Topo Athletic Shoes RT Style Review

Topo Athletic is a shoe company specializing in split toe shoes. As a runner, I was eager to try a pair of the W – RT Run style. New running shoes gave me a reason to exercise when the chilly winter weather made running difficult to find time for on a regular basis. In the past, I had loved running since high school when I used to do nightly runs on my family’s treadmill. I continued running in college, after taking a jogging class as an elective credit, when I had a talent agent suggest that I take up long distance endurance running. One of my husband’s first dates with me was running a 5K. Now, I was excited to review a pair of split toe shoes to see how effective, comfortable, and practical the shoes were.

Review of the Split Toe Shoes
Testing split toe shoes was a new experience for me. When I first tried out the shoes, I went for a run in the park. Running on concrete, I noticed that the shoes had really good support for my ankles and heels, which was important to me. I liked the way my feet hit the ground and I felt that I was getting a good work out as I adjusted to the new shoes. My old pair of running shoes lacked ankle support. Months ago, when I went for my first run in my old pair of running shoes, I twisted my ankle on my first run. Now, my first run in the new running shoes felt great. I moved with ease and I never felt that my ankles were weak.

In between runs, I had some difficulty where one of the Topo socks got lost in the laundry. I tried to wear the split toe shoes with normal socks, but couldn’t get my toes in well. Generously, the company offered to send me more socks, and explained that some people are comfortable running without socks. Luckily, I found the sock the next day, somehow tangled inside my husband’s gym shorts. Later in the week, when I threw the shoes on without socks to get the mail, I discovered that the shoes felt great without socks. Even though the shoes seemed to breathe really well without socks, I felt that wearing socks would keep the split-toe shoes in better shape.

While testing the shoes, I ran laps in my backyard. The yard hadn’t been landscaped in a few weeks but winter had killed off all the grass. Personally, I felt that the shoes were better fitted for running on concrete and on a well landscaped path. Some people might like the feel of running on terrain with the shoes. Personally, I thought that my feet could feel the ground too well for terrain running. I hadn’t tried to test other running shoes in my backyard previously. In the future I might try out some trail running shoes when I get the chance to make a better comparison.

As a mom with a background of doing some work in the fashion industry, I really liked that the coloring of the shoes was very basic. My old pair of running shoes had unappealing, bright coloring that didn’t go with any of my clothes. The only conundrum I had was that I didn’t feel the split toe shoes would fit in, stylistically, where I lived in Tennessee. People dress conservatively where I live and trends can take years to catch on in my area of town. Split toe shoes seemed appropriate for runners who train on a regular basis. I loved having a pair of shoes dedicated solely to training, to always encourage me to stick with my running goals. Luckily, if I ever need a pair of running shoes with similar coloring and design without the split toe design, the company recently launched a line of shoes without the split toe. In the future, I‘d love to try the traditional style of shoes, which I feel would be more practical on a regular basis for running errands after exercising.

To learn more, visit the company on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure
I received a free pair of shoes to help inform my writing.