What Translates into A Great Shoe

What translates into a great genuine leather shoe? Is it that all shoes from greatest brand are amazing shoes?

We need to understand two things:
(1) what is a good shoe?
(2) what are the things that make a shoe ‘Awesome’

A good Shoe:
In nutshell a good shoe keeps your feet cool, has amazing fit, is flexible [allows you to move on all kinds of surfaces], has a good grip, has good cushion and is designed to reduce the fatigue to a great extent. Besides all of this which are technical aspects of a shoe – a good shoe also should be good looking as well and should last over the years.

Point is:
You need to know what translates into a good shoe, it is possible to buy a bad shoe even of Hush Puppies and Clarks. All shoes of the most iconic brands are not great. So, what goes in making an awesome shoe?

Genuine Leather Paired with Naked Genuine Leather Lining

Why use leather in shoes and what’s the effect of Leather Lining?
Leather is used because it’s a natural material – it can breathe; which means it can allow sweat to travel from inside to the top surface from where it dries up. Besides breathability – leather has extra flex life [the top portion which bends with every step; the bending action is called flexing in shoe terminology]. A good quality leather will have 1000 times flex strength than a Faux Leather or Polyurethane [the fancy plastic which the likes of ZARA, ALDO use].

Does Leather Always Breathe in Shoes?
No, it will depend on what’s the lining of a leather shoe, because the sweat needs to travel from inside to outside; so the lining or the inside of the shoe is the first point of contact. Only naked drum dyed leather absorbs moisture, sweat almost instantaneously. So, if leather upper has some vague artificial fabric [on the inside] it will not breathe or the lining is a genuine leather but is pigmented [or covered with layer of color] then it will not breathe. 100% cotton can absorb moisture well but since it gets crushed easily – a lot of shoe makers use Polyester which doesn’t breathe.

How Does a Layman Differentiate Between Breather Leather in Upper or Lining?
Simple – put a drop of water, the lining should get wet in less than 10 seconds, and the upper in less than 30 seconds. You will feel as if the leather is absorbing the water. Incase it is not absorbing – then it can’t handle moisture.

What is Polyurethane or Faux Leather?
A particular grade of plastic is deposited on a microfiber to give it a leather look at the surface. Since this is plastic – it can never breathe. Also PU will crumble in 6-8 months if you do not use the footwear. It’s intrinsic nature of this material. So, PU [artificial leather translates into a shoe in which inside temperature is lot higher and has certainly lesser life than a genuine leather shoe [90% lesser life]].

What happens when upper & lining can’t breathe?
Each step in the shoe is friction across the feet; which generates heat, which generates sweat. So, humidity on the inside is higher than outside, in case the shoe can’t breathe then it starts getting hotter on the inside, you will also feel a burning sensation on the inside. Walking for a KM in these will be a torture.

What is a great fit?
Shoes are shaped on something called last; last is just like human feet; shoes get shape and inside space depending on how accurate the last is. To make a great last is a great science and having said that – sometimes lasts also evolve – shoe manufacturers may not get it right for the first time but might get it right as the feedback comes. A great fit is unbeatable feature of a shoe and you need to weigh these options carefully.

Soles and weight of the Shoe
Soles can be of different kinds – rubber is heavier than TPR which is heavier than PU & EVA, PVC. But rubber has better grip and longer life. PU is light but unstable [it will crack if you do no use the shoe regularly]. Then all of these soles can be virgin material or mixed materials. Mixed materials reduce the quality of the sole, significantly. Anyways PVC is strict no. And at times a lot of premium soles also come in Leather which are usually heavy and not suitable for all kinds of terrains and weather.

Each of these soles have technicalities and affect the weight and flexibility of the shoe; which basically means that they affect performance of every step that you take. Sole translates in flexibility as well as surface grip and also the life of the shoe.

That leaves us with design; which has personal flavors as well as design language of a brand.

About TZARO Pure Leather Shoes
• Each TZARO shoe has genuine leather lining which has high performance to sweat ventilation
• The uppers are made with genuine leather which are all drum dyed; which means they have longer life and also have great ventilation
• The feather light series has some stunning weight – less than 650 grams which is one of the lightest in the industry
• The shoe cushion is Latex and PU which have super long life
• All shoes come with arch support for extra comfort
• The sole comprises of Rubber, TPR and new lightweight compound – all of which translates into amazing grip, flexibility and sole life
• TZARO’s fit comes out of 3 D designing technique which go through extensive field trails before the shoes are available in market; which means a great fit; every single time
• TZARO shoes usually follow a casual design language but they do some high performance formal shoes as well.