How do the VIVO Ultra's pull off all of the above qualities? They unabashedly take a page from the triple platinum, fuglified shoes that everyone loves to hate (while secretly finding them quite comfortable) — yep, I'm talking about Crocs. It's the EVA foam, baby. That's how they do it.
But is there more to these shoes than meets the eye? Are functional shoes supposed to look cool? I wax poetic on these questions and more, as well as share some slow-motion running footage of the Ultras, and a whole slew of photos after the jump in my review of the VIVO BAREFOOT Ultra!
Modularity: What's in the Ultra Box?
VIVO BAREFOOT designed the Ultra with modularity in mind. Basically, the exterior of the Ultra, which is effectively one piece of EVA foam that makes up the sole and holey upper is a shell. If you get the full Ultra and not the "Ultra Pure," you get two additional configuration options including a sock-liner booty that can be worn inside the Ultra's foamy frame and adds a kevlar protective element to the soles; or you can add a chevron-shaped tongue of sorts. Pictures are worth a thousand words here: |  |  |  |  |
 |
You can also wear the Ultras without tongue or booty — just the frame, basically.
The Ultra's foamy frame brings the mojo
You probably are sitting there, just sorta staring in awe at the honeycombed, cored out upper of the Ultra. It's kinda wild looking, I know. By being so full of holes, the upper provides an incredible amount of breathability to the shoes while also making them "amphibious" — they're going to let water in completely, but it'll also go right back out. The honeycomb also provides structure to the upper while reducing weight. Without the booty (but with the tongue), my size 44 Ultras weigh in at a smidge over 3.5 oz. That is crazy lightweight — moreso than just about any minimalist shoe out there.Meanwhile, the interior of the Ultra features a knobby footbed; I can only assume it's knobbed to provide additional traction for the foot; personally, I don't see the point and actually find the knobbing irritating, but it, along with the upper, makes for a nifty photograph:
The sole is 7mm thick though VIVO says it'll compress to 3mm with wear. I measured mine at about 5mm at the heel. Foam really does break in (more accurately break down) over time, so essentially the Ultra will get more minimally soled over time.
Here's a roundabout of the Ultra, photo-gallery style. Take a look:
 |  |  |  | |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |
For such a minimalist shoe, the Ultra can be somewhat complex — at least, it's as complex as you want it to be. I think what most will find is that they prefer wearing them a particular way; incidentally, my hunch is that most Ultra fans are likely going to like it in it's most bare-bones configuration as with the "Ultra Pure" — no inserts, no fluff — just the foam shoe.
Ground feel and function
I tried the Ultras without the tongue attachment and they seem basically fine in this configuration; however, some might find a little additional abrasion due to the elements of the upper being separated. Where you can imagine irritation is when your foot lifts within the shoes, the point at which the top of your foot meets your ankle will tend to want to move into the lace area, which could cause some annoying rubbing.
Worn without socks or the booty, the Ultra is a fairly comfortable shoe. There is plenty of room within the Ultras for my feet to feel free, toes can splay well, and being "zero-drop" there's no negative impact on my natural biomechanics. If I had to cite one annoying gripe with the Ultra's design, it'd be with the raised knobs or bumps on the insole/footbed of the shoe. These provide a level of stimulation to the foot that I find a little distracting. I'd much prefer a smooth surface here and do not believe it would degrade the shoe's performance dramatically, if at all. That said, it's not so annoying as to make them totally uncomfortable; I'd just prefer it not be there.
Ground feel with the Ultras is muted a bit by the use of EVA foam. EVA foam, like all foams, has little "cells" that contain air; this allows for some structure while also being compressible. Straight up rubber (as with FiveFingers) is denser and flimsier, so you don't get the compression effects. I'd peg the ground feel on the Ultra as slightly better than the FiveFingers Bikila (or Bikila LS or Speed); it's not as good as a KSO, SeeYa or Classic/Sprint, though; it's also negatively effected by those pesky bumps! They add "noise" to the sensations of ground feel. Almost like your feet look at the ground through a filter or screen.
The overall structure of the Ultra, as provided by the EVA foam, makes them easy to flex and bend while still having a springiness to them. One thing I'll point out is that the sole curves in at the arch. Since there's nothing below this arch curve, it's not supportive so much as just a structure that will collapse under your body weight. You'll note that the KomodoSport- and Bikila-soled FiveFingers use EVA at the arch and it's sometimes called "arch support." I think that's a little too hard a line, but you will notice the bump at your arch if you pay attention. Like I said, it compresses on any load, but it's there.
The end-product with the Ultra is a shoe that has just enough structure to stand on it's own but not enough to compromise the functionality of the foot.
