LIKE - Camper PEU

(actually my shoe)

I'll start the blog off with my favorite shoes in the world. These shoes have changed my life. I will refer to the dark ages of my life before discovering these shoes as BC (before camper)* as I attempt to impress upon the reader(s) how fantastic these shoes are.

1. Elastic laces. It never occurred to me how amazing elastic laces could be. Well... maybe it would have if I knew they existed. In the BC years I was tying laces and flipping the velcro straps on my shoes** like a sucker two times a day (at a minimum) while all along elastic laces were out there requiring even less work. These are basically slip-on shoes that fit as snug as tie-up or velcro shoes. In the future this is where I would put the amazon link to buy elastic laces.
2. Build quality. I have some sort of odd way of walking that includes dragging the backs of my feet. All of my BC shoes have huge holes in the back where they have worn completely through the sole. This makes them pretty much unusable since stepping in so much as a puddle will make my sock wet (lets not think about the other things one steps in far grosser than water). Compounding this problem is my love of low-profile shoes which results in my BC shoes lasting about 6 months before the sole hole appears. My campers on the other hand have already lasted a year, including a trip to Paris that was non-stop walking. They are slightly worn more in the rear portion of the sole, but they still have a great deal of life in them. The top is full leather with, what i believe to be, quality stitching.
3. Low Profile. As mentioned previously, I like low profile shoes. I like to feel the ground as I walk on it, the clutch pedal as I shift, the bend of the sole as I step on the edge of a step... the list goes on. The Pue sole is very dense yet flexy - the perfect combination. Speaking of the sole, the pattern on them is pretty nice. They worked well on ice covered sidewalks.
4. Waterproof (mostly). These are full leather and can handle normal weather. I wear them all year and have had no issues in the Pittsburgh seasons.
5. Style. Pretty subjective, but I like their style - some may think they are ugly. Their style is for the minimalist. Nothing fancy. They go with pretty much everything - except a nice suit.

There are a couple of bad things about the shoes. First, they run super huge. I had to buy 2 sizes smaller than I normally wear in Asics***. Second, the elastic laces are tied at each end (see picture) to hold them in place. This can sometimes come undone and its a pain to tie the knot back without pulling too much of the lace and retain that perfect fit. I may put some glue in the knot to help keep it tied. Thats about it.

* This is kind of a lie, I did have a pair of campers before. Other than quality they did not share all of the same properties of the Peu.

**Some of my favorite BC shoes were Stan Smith edition velcro Adidas.

***This was just my experience. Don't blame me if you buy -2 sizes and they don't fit.