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"It doesn't even feel like I am wearing a pack!"
Children
If you look around at small children, who often take their shoes off at every opportunity, you will realise that it is unnatural for our feet to be overly cushioned and insulated from the world. We complain of knee injuries and problems with our feet but with normal footware we are effectively strangling the astonishing network of muscles, ligaments and nerves designed to respond to our movement requirements.
Shoes
We spend most of our lives in shoes with our feet unable to flex and move naturally. Do you realise that there are 26 bones in our feet, one-quarter of the bones in the human body? The feet are highly engineered to do the job of walking and running without assistance.
Most shoes prop up the heel, some to extraordinary heights ! The higher the heel the more the toes are forced forward into the toe box. Since the toe box does not usually match the natural shape of the foot the toes cannot spread naturally. and are usually squashed together. Modern shoes cushion and numb your feet from the terrain in the name of protecting your feet. Actually they weaken them. You can see the effects of conventional footware on our feet when you visit the beach. How often do you see crossed, bent and deformed toes, bunions and other signs of abuse? It seems that the older you are the more damaged feet become.
Boots
Boots add pounds to your feet and support your ankles so that they become lazy and weak and more prone to sprain. Because of their weight, boots substantially increase the energy expenditure of walking : research by the US army shows that a pound on the foot is equilavent to 6.4 on the back. Boots greatly reduce your agility and your ability to move your feet freely and nimbly on undulating terrain and increasing the likelihood of a fall in difficult terrain.. You tread heavily and insensitively on the earth. You can see the erosional effect of boots on the earth when many people use the same route.
Barefoot Footwear
Imagine footwear that can improve your posture, help make your feet healthier, strengthen muscles in the feet and lower legs, increase their range of motion and increase the sensory reception so important to balance and agility. Imagine footwear that can make running safer and healthier by encouraging a forefoot strike and a more natural running form that creates less impact on the knees, hips and lower back. Imagine footware that makes you feel more connected to the earth and the terrain you are moving over. This is the new world of barefoot footwear. It is the answer to the plea from our feet to treat them with respect and admiration and to allow them to do the job they were designed to do properly. Barefoot footware is designed to allow our feet to operate naturally. Barefoot footware is shaped to match a healthy foot. It has zero lift in the heels, it has reduced cushioning and it is very light. It was pioneered by Vibram with their Five Fingers.
There are now 4 types of barefoot footware:
1. The five toes separated.
With all toes separate, there is the most articulation possible in the toes and the greatest feeling of freedom in the feet. Foot stability is superb. The 5 toes separated is best for warmer climates. eg. Vibram 5 fingers.
2. The Tabi: a traditional Japanese design where the big toe is separated from the other toes. Having your big toe separate from the others means that it can spread and be straight - in the line of take-off thrust as you step forward. The partition between the big toe and the other 4 prevents the forefoot moving sideways, giving better control and stability than a shoe.The other toes together can keep each other warmer in cool conditions. Surfers use the tabi style wetsuit footware for stability and warmth. Freet Footware pioneered the modern version of this style.
3. The barefoot shoe: all 5 toes together.
Most major brands have now developed shoes in this style.
4. The barefoot boot: all 5 toes together.
For cold and snow conditions this style is best for warmth.
If you order direct from the UK using the code "aarn", you will receive a 30% discount. Use this link: FREET
I am deeply in love with wild places.
My relationship with the outdoors started as a teenager when I fell head over heels for rock climbing, often literally. I am inspired by expedition climbers and the notion of exploring and creating a relationship with a place. I find this to be especially true when soaked to the skin and covered in mud, belting out some Taylor Swift two hours into a 12-hour day.
Tramping allows me to experience the wild places in our world and helps create a deep sense of belonging tied to those places. The feeling I get, walking along a ridge playing hide and seek with the Kea is unbeatable. There is so much mana in these spaces, it is such a privilege to get to be a part of them for a short while.
This season I'm striving to explore fear and challenge with curiosity while deepening my connection with the places I study on my topo map.
@hazeldoesstuff
Musicians from Australia, Mickey & Michelle’s hiking origin stories are polar opposites!
Michelle started hiking with her Dad when she was 23, methodically gaining skills and gear over four years with the goal of her first long-distance hike at 27, the 680km Australian Alps Walking Track. Mickey spontaneously said ‘yes!’ to fill in on a section of this hike. His first ‘overnighter’ was 230km – there were some seriously sore knees, but also a very happy, inspired Mickey.
Both now hooked on long-distance hiking, they set their sights on New Zealand’s 3000km Te Araroa Trail. To make the 6 months of hiking financially feasible, they formed a band, wrote an original music set, recorded a debut album, brought their instruments and embarked on a walking tour playing concerts along the trail. It was a truly life-changing experience.
And Aarn packs have been with them the whole way! Michelle needs to load her back well due to a diagnosis of Osteoporosis when she was 24. Aarn packs just made sense. The fact that they’re also comfy and easy to access gear from the front pockets is an added bonus for her!
Raquel Hernandez-Cruz and Sam Salwei, the dynamic duo behind YogaSlackers, are known for merging yoga, acrobatics, and slacklining with significant contributions to the outdoor industry. For over a decade, they've been pivotal in testing and refining outdoor equipment, drawing from their extensive adventure sports expertise and a nomadic lifestyle, showcased by their life in the "#SlackerVan.
Their nomadic journey, vividly captured in their film "Road to Wanderlust," exemplifies their commitment to a life of constant movement, embracing the freedom and challenges that come with travelling extensively. This way of life deeply influences their work and teachings.
Together, they lead multi-day adventures, merging physical challenges with the serenity of natural environments. Their story, transcending physical feats, embodies balance, trust, and a life rich in adventure. They inspire people of all ages to explore the endless possibilities of life, backed by gear that they've helped to develop and perfect through their own adventures.