G2 is the new and improved Amphibian, with larger toe box, and more minimal design. The 1.2 mm thick TPU Sole is sensitive to subtleties in temperature and texture changes on concrete, wood, grass, sand, sea-shells, gravel, etc. Review courtesy of Chris Van Dyke from http://www.maplegrovebarefootguy.com.

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011
Sockwa G2 Review: A Guest Review by Chris
Van Dyke
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Happy Monday folks! A little background on this post. A couple of months ago I
attempted to review the G2 shoe by Sockwa. Sockwa is a water shoe company
that has been on the outskirts of the minimalist running scene for a while. Their
Amphibian water shoe was popular among barefooters back when there weren't a Already a member?
lot of minimalist choices on the market. They hadn't been a real contender
compared to the big brands though because the toe box of their shoes was horribly
POPULAR POSTS
small.
New Balance
However, recently they've been trying to cater to the minimalist crowd by creating Minimus Trail
options with more features us barefooters would enjoy. Their first effort in that MT20 Review
regard is the G2.
Crossfit: The Good,
The Bad, and the
And I'd love to review the shoe for you. But they don't make it in a size big Ugly, Part II
enough for my foot. So to help me out I enlisted the help of my buddy Chris Van
Dyke. Chris has contributed to this blog before, and has his own barefoot running Huarache Round-
up (A Comparative
blog over at When I Talk About Running. He did a good job on this review. I hope
Guide to
you enjoy! Huaraches)
The 100-Up

2. What's in a Name, By: Chris Van Dyke The 100-Up
Challenge? How
about the 100-
The best and worst thing about the Sockwa may very well be its name. Squat Challenge?
ARTISTIC The journey to
AWESOMENSS Sockwa is a great name, because it describes the product perfectly – its pretty
injury-free running
PROVIDED BY: much a neoprene sock with just a hint of rubber on the sole for protection.
starts with your
ass, not your feet.
Sockwa is a terrible name, because, well, its “sockwa.” It sounds like it should be
sold on a late-night infomercial, preceded by the phrase, “From the people who New Balance
MT110 Review
brought you the Snuggie comes the next innovation in footwear!”
New Balance
As a company, you want your customers to tell everyone they know how great your Minimus Trail
product is. “I love my Vibram Five Fingers!” “Have you tried the new Merrell Trail Review
Glove?” But there’s now way I’m responding to anyone’s inquiries about what I’m
VIVOBAREFOOT
wearing with a proud, “It’s a Sockwa!” I’m more like Ash in Army of Darkness, Neo Trail Review
attempting to trick the Necromonicron by mumbling his way through an incantation
he was to arrogant to memorize. “Klaatu, Barada, mumble-Sockwa-mumble.” I The Warrior Diet
suppose it’s too late to change it now, since they’ve got a web-site and a
Strongman for
trademark and all that, but really – Sockwa?
Runners? Part 1:
Why I will be
Okay, enough snarky comments about the name. After all, this shoe is aimed at developing freaky
ADVERTISE HERE!
barefoot runners, an audience which obviously doesn’t give a crap about what the gorilla strength this
Own a company that winter
rest of the world thinks about them or else they’d put on some damn shoes
promotes and active
already. Let’s get to some real reviewing.
and healthy lifestyle?
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Basically the Sockwa G2 is a glorified water-shoe. Is the name implies, its just a
rugged sock, a neoprene bootie with a thin rubber-sole. It’s about as minimal as
you can get, so Sockwa is clearly aiming at a hard-core barefoot audience. If you
are looking for a minimal shoe, this isn’t it; if you really want to be barefoot but feel
the need for some protection, this shoe was made with you in mind. So let’s talk
about the things that hard-core barefoot freaks like you care about.
Can I roll it into a ball? Bloggers claim this is about testing flexibility, but let’s admit
it: rolling a shoe into a ball is just fun. The Sockwa rolls into a nice little cinnamon
roll, so its as flexible as anything I’ve seen. So yeah, you can roll it into a ball.

