‘Cutting back’ and ‘Future proofing’, the Government is ripping up the pavement to lay a highly volatile form of cabling that may never be used by more than 20% of the population. The cost to the tax payer is incredible. For now, just lay fibre into those places that need it most; Hospitals, Business Hubs, Schools.

I’m just not convinced that across this vast land, optic fibre is the best solution. I would be spending the money on wireless technology and infrastructure. Employing the best minds in the world to develop packet streaming and compression systems that will increase speed and function to the masses and their mobile devices. Perhaps license and sell that technology off to other nations. Seriously, I mean even now, how many are reading this on a mobile device? Did you need fibre to to view it? How many of us spend hours per day on sites that are crippled by ADSL or Wireless internet speeds?

Open to comments and thoughts. BTW, if you’re over 21, still living with your parents, still  in your pajamas, you’re a massive movie thief and online gamer, you can get a life and keep your comments to yourself.

It looks quite amazing and should price at under $1000AUD

If you  can’t see the video click here

There is a heap more info on it here

(Guess it’s a good time to start building apps – all the iPhone apps will work on it too!)