SKORA Women's FORM Running Shoe Review
Last spring I had the opportunity to test a shoe that had
been perhaps the most long-anticipated of the entire natural running movement:
the SKORA FORM. The company set a pretty
tall standard for itself with high-quality material construction, along with a
high-end price tag of $185 that proved to be a hurdle for many users.
I had some frustration in my testing due to SKORA’s sizing
for both its BASE and FORM models, which were at least a half size too
large. Even without removing the insole
(creating a lower stack height which I usually prefer), the shoe was difficult
to fasten properly, and my foot moved around inside the shoe too much for me to
do any serious high-mileage testing.
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| SKORA women's FORM |
At the time, the FORM was only available in men’s sizes, but
this fall the company introduced a women’s FORM, which is now available in two
colors. Most of the design features and
construction elements are the same as the men’s version, with a few tweaks to
make it better suited for female runners.
It’s a zero-drop, medium midsole shoe, placing it in the same category
as Altra’s Intuition or Merrell’s Dash Glove and Bare Access (review coming
soon) – and since I happen to be married to a runner who has reviewed all of
those models, I figured I had the perfect person to test the women’s FORM as
well.
Prior to the release, SKORA also offered me a mulligan of
sorts, and provided a smaller size men's shoe for my own testing. I happened to receive them in the midst of my
high mileage (relatively, at least) weeks of preparation for Leadville, and
wore them almost straight out of the box on a 31-mile road run, the last 13
miles of which consisted of leading a 1:45 pace group at a local
half-marathon. I’ve put a couple hundred
miles on them since then, and I’m really impressed with their durability in
every way except for one, which I’ll explain shortly.
In the meantime, let’s run through a quick recap of the
whole SKORA concept. The company’s
slogan is “Run Real”, and they don’t want to be considered a minimalist shoe –
rather, their primary intention is to promote natural running form and to
create the best possible shoes to accommodate it. They believe that the best running shoes let
your feet function naturally, while providing protection and comfort that allow
you to extend your run as far as your body will take you.
The vast majority of technical specifications on the women’s
FORM are identical to the men’s version – so I’ll refer you to my earlier review, and briefly run down the specs here:
Uppers are made from Pittards Armor-Tan goat leather, with
Pittards WR100X sheepskin lining. In
other words … very UN-vegan.
Standing height is 13mm with the removable insole in place,
and 9mm if you remove the insole.
Removing the insole also expands the toe box somewhat, giving the effect
of sizing up roughly one-half size.
Lacing is asymmetrical, and eschews a traditional tongue in
favor of the burrito-wrap style that seems to be appearing more frequently from
various manufacturers. In my initial testing
I commented that the shoelaces were way too long, but this was corrected between
the prototype I reviewed and the final release version.
Sizing can be adjusted around the heel and ankle with an elastic
Velcro strap, and the ankle collar has soft padding for improved comfort.
Weight of the women’s version is 7.4oz, compared to 8.2 for
the larger men’s version. Again, this
isn’t super-minimal, but it’s light enough so that your feet don’t feel
burdened. And of course …
… flexibility of the women’s version is the same as the men’s. (Although to be biologically accurate,
perhaps they should make the woman way more flexible than the man. Or maybe that’s just my wife and me.)
The outsole consists of high-abrasion rubber that has held
up extremely well after 200 miles. It
performs equally well on roads and trails, only losing traction on loose gravel
or sloppy, muddy terrain.
One design feature that doesn’t work for me is evident in
the heels, which are rounded on both sides.
Because I tend to make heel contact with the inside of my heel, with
increased mileage I’ve slightly worn down the inside of my right heel, which
inclines me to land even further over to the side than I do naturally. If you have neutral alignment, this won’t be
an issue, but if your biomechanics are skewed to one side or another, you may
have similar problems with the FORM.
Sizing is similar for the women’s version, meaning that you
should size down at least a half-size when ordering, and even consider a full
size down if you’re intending to remove the insole. SKORA’s RealFit last for women accommodates a
wider fit spectrum than the men’s version; I’ve heard criticism that FORMs are
too narrow, but that wasn’t a problem for me or my wife throughout or testing.
Both of us found the FORM slightly warmer than conventional
mesh running shoes, but not nearly as much as you might think. As I mentioned, I ran in mine through much of
the summer and didn’t have any problem with overheating, although it’s worth
pointing out that Monterey County summers can be fairly mild.
I also typically wear my FORMs without socks, and even
during my 31-miler, comfort was great without any hot spots or other problems.
I’m definitely more impressed with the FORM now that I’ve
had a chance to put significant mileage on a pair, and I anticipate that a biomechanically
neutral runner with proper natural form could log many hundreds of miles on a
pair. The prolonged lifespan may justify
the lofty price tag, but I’m still inclined to consider the FORM a luxury item
in similar fashion as a Lexus is to a Toyota; both will help you rack up a lot
of miles, but one will get you there in much finer style.
SKORA’s men’s and women’s FORM models retail for $185 from
the SKORA website, or from the following Amazon.com links:
*Products provided by SKORA.
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