Jinga Shoe Full Review

I am constantly cruising the Internet reading about Minimalist Running shoes, a while back I was reading a lot of buzz about Jinga Shoes. I contacted Jinga Shoes and shortly I had a pair of Jinga's on the way to review.

Overview:
I'd like to start off by saying that Jinga Shoes are not designed as a Minimalist running shoe, they are designed as a minimalist lifestyle shoe. The reason that I am writing this review is that due to their great minimalist design people see Jinga Shoes as a option as a minimalist running shoe.

The shoe materials are all made and produced in Brazil, Jinga Shoes are definitely a minimalist shoe having no heel, no arch support, no extra cushioning and they are super lightweight and very flexible.

Unlike some minimalist shoes that look odd and get alot of stares, Jinga Shoes look cool in my opinion and you can pick a style to match your taste as they have multiple color schemes.

History of Jinga Shoes:

Jinga is from ginga a Brazilian Portuguese word meaning, loosely, an art of moving that is personal and individual; your rhythm, your style; something creative, fluid, exuberant and graceful.

Jinga Shoes have their roots in dance, known for their flexibility and lightweight, weighing less than 300g per pair and the upper of the shoe allows your foot to move freely as our feet were intended to do. 

A big part of Jinga Shoes is about investing in impoverished communities. Both founders of the company have spent time volunteering in low-income communities in the South and North-east of Brazil and have experienced first-hand the hardships the people living in the low-income urban communities (commonly known as Favelas) experience.  To read more about how Jinga shoes help read here..

My Review:

Like I stated when I started this review, Jinga Shoes are crazy comfortable, the thing about Jinga shoes is they are not comfortable because they are loaded with padding, it's the opposite, Jinga shoes are truly minimal but being properly designed they feel great on your feet.

I would definitely recommend wearing Your Jinga Shoes barefoot, there are some of my Minimalist running shoes that I rather wear with socks but Jinga Shoes feel awesome on your feet.

Sole: The sole on Jinga's are super flexible and thin, they offer the protection needed but don't limit that ground feedback that you want. Jinga's have a insole that is removeable so if it gets alittle stinky you could hand wash it. Also if your looking for more ground feedback you could keep the in sole out.

Upper: The Upper on Jinga's are light and flexible, I actually wonder how they keep their form. The upper is very comfortable on your barefoot, and there are no hot spots that I picked up on that would cause blisters.

When Speaking with the people at Jinga Shoes they stressed the fact that Jinga Shoes were not designed as a minimalist running shoe. I understand why Jinga Shoes stressed the previous point, because if you compared their shoes to other minimalist running shoes it would not be fair. But the thing that is great about Jinga Shoes is that they are greatly designed shoes so you have to try them as a running shoe.

I've gone running in my Jinga Shoes and they do hold their own. Jinga shoes have a good lacing system that allow you to adjust the feel you want for running. Jinga shoes are comfortable and I felt no hot spots that would cause blisters. At this point in my use I see no durability issues, but I could see if I used them long term as a running shoe there could be some issues, but again they are not designed for running. The final thing I noticed as a running shoe they don't have the sole that you would want of some wet surfaces, the sole is more of a "dance" sole that slides across the floor smoothly.

How would I make Jinga Shoes for running?

The Sole:

I mentioned above that the Jinga sole was very flexible, and I love that I would not change it, but to improve this sole for running I would add some more texture to it to provide some grip. I would also like to see the the front of the sole to wrap up the front of the shoe alittle to aid with durability.

Upper:

There is very little I would want to change with the upper, you don't want to mess with a good thing. I would maybe add some reflective strips for safety and make one of the design stripes that go the length of the shoe breathable mesh.

I also thing a nice addition would be to make the tongue attached to the shoe loosely just to stop it from shifting in a long run, and maybe add a more athletic collar around the shoe.

Overall the Jinga Shoe is already a great shoe for running but with a few simple additions it would be amazing.  I'm not sure if Jinga is moving that way but I hope they do.

So to conclude my review I'm going to keep it short and Sweet..  Buy a pair of Jinga's !!

I don't see myself using my Jinga Shoes as a running shoe, but as a everyday casual shoe I have nothing better in my closet.

Enjoy

Kennyo