Sunday, June 17, 2007Double Hemp Elephant Bark & Grommet Huarache Tests
Great weekend for huarache testing here in Los Angeles.
Angeles Crest: Test Course
On Saturday, I ran 20 miles of Angeles Crest 100 trails testing out some new huarache improvements. Unfortunately, the first part of my experiment failed when incorrectly sized rubber grommets failed and I tore the ankle hole out on a pair of Elephant Bark huaraches with leather straps.
6mm vs 4mm: Rocky Running
The last 10 miles of the run was mostly rocky, downhill single track. I wore a 6mm VIBRAM Cherry soled huarache on one foot and a 4mm on the other. Both with hemp.
The 6mm Cherry is a much better mountain sole. The 4mm Cherry is best suited for situations where you want a little protection and a lot of feel. 4mm acts more like a second skin which makes it a better choice for shorter, less technical runs.
New Hemp Discovery: 2 better than 1
Sunday had some great discoveries (see above) including the realization that 2 strands of the 5mm braided hemp might be better than one. It IS better. The feel is very nice and it looks good too. Much more testing necessary, but it is very promising.
Brass Grommets: very nice
I also tested some brass grommets on a 4mm Vibram Cherry sole. The grommets are too big, but the idea is good. More work needs to be done.
Finally, I repaired some tears and problem grommets using rubber grommets and donuts with Rhino glue.
BFT
Labels: huaraches
posted by Barefoot Ted | Sunday, June 17, 2007
7 Comments:
shoe goo works well, too as far as tough glues go.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Howdy Keith
No doubt about it, Shoe Goo can do it too, maybe even better.
However, my goal is a shoe that doesn't need any glue.
I am shooting for a production model that will be made entirely out of recycled and/or sustainable materials and created by people who are part of a Fair Trade company.
BFT
Monday, June 18, 2007
Hi Ted,
Nice picture of you on p45 of July issue of Trail Runner.
KW - Canada
Monday, June 18, 2007
I like the double hemp. This seems as if it would work really well in keeping the huarache snug during the entire run. One problem I sometimes have is the single strand hemp loosens up as I run (unless it gets wet).
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
hey ted
first of all i'd like to sincerly thank you, your site is incredibly helpful and i really admire your goal to create a i'll say "green" running sandal
are you going to be including enough hemp for double strapes in your huarache kits?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Yes, I have gone to double hemp on all my kits, but I am having problems with breakage when I wear a thicker huarahce with hemp, especially on hard, rocky trails.
I have not found a solution yet.
Leather does not break at the ankle holes (ever for me).
BFT
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I saw a sandal design one time that had little "wings" cut on the sides, which bent up at the ankles so you could tie-in the straps through a hole in the wings. That way the side knots were not getting worn out under the tread. I wish I could show you a picture. Just an idea.
Ryan
Barefoot in Vancouver, Washington
Sunday, July 29, 2007
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