I’ve never been a big fan of wearing shoes.  My toes always feel squashed and I can barely feel the ground underfoot.  Today, I received the Primal Origins from Stem Footwear, a shoe that claims to resolve both of those issues (and more) in one fell swoop!

I won a pair Primal Origins in a giveaway by the Barefoot Runners Society.  Big thanks to both BRS and Stem Footwear for providing the shoes.  Though I received the shoes for free, I am evaluating them based on their normal $90 price tag.

I’m also evaluating Stem’s Primal Origins based on my experience with the Vibram KSO, which I’ve used as my primary shoe for running, hiking, walking, etc. over several hundred miles since 2009.  I love the ground feel and lightness of the KSO, but its styling and comfort are not appropriate for all occasions.

Expectations

There’s been a fair bit of buzz about these shoes in the months prior their official release.  I was intrigued because the reports were incredibly positive for the first shoe from a new company, and it sounded like someone was finally creating a casual shoe that had everything I wanted (and nothing I didn’t).  Opinions of comfort were rather hyperbolic, as early reports would have you believe that wearing a pair Stem Primal Origins was akin to having your feet swaddled in puffy white clouds.

Expectations are high as I take these shoes out of the box.

Look & Feel

My first reaction upon removing the shoes from the box was one of surprise; I had requested the Survival Origins (brown color), but as you can see from the title, I received the Primal Origins (slate/blue color).  That was definitely unexpected!

Thankfully, the Primal Origins are not as blue as they appear on the website, and the color in reality is rather nice in its own way.  In any case, I was too curious about these shoes to send them back and wait for Stem to send me the right color, so I guess I’m sticking with grey.

Styling

In stark contrast to the Vibram KSOs I’ve been running in for the past 2.5 years, the Primal Origins look like normal shoes.  It’s nice to wear a shoe that looks like a shoe on some occasions.

I like the look of the Primal Origins.  They have a simple styling with relatively clean lines.  There’s nothing “technical”, “tactical”, or “flashy” about these shoes.  Instead they evoke feelings such as “casual” and “relaxed”, which is exactly what I wanted.

However, I could personally do without the “branches” screen printing on the rear of shoe.  That feature alone causes the Primal Origins to be appropriate for less situations than it otherwise would be.

Flexible Outsole

The outsole is quite flexible, but not as flexible as I expected.  More specifically, the entire outsole flexes upwards quite well with very little resistance, but the forefoot and heel sections of the outsole are rather stiff (likely due to the tread) and do not flex downwards that much.  Only the arch section is fully flexible in both directions.

It looks like curling my forefoot around a rock for added stability when on uneven terrain is out of the question with the Primal Origins.

Permanent Insole

Unlike most shoes, the insole in Stem’s Primal Origins is not removable.  This is a good thing because that’s one less thing that can shift around and affect comfort as the shoes are meant to be worn without socks if desired.  I’ve been wearing them without socks since I received them and there is no discomfort with my bare feet being in direct contact with the insole.

Build Quality

Some thoughts on the build quality of Stem’s Primal Origins:

Handmade

I don’t know if the wide stitching pattern used throughout the shoe is decorative or functional, but it does help to evoke a “handmade” feel.  Personally, I like the look.  Time will tell whether being handmade is a positive or a negative thing.

By the way, anyone know what “vagan materials” are?  In any case, you can rest assured that the Primal Origins are made 100% out of them 🙂

Seam on forefoot

I realize that the material of the shoe needs to meet at some point, but doing so at the forefoot creates a fairly conspicuous seam right at the front of the shoe.  I know nothing about shoe-making, so it may very well have been the best place to make ends meet.  I’ve never noticed such a seam on other shoes though.

Quality Control

Both shoes have strange blotches in the forefoot mesh area of the shoe upper.  The marks are not huge, but are darker than the surrounding material, and were immediately noticeable upon taking the shoes out of the box.

I may be nitpicking, but for $90 (plus shipping), I would expect a shoe without noticeable blotches right out of the box.

The left shoe also has some strange waviness in the forefoot area that may be due to uneven tension of some of the stitching.

Performance

Comfort

The Primal Origins are comfortable.  Not walking-on-clouds comfortable, but comfortable nonetheless.

As I mentioned, I generally don’t like wearing shoes.  This is namely because my toes feel squashed together.  The wider toebox of the Primal Origins does not squash my toes at all, and they feel quite at ease in these shoes.  I do feel a bit confined when I spread my toes out as I am wont to do, but it’s tolerable.  Thankfully, despite the wider toebox, the Primal Origins do not look like clown shoes.  Somehow Stem has managed to provide a spacious toebox while also nicely tapering the shoe at the front so that it looks like a normal shoe.

Ground feel

One of the main benefits of a minimal shoe with a thin outsole is that you can feel the ground.  Once you experience the tactile nature of a shoe with good ground feel, there’s no going back.  The ground feel of the Stem Primal Origins is pretty good, though somewhat less transparent than the Vibram KSOs (which many regard as having ideal ground feel).  You can definitely feel the contours of the ground, but I don’t get that “barely there” feeling when I wear these shoes as I do with the KSOs.

I’ll report back on ground feel when I’ve walked on more surfaces with these shoes.

Running

I went for an impromptu run around the block with the Primal Origins this afternoon.  I meant to go for a walk, but things were passing by too slowly and I broke into a relaxed jog after a few strides.

The fit was good and the shoes didn’t shift as I ran.  This is good.  I also like that the laces can be tightened or loosened to adjust the fit (compared to the Vibram KSO’s single velcro strap).

That’s about all I have to say in regards to running in the Primal Origins so far, as it was just a short run (10 min).  I think I’ll have to run at least 5 miles to know whether I’ll enjoy running in them or not.

Conclusion

I have no conclusions as these are just my first impressions.  However, I find them to be fairly comfortable and I like the styling.  Time will tell whether they are worth $90.