Need help picking material for sole for a running shoe

[eliasw8]

Hello. I am thinking about creating an extremely lightweight running shoe to simulate barefoot running, and I need help on picking a material for the sole.
1. It has to be cheap
2.It has to be strong
3.No Metal
4.It has to be extremely bendable(able to role up into a tube)

 

[berkeman]

Hello. I am thinking about creating an extremely lightweight running show to simulate barefoot running, and I need help on picking a material for the sole.
1. It has to be cheap
2.It has to be strong
3.No Metal
4.It has to be extremely bendable(able to role up into a tube)

Welcome to the PF.

What are your thoughts so far? What have you tried (both rolling and running)?

 

[eliasw8]

Welcome to the PF.

What are your thoughts so far? What have you tried (both rolling and running)?

I have tried nothing. I am just brainstorming right now, and will order a selection of materials in the near future.

 

[berkeman]

I have tried nothing. I am just brainstorming right now, and will order a selection of materials in the near future.

Are you a runner? A barefoot runner? What kind of shoes (or not) do you wear for your runs? Do you run on pavement, dirt, track, or other?

 

[eliasw8]

Are you a runner? A barefoot runner? What kind of shoes (or not) do you wear for your runs? Do you run on pavement, dirt, track, or other?

I am a minimalist runner, and barefoot runner. My current shoes are the New Balance XC900 (http://minimalistrunningshoes.org/balance-xc900-spike-less-shoe-review) I run on all surfaces, but pavement or other hard man made material.

 

[berkeman]

I am a minimalist runner, and barefoot runner. My current shoes are the New Balance XC900 (http://minimalistrunningshoes.org/balance-xc900-spike-less-shoe-review) I run on all surfaces, but pavement or other hard man made material.

Very cool. I'm too chicken to try barefoot running, so I'll just stick with my asics Gel Kayanos...

If you haven't already done it, I'd suggest looking into the properties of various commercially-available rubber sheet materials. You could probably laminate a few layers with different strength/softness characteristics to get a pretty good ~barefoot running sole. I'd think that the key will be in picking the materials in the stack, and figuring out the best way to glue/laminate them.

 

[eliasw8]

Very cool. I'm too chicken to try barefoot running, so I'll just stick with my asics Gel Kayanos...

If you haven't already done it, I'd suggest looking into the properties of various commercially-available rubber sheet materials. You could probably laminate a few layers with different strength/softness characteristics to get a pretty good ~barefoot running sole. I'd think that the key will be in picking the materials in the stack, and figuring out the best way to glue/laminate them.

Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it. I will make sure to send you a pair in the future.

 

[Alexi-dono]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuben_Fiber
try tarring Cuben Fiber...