Quote Originally Posted by jdo View Post
Hi,
A quick (and potentially silly) question from a newby fell runner but an experienced minimalist shoe/barefoot runner. I've had a quick look through the most recent posts on this thread to get a feel for the 'shoes' that people are currently using. The Bare-Grips, Merrell Trail Gloves, FiveFingers and the Luna sandals are all discussed.

I have yet to see them in person, but how does the more 'traditional' Walsh PB Elite Racer stack up in the scheme of things? Of course I understand these are not anywhere near as minimal as those listed above, but are they 'quite' minimal in that there is nothing fancy about them, e.g. no heavily built up heel with air cushioning etc., no pronation control getting in the way of natural foot mechanics. How thick are the soles and does anyone know what sort of heel differential they have?

I kind of think they may be like the 'pumps' we used to have to wear for school PE lessons back in the 80's. They were nothing more than thin strips of rubber with thin canvas on the top i.e. minimalist without knowing it and long before the recent (and welcome) upsurge in interest in natural running biomechanics.
Pumps are good and at £5 a pair very user friendly, Ive done a couple of fell races in them now (actually removed them and went bare foot in the most recent race) and often train in them. That said my X-talons have now officially died and I will be getting Bare-grips for my next pair as whilst I love running in my pumps they dont offer great grip in the wet.