I really enjoy the shoes so far, I’ve only worn them twice and I my experience has been very pleasant so far. It seems there’s something special about these shoes. They strike a very needed balance between extra cushiony and too much ground feel. They absorb the normal shock of walking on cement and hard flat surfaces while maintaining a level of rigidity. They are not super flexible like some other brands of barefoot shoes I wear and that has shown itself to be a big benefit. I’ve been wearing barefoot zero drop minimalist shoes for 3 years and did a hard transition… from asic gel nimbus one day to vivos the next, then to an even more minimalist quality leather shoe, soft star about 3 weeks later. I dabbled with Lems primal 2 for a bit, then made softstar my daily shoe. After wanting to find a barefoot shoe that was zero drop, wide toe box AND have some cushion like the asics or something similar I found Icarus, I ordered and kept researching while waiting for them to arrive. During that time I found Altras lone peak 8. The lone peaks ARE NICE… bouncy, flexible and absorbs shock from box jumps, burpee’s and other high impact exercises, I really like them.
Icarus came in the mail and I tried them for a day and went through the different insoles… the middle size was hitting my arch in a very uncomfortable way so I just dropped down to the thinest sole that comes with the shoes and kinda loosened the laces a bit and gave them a good try and literally could immediately tell a positive difference in the way my body felt. Ankles and feet feel very strong. The lack of flexibility in comparison to the altras, vivos, softstar and lems is absolutely a great balance. The shoe is not extra rigid and inflexible, but in my opinion it’s not the shoe to wear if ground feel and flexible are a top priority for you. I recommend softstar for uItimate ground feel and durability. The leather and craftsmanship of softstar is next level. I JUST retired a pair from 2021. I have several others as well. I can speak to the functionality of Icarus shoes. I bought the black and will purchase the white soon. I think investing in this company and it’s product is a great investment. I support and approve of Icarus shoes.