Jesse Carnes is a RErun Ambassador for 2017/2018. He is an accomplished triathlete and trail runner and is running the Portland Marathon this weekend. Jesse has been in the endurance world for years and has used a variety of recovery products over so we asked him to give us a brief run down on the Oofos Recovery Sandals since we figured he might need them after the marathon. You can follow Jesse’s adventures here.
So you just finished up a tough workout. Your muscles are aching and your joints are feeling a bit creaky. In this scenario, you also worked all day before said workout, and now you’re home and ready to relax. The problem is, you’re also really hungry. Dinner isn’t going to make itself, and if you ordered food every time you found yourself in this situation, you wouldn’t be able to afford new running shoes or race entry fees. But making dinner involves more time on your feet, and that sounds terrible!
Enter Oofos, the goofy-looking (yeah, I’ll definitely acknowledge that) recovery sandal with foam soles that are ludicrously thick (44mm under the arch) and supportive, and therefore super comfortable to stand on.
Earlier this summer, I saw a couple of the folks from Runner’s Edge wearing them, and it’s possible that I made fun of them. Because in case I didn’t mention it, they are pretty silly. Like clown shoes. Well, they talked me into giving them a try and fortunately, I have no shame and now I am able to wear them in public. I even walked to the grocery store in them the other day, although to be honest, they are better for standing than they are for walking any kind of distance.
Possible uses for Oofos:
- Cooking! This is my favorite use, because if you’ve gotta be on your feet, you might as well have a couple inches of foam under your soles.
- Going to work. This is only an option if you work somewhere where it makes sense to wear open-toed shoes. I don’t recommend them on a construction site. Likewise, I would not wear them to a business meeting. Somewhere in between, though, there is a sweet spot where they might be appropriate.
- First thing in the morning after a race or hard workout. When your joints are all creaky and trying to get used to being vertical again after 8 hours of being horizontal, these things do make the transition much more pleasant.
- Walking to the grocery store. As I mentioned, this is an okay use for them, but not where they really shine. Just don’t try to run in them. You’ll probably make a fool of yourself if you do.
There are several styles of Oofos, including a slide style (my preferred, pictured above), a flip-flop style (not for me, don’t like things between my toes), and a clog. The slide style is definitely the best if you are an old man (or one at heart) who likes to wear tall white cotton socks under his sandals. Or, if you’re going for maximum recovery potential and style points all at once, just wear your compression socks under your Oofos.
Can I definitively say, from a scientific standpoint, that the Oofos sandals help speed up the recovery process? I surely cannot, because I am not qualified to make such a statement. But can I say that they are really, really comfortable, and make me feel just a little bit more okay about spending time on my feet when I would rather be laying on the couch? Sure! And sometimes that’s all you need.