Here are some photos of me wearing the Ultras without the sockliner/booties:
 |  |  | |  |
 |  |  |
Running in the Ultras &mdsah; Hit play on the video below. It's some running footage shot in 60 FPS that I've slowed down by about 50%. It's not particularly exciting footage, but you might like the background music and it should give some idea of how the Ultras function running on the road (behind a Bob stroller anyway). I start busting it down a hill around 7:15 if you want to skip to some "high action." If nothing else I set it to some high-beat music.
Didn't really have any issues to speak of running in the Ultras. I love that they are lightweight; that just makes a huge difference to me. Running sockless in the Ultras also was a pleasant experience. I wore the tongue insert to prevent any chafing, but I don't suspect it was really necessary. The EVA sole provides the slightest bit of give to it for running that you might not be accustomed to if you've been running in rubber-soled shoes like Vibrams or Altra Adams/Samsons. The effect is mostly in the slightly altered ground feel. Not a bad thing.
Despite the roomy interior of the Ultra, my foot never felt like it was sloshing about within the shoe, something that I think can be a problem for mono-toed running shoes with large toe boxes. My hunch is that the Ultras, being so lightweight and still having an overall structure, tended to stay with the foot better than, say, a pair of RunAmocs (my feet slosh around in the RunAmocs by comparison), which are heavier-soled and leather-topped: the weight of the soles tugs on the flimsy leather upper giving the movement of the shoe a life of it's own apart from the foot. The Ultra is a unified, uniform structure, by comparison, so when the sole moves, the upper moves or vice versa.
Bottom line with the Ultra for running: they work pretty well.
General uses — I have to admit that perhaps the most intriguing thing about the Ultra is that it amounts to an affordable minimalist shoe (at the Ultra Pure $50 entry level) that is multi-functional. You can run in them or you can wear them to the store or to the beach. They're good in the gym, too.
There is something to an EVA foam shoe that is compelling. They clean easily; don't soak up water or mud. They can be affordably produced. If you have fairly efficient walking or running biomechanics (you don't drag your feet), they'll also last quite awhile. I actually could see Crocs putting out a zero-dropped, thin soled version of their clogs and it being quite successful.
All of this, of course, assumes you don't mind the aesthetic of a foam shoe. Foam shoes are a little funny looking; it's just the nature of the beast. As far as the aesthetic of the Ultra, I've actually seen the red/grey and black/yellow varietals in person and I'd say both look markedly better than the grey/greens I've got. If I had to guess, it's because the grey is just too "light" in color and the holes of the upper stand out more with them as opposed to the darker colored red Ultras or the black Ultras. I'm speculating.
Let me conclude on this ...
I'm going to part ways with the full-blown Ultra (with the sockliner) and say that if you're after a minimalist shoe in the $80-100 pricepoint, you probably should look at something else. The Ultra is cool for it's modularity with the sockliner insert, but it also makes it considerably more expensive ($50 for the Ultra Pure vs. $80 for the full Ultra) and there's an excellent chance you'll find yourself rarely, if ever, using the sockliner, anyway.But if you consider the $50 pricepoint of the Ultra Pure, well, there you may have something interesting. Get the Ultra Pure and you've gotten a pair of shoes/footwear that can be worn in a slew of applications. You can wear them casually, to the beach, to the gym, to the store, to do yard work (they clean crazy easily); you can wear them for a run. They're so airy as to be wearable in the heat of the summer almost like a sandal. That's kinda cool, don't you think?
Just own that crazy Crocs-like look and you got yourself a winner here.
Finally, I'll say that I really want a $30 pricepoint for the Ultra Pure and I want that for toddlers and kids. That would be absolutely fantastic.
Where to buy it.
If you're a female looking for the Ultras, I'd hop over to Google and do a shopping search; you're likely to find at least one or two pairs of the full-fledged Ultra (including sockliner) at a deep discount to the original price; for you men, you're going to have less luck with that approach (sorry). For that matter, I recommend Zappos.com because you can get the Ultra Pure there for $50 (or Ultra @ $80). If you've yet to buy shoes from Zappos before, they have free shipping both ways. One of my first experiences shopping there; I bought a pair of shoes, it got upgraded (for free) to next day shipping; I received them and they were the wrong size, so I used the free return shipping while ordering the right size; UPS picked up the return and delivered the correct size the next day. It was mind-boggling at the time. I'm a fan of Zappos, in other words.FOUND A SALE: if you like the grey colorway of Ultras with the sockliner, you can actually snag them in a few sizes over at Champ's Sports for 69.99. That's 10 bucks cheaper than the full-blown Ultra price, so it's not huge savings, but it's something. They also have various women's Ultras at $50 or less, so if you're a woman or wear women's sizes, you're in luck.
