This post is written by my husband, Jared! I've converted him (mostly, you'll find out why that is) to Allbirds. I bought him his first pair of Trail Runners SWT and this is his honest review.
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I really should preface this with the fact that I’m a walker. Walking is therapeutic for me and whenever I’m back in NYC, a light day of walking is around 8 miles. Usually I’ll hit a minimum of 13 miles a day in walking and I’m a fast walker.
During my previous three trips back home to NYC last year, I’ve worn Allbirds’ Tree Dashers, Tree Dasher Relays, and Wool Runner Mizzles and I ended each trip with blisters on the back of my feet and on my toes and that’s never fun.
The other issue with those three shoe types was that if it’s raining in NYC, you’re going to slip, especially on certain sidewalk types. Don’t get me wrong; if you’re doing errands, walking around the office, or not doing any long distance walking, the Tree Dashers and Mizzles are amazingly comfortable to wear and what I would prefer to wear. But if I’m going to walk 10 miles a day, then I needed to start to explore alternatives for me.
With that, on my most latest trip to NYC, I wore Allbirds Men's Trail Runners and they were absolutely great. At the start of my trip, it was pouring in NYC and the Trail Runners kept my feet relatively dry and I didn’t slip once while walking around. On the non-rainy days, I did my usual fast, long distance walking and I didn’t get a blister at all. I will add the disclaimer that I did use Body Glide Foot Glide, but even still, the Trail Runners felt great for long distance city walking. While they felt a little heavier than Allbirds’ other offerings, the weight differential wasn’t that much of a difference to make my feet feel worn out by the end of the day. I am curious to try the Trail Runners again during a summer trip to NYC to see if I feel the same way after walking 10 or more miles in heat and humidity.
What I really like about the Trail Runners is how they look, since they’re very different from Allbirds’ other offerings. I feel like the two-tone look of most of the Trail Runners line looks more dressy. For this trip, I wore the natural black with the khaki sole and I didn’t feel under dressed as I went out to dinner with my friends.
I know that Allbirds is pitching the Trail Runners as the shoes to wear for hiking (I mean, it is literally in the name), but I’d say that the Trail Runners are the option to go to if you do a lot of city walking as well.
Overall, the Trail Runners are my go to if I know I’m going to be doing a lot of walking. If I’m driving, walking on the beach, doing errands, or what have you, I’ll reach for the Tree Dasher Relays (I’m a fan of not having laces). However, if I’m starting at Seaport, working my way up to midtown on the west side, then cutting across to the east side and back down to Seaport, I’m going with the Trail Runners.
Hi Leslie's husband (Jared)! Cool that you wrote a guest post, I may have missed other posts. I'll have to share this with my partner as he lost interest in AllBirds.
ReplyDeleteHi Jean L, that's Jared below. He really needs to use a login and should have replied to you directly lol.
DeleteHi Jean. I can understand why your partner may have lost interest in Allbirds as I think in general, brands explode in popularity and then crater just as fast (think S'well bottles then vs. Stanley now). Overall though, the Trail Runners have been my favorite go to shoe lately. Once the weather warms up, I'll probably switch back to slip-on Allbirds, but the Trail Runners are nice enough that I've picked up a pair in white for the warmer months where I need something a little dressier but don't want to wear my black/tan ones (black sneakers in the GA summer aren't fun).
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