Eli "fetsh" Heiman
Barefoot Sandals Adama and Zuzu
A comparison review of two pairs of barefoot sandals made in Israel: Zuzu (Hebrew: Move) and Adama (Hebrew: Earth).
On the right — Adama, on the left — Zuzu.
Both pairs are, essentially, copies of Earthrunners sandals, which, in turn, are modernized Huaraches from the book Born to Run.
I first learned about Zuzu and immediately wanted to buy them: made from defective car tires (upcycling), straps also from recycled something-or-other, beautiful metal rivets — what’s not to like? (Here, by the way, is someone else’s review — https://www.thebarefootshoereview.com/post/episode-69-zuzu-sandals — from a professional barefoot shoe reviewer :) But you can’t try them on, because it’s an online-only store, you can only print out a paper with sizes. When it’s your first pair of sandals — you still want to try them on first, so I went to Israel’s main barefoot shoe store https://www.barefootlife.co.il/, located on Bograshov Street in Tel Aviv.
I spent a long time in the store trying on beautiful (but expensive) Luna sandals, slightly less interesting (but also less expensive) Shamma sandals, and even Xero, which I disdain. In the end, the salesperson offered to bring from the back room something that wasn’t on display or on the website — a pair of Adama sandals, which, according to him, met all my needs without having the shortcomings I’d found in the pairs I’d already tried on.
That’s how I ended up with brown no-name sandals with the thinnest possible sole, from the Adama brand, which, as it turned out, is the Israeli store’s own brand. I liked them so much that, now knowing my size, I immediately ordered a second pair, this time from Zuzu.
The differences between them:
- the thinnest Zuzu have a thicker sole because tires don’t come any thinner (but not by much);
- Zuzu are therefore slightly heavier;
- Zuzu have an elegant metal buckle, not a nasty plastic one;
- Zuzu have more substantial, structured straps, they’re more pleasant to the touch, and they also hold their shape better, which makes it easier to slip your foot into the sandal (but straps can be changed);
- Adama, on the other hand, have a slightly wider sole;
- Adama have nicer fabric,
- Zuzu says this tire, designed for automotive loads, should last me decades :)
I listened to the podcast interview with the Zuzu founder (impossible to listen to because of the quality), and I liked him (the founder) (unlike Sashen from Xero), I liked how he cares about ecology and how he was tormented by doubts that from this perspective it’s better not to make shoes at all :) Since then, I have a lot of respect for him.
Now I run in one pair (Zuzu), and walk in the other (Adama).