End Footwear StumpTown 12oz Review- $60

***Update: End Footwear has been bought out and discontinued.***

   All but one of the shoes in this comparison were tested by other members of our staff. We begin the review with the End Footwear Stumptown 12 oz. Jeffrey Davis reviewed a pair in his Fun Times Guide blog. When I mentioned my conundrum, he told me that he, too, had very wide feet. When I contacted Paul Curran of End Footwear to ask if they had wide sizes, he said that the Stumptown 12 oz. is designed for wide feet. “How wide?” I asked. He said he would send me a pair so I could try them out.
   I don’t get it. What if someone wanted the Stumptown 12 oz. for the look and performance only to find out that the shoe was too wide for them? Maybe they fit both wide and narrow feet. I don’t know. I do say this to End Footwear and all other shoe companies: There are plenty of people with feet sizes from wide to xxx-wide. Let’s size them accordingly.
   Ok, enough complaining about industry sizing issues. The shoes arrived just a few days after our communication, and the first thing I noticed after taking the shoes out of the box was the lack of a wad of paper stuffed into each shoe to retain the shape. These shoes had an interesting insert that was stiff, obviously made from recycled materials. With this insert they were able to use much less material to help their shoes hold their shape. Two points for the eco-conscious so far.

   These shoes smell different. You know that chemically enhanced “new car smell” that shoes tend to have right out of the box? You don’t get that with these shoes. Check out the materials that go into End Footwear to see why. They also feel different than regular shoes. Ironically, they feel a little more “plastic” at first. Not stiff, not inflexible. It’s an experience that’s hard to describe, but they were just different. It didn’t take long to get used to them. In fact, it didn’t take long to love them.
I wore them out to Kennesaw Mountain to run on the trail. (About 6 years ago, I purchased a pair of New Balance top of the line trail running shoes, which at the time cost me about $165 if memory serves me. They were phenomenal shoes, as high-performance as it gets. As you can imagine, I have very discerning taste in shoes. End Footwear would have to perform well to compete.)
   Kennesaw Mountain is really more of a hill. It’s about 1 mile to the top of the “mountain” and it’s pretty steep with inclines ranging from a moderate 20° to a steeper 35° or more and one short 55° stint. I ran up the hill and found the shoes to be stiff in the right areas and flexible where it counted. The grip up hill was fine and the overall comfort was actually very impressive. Sweating in these shoes, I found them to be very breathable. Overall I was not only beginning to get used to these shoes but really enjoying them! They are different. Again, it’s not easy to explain why. Stiffer in some areas than some shoes, and more flexible in other areas, but it works.
   Then came my descent, the time to really test the grip and slip of these shoes. I am pleased to report the traction is as good as most other shoes I’ve used. Just as important, my feet stayed planted and very little slipping was allowed thanks to an excellent lacing system that kept my feet where they should be. In fact, this lacing system is much better than the traditional style on most any other shoe.

End Footwear StumpTown 12oz Review

Issue 1 | September 2009

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Just pull the laces tight and the shoe conforms to fit properly. Most other shoes need row by row adjustment at least to some degree for the right fit.
   Even down the 55° slope the shoes retained adequate traction. And when the run was finished, my feet felt great…with one exception—my left pinky toe. I would likely be a size EE wide and not the ridiculously wide EEEE if it weren’t for my left pinky toe. It’s much bigger then a pinky toe should be because of an accident I had many years ago. I’m not saying it’s freakish or one notices unless I tell them. But the shoes were not quite wide enough to accommodate my pinky toe. You can’t fault them for that, other than to say, “Please come out with a 4E size sometime soon”. Until then, with any run longer than a couple of miles, I will need to stick with New Balance.
   One other minor issue to report: the insoles slipped after a few runs. They actually slipped towards the back curling up the heel of the shoe leaving my toes and the front part of my feet without insole. This was easily fixed by a new pair of insoles, which any serious runner would get immediately anyway, but it’s certainly an issue nonetheless.
   Overall, these are fantastic shoes built with passion, a commitment to sustainable practices, and performance in mind. At $60,

I felt I was getting the performance of a shoe twice as expensive. While these don’t compare to a $150+ shoe, they certainly do not disappoint. And I didn’t get the feeling that this is a company jumping on the

Pros:

Great traction
Firm and supportive fit
Green shoes with green packaging
Comfortable for long distances (for normal to wide feet)

Cons:

No wide sizes to choose from, but some models are wider than others
Cheap insoles

eco-bandwagon. I was very impressed overall.
They have a pretty good range of choices on their website, from walking to road running to the trails, so be sure to check out END Footwear.

End Footwear StumpTown 12oz Review

Issue 1 | September 2009

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End Footwear StumpTown 12oz Review

Issue 1 | September 2009

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