The number of footwear choices for minimal footwear - spurred in large part by the success of Vibram FiveFingers - has increased in the past few years. The latest offering at the Summit Hut is Inov-8's Evoskin - which are essentially a silicon glove for your feet!

The stretchy medical grade silicon is a bit tricky to get on the first time - but the reward for for your effort is a second skin of thin, flexible material wrapped around your feet. The first thing I did with the Evoskin on was walk out the front door of the Summit Hut - I could immediately tell the difference between the inside carpet, the cement sidewalk (and between the cooler shaded cement and sun warmed cement!) and the paved parking lot black top - the Evoskin offers more feeling for the ground under your feet than I have experienced in any other footwear! 

The strength of the Evoskin is their incredible sensitivity. It was fun testing these outside and having such a great connection to, and feel for, the ground under your feet. But on technical terrain and steep uphills the silicon, even with the internal texture, slipped disconcertingly around my feet. While I may still need to dial in the sizing and top strap my initial impression is that I will limit my use to easier terrain. My feet do get damp fairly quickly from sweat when I wear the Evoskin - I have certainly worn more breathable footwear. Breathability and slippage seem to be issues for some reviewers - but not for others, so your experience may be different.

Inov-8 estimates that - depending usage - that the Evoskin will last about 150 miles.

All footwear offers different trade-offs, if sensitivity is your primary concern these are definitely worth trying! And don't be surprised by the smell of these when you come in to try them - the blue color that we are carrying has a berry smell out of the box...