Overview of Vivobarefoot Gobi II
The marketing hype on Facebook for the Gobi II desert boot that first grabbed my attention (actually it was the pith helmet which did it for me) indicated that one of the creative
directors at Vivobarefoot is related to the original Clark who designed the
original desert boot. I reflected on this for all of three seconds before concluding that whilst it is an interesting convergence of someone’s personal
history with that of their ancestor, it is not the sort of thing that would make
me buy a shoe. Although a man in a pith helmet might.
So what has made me buy Vivobarefoot Gobi II?
I needed a shoe for autumn and winter that I can wear to
work, and my criteria is that it is smart, brown in colour, made of leather and
comes with the same sole as my favorites the Kembo SOA. I was swayed
initially for the Winter version of the Gobi II which are made of waterproofed
cotton and with thermal insoles, however two things put me off, (1) they are black
and I don’t like black shoes; and (2) I couldn’t quite accept a non-leather
shoe. For me leather is the best material for shoes because the leather adapts
to your foot, almost becoming customised to your foot shape. So I compromised
and bought the leather Gobi and a set of thermal insoles. Job Done.
Construction
Made of 3 pieces of raw hide leather in very dark brown
colour, the interior of the leather is rough and fibrous and the outer is waxy
and slightly matt. The bees wax coloured soles are glued and stitched. Heavy
duty yellow and brown laces finish the look. A very nice shoe indeed
Fit
A really good fit and just like the Kembo SOA (of which I am
a huge fan) it feels like you are practically barefoot, with very little
sensation of wearing shoes - which of course is the whole point. I have put in
the thermal winter insoles into my Gobi II, to make these shoes warmer in the
autumn and winter months and this has made them more snug, although I am
waiting to see how the insoles fair. For example the cork insoles I put into my
Kembo SOA only lasted a short while as the flexibility of the sole
made the insoles ride up within the
shoe, like a concertina. However the thermal insole appear to be more rigid than the cork insoles so I guess they will last a little longer. They also have little holes showing some shiny metal. Presumably there is some bacofoil in there. The packaging for these states 300 percent more insulation with just 3 mm. Not sure if that can be true otherwise my feet will get roasted but I will see in due course!
Quality
Perfect stitching, and perfect production, unsurprisingly
because of Chinese production quality. I am looking forward to
see how this will reflect in the longevity of the stitching (I
highlighted as an issue in my previous review of Vivobarefoot shoes made in
Cambodia where the stitching disintegrated within a few days / weeks) My prediction is that the Chinese made shoes will last a long time.
Conclusion: Is the Vivobarefoot Gobi II good value for money?
The Gobi II are awesome shoes and I really love them. They
get top marks from me. My 'lifestyle' shoe purchases will be from Vivo for the
foreseeable future. And I am not really a repeat customer of anything (aside
from Akubra hats) however I have made an exception with the Vivobarefoot. This
is my fourth pair of shoes and I really rate them.
A YEAR ON...Further Review (2018):
A year on, how have they fared? I bought these for autumn /winter
wear but were they suitable?
- Design: Excellent
- Quality: Excellent
- Fit for the purpose I bought them (Autumn / Winter wear): Poor
- Resilience: Good.
- Do I still wear them: Yes (Excellent).
- Overall rating: Good to Excellent
