Skora Form Unboxing and First Impressions

I recently picked up a pair of Skora Form's from The Clymb, a website that requires a free online membership to view and buy their products. They offer several brands for hiking, running, swimming, etc. that involve the great outdoors.

Skora is a new brand in the minimalist shoe world, sporting only 4 shoe models. They range from $100 to $185, using a wide array of materials, but with one mindset: Run Real


I picked up the pair for only $92 including shipping! This is their highest end model, sold for $185 on their own website. This shoe is definitely the "Ferrari" of minimalist shoes when it gets to price. But we all know Ferrari's aren't always the fastest or the highest quality.

The Clymb shipped them promptly and they arrived in about a week.
They were packaged well enough.

 The box is very high quality, nicely colored, and even has a magnet in the flap to open the box!

I ordered a size 7 men's, because I finally realized that none of my shoes are exactly a perfect fit (MAYBE the VFF's at EU 40, but even they have some more room). So I bit the bullet to get a nice snug glove-like fit. Yes, I know I have really small feet for a high schooler.

The back of the box, shown above, with their own little punchline of sorts. 

The shoes are nicely wrapped inside the box which has the ability to flatten out easily. Certainly a neat box, but we are here for the shoes right? 

Here's the diagram (also found on their website) showing their 3 part sole that is featured in the Form model and Base model. 

And there they are! The come with another set of matching laces (which I immediately threw on) 

The heel strap does next to nothing!!! 

The upper is goatskin leather, which was a nice, soft, and breathable outer that I liked! 

 I have heard others complain about the heel cup, as it can lead to a lot of "rolling". When standing, there's a bit of a movement from the heel that doesn't quite just allow you to stand still. I also feel that the heel is the most bulky part of the shoe.

 But of course, you're running on the forefoot area! The rubber looks very nicely textured and grippy.

 The inside edge of the shoe features the design on the goatskin leather, which is echoed on their box.

 The right edge of the shoe has perforations in the leather. 

Overall the shoe is flashy, while still maintaining a nice minimalist shoe look. It does fit like a glove! 

 The insoles are by Ortholite and are very plush.

 The shoe features asymmetrical lacing and a no-tongue design. The inside of the upper is made of a perforated sheep-skin leather, which is even softer and smoother on the skin. Also shown above is the inside without the insole, which is a squishy clothlike feeling (almost identical to the Hattori's internals).

 The model is shown on the "tongue" along with sizing and such 

 The shoe is flexible as minimalist shoes should be! It's not as flexible as my VFF's, Vivobarefoot's, and Inov-8 pair though. This is due to the 9mm total stack height (add another 4mm for the Ortholite insole).

 Ortholite insole has some nice anti-bacterial microfiber. 

 The toe has a seam, along with some visible glue. It worries me a bit, especially since out of the box I already see fraying of threads along both shoes.

 Here are the new laces and asymmetrical style!

A nice classy sneaker for casual wear! 

This is after a nice 5 mile run, insoles in, and no socks. I felt a nice blister kicking in on the inside edges of my feet, along where the pattern is. Funny cause there isn't anything here that would cause agitation. I noticed later that tying the shoes too tightly (which I love to do) and crease up the sheep-skin leather that then presses against the skin.

Immediately after pulling them off, there are some evident crease marks in my foot. This was a burning pain for each step , and was pretty horrible to do.

I later ran that night for cross country practice, pulling a 12:56 2 mile time trial. Eh, not too bad for practice day 1. I've been working on a 10-week lifting program and that day was legs. 

For the time trial, I took out the insoles to free up my foot space in there, and didn't have that reoccurring issue on the inside of my foot. However, the pain shifted to the outside edges of the foot. I'm going to have to work on that. If anything, I'll bet that it's the asymmetrical lacing that cinches down especially when I tie it tightly. 

Pros:

-Stylish, great colors and awesome design

-Breathable!!! (I have hyperhidrosis, and this is a HUGE plus). You wouldn't think that all that leather breathes well!

-Asymmetrical lacing

-Comes with two lace sets

-Zero drop shoe, high quality grippy sole! 

-Nice flexibility 

-High quality box

-Ample toe room (though not as wide as other competitors)

Cons:

-COST is a huge one. Goes for $150+ 

-Heel strap does nearly nothing

-Need to have the perfect placement before lacing, or you will have blistering effects

-Build quality has me wondering: there are stitches fraying away, glue visible, the lacing loops look very flimsy and make me nervous when I lace up for tempo runs.

-On the edge of actually being a minimalist shoe

-Shoe laces are ultra long even after double knotting. Again, I tie my shoes pretty tightly.