3. Does it hurt when I run over gravel? This is all about procirpir-waddaya-callit, or
ground-feel or something. And the answer is yes: you feel EVERYTHING. You
know that cocktail snob friend of yours, the one who says the only real martini is
bone-dry, and he merely swirls the vermouth around in the glass and dumps it out
so there’s the barest hint of sweetness behind the gin? That’s what the makers of
the Sockwa did with this shoe, only the neoprene is the glass and the rubber sole
is the vermouth. Or something like that. The sole on this sucker is 1.2 millimeters
thick, meaning it’s the thinnest sole on anything I own, nearly a quarter as thick as
my Invisible Shoes and almost half as thick as the Softstar Moc3. You can feel the
temperature of the ground, the change from asphalt to concrete, and yes, when
you run over gravel or sharp stones, it hurts like hell. Which, as a barefoot freak,
you think is a good thing.
Can I wiggle my toes? This shoes doesn’t exactly have a last per se, but it isn’t
exactly foot shaped either. It’s a bit narrow, shaped more like an traditional shoe
that I would like, as it was rather tight around my toes. The good news is since it’s
a neoprene sock, even my extra-wide, EEE feet squeezed in without it being
actually uncomfortable. I would have preferred it a bit looser, since I’m a big fan of
toe-splay and I’ve been spoiled by my extra-wide Softstar Dash, but after I’d been
running for a few blocks I stopped noticing.
Do they feel like I’m running around with nothing on my foot? My pair was a bit
small, so I’m not sure I can really judge their over-all feel. These size 10 shoes
were actually sent to The Maple Grove Barefoot Guy, and since he wears a size
28, he passed them on to someone with more mortal dimensions like myself. I
normally wear a 10.5, and the label on these suckers say they fit 10 – 11, but they
were a bit small for me. Like the width, however, these shoes just sort of stretched
to fit. If you like the free-air-toe-wiggling of a huarache, you don’t get that with the
Sockwa -- these are pretty much a glove for your foot, so the feel is closer to a
Five Finger than an Invisible Shoe.
Will they last for 2,000 miles? I’ve run about 40 miles in mine so far, and they
seem to be holding up well. There’s a very tiny hole near the middle of my big toe
on the right shoe, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any bigger. It’s too early to see

4. how well the rubber holds up over time, but it seems durable.
Do they smell? What’s the best thing about owning Vibrams? Never have to worry
about burglars, since when you leave them outside your door at night the scent
kills anything that comes within 5 yards of them. The Sockwa is a closed neoprene
shoe you wear without socks. So yes, mine are already to starting to reek.
Can I wear them to prom? Or the office? Look, you didn’t get into barefoot running
to score style points, right? In fact, I’m willing to say you’re pretty used to enduring
stares from friends, co-workers, and strangers when they see you head out the
door without shoes. And when you DO head out the door, you’re footwear gets
about the same reactions. The Sockwa G2 comes in seven colors; I have the
bright red pair. They look like Peter Parker was having a picnic with Aunt May and
then the Green Goblin attacked and Peter had to sneak off and change into his
Spider Man costume, then after defeating the Goblin he quick switched back to his
normal clothes before Aunt May even noticed he was missing . . . but he forgot to
change out of his Spider-Man boots! I call them my “Spider-Man shoes.” Last week
a trio of middle-school girls on their way to school laughed at me.
Overall: The Sockwa is an amazing shoe for someone who is seriously into
barefoot running. I wish the toe-box was a bit wider for a more natural feel across
the toes, but you can’t find a shoe that gives you a closer experience to actually
running barefoot. I won’t say its “the same as running barefoot” because no shoe,
no matter how thin the sole, can fully replicate the experience, but the Sockwa
comes close. Really close. I’d give it a 9 out of 10 if I did the whole rating thing.
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Posted by The Maple Grove Barefoot Guy at 5:00 AM
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Labels: Chris Van Dyke, Guest Posts, Minimal Shoes, Review, Sockwa
5 comments:
Nick December 19, 2011 5:15 AM
Very interesting. I now have another shoe to check out and possibly add to my
collection. The way these are described, these may be the closest to what I am
looking for, although slightly narrow. Thanks Chris and MGBG!
Reply
Sally December 19, 2011 5:19 PM
Ok-Chris-you are just hilarious as usual.You seriously need to pursue your writing
career! I just can not get enough of your writing!! Oh yea,the review was very
helpful too. Love your style...even tho I am an old lady ;)
Reply
Dean March 15, 2012 5:20 PM
I've tried ordering from Sockwa, but they're always out of stock on practically every
size! Very poor customer service too. I do love the Merrell barefoot series though.
I also use the vivobarefoot dress shoes (not for running, of course). I never could
get the five-fingers to feel natural on my feet. Toes weren't meant to have
something between them! Thanks for the review!
Reply

5. office 2010 tutorial online March 26, 2012 9:04 AM
After reading this, it makes me want to buy that type of shoes.
Reply
Anonymous October 9, 2012 4:06 PM
I know that they recently received a new shipment of their latest G2 and G3s. I
would go over to Sockwa.com ASAP and order.
Reply
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