How do you increase the performance of a shoe without adding more technology? You put it on a diet. Too often today, we are caught up in a gizmo world of new features and fancy terminologies. The Air Jordan line for example has seen its XVII, XVIII and XIX grow more obese than ever – jammed packed with new technologies and gimmicks (straps, shroud, magnets).

      For whatever reason, manufacturers today feel the only way to improve on the previous generation is by adding more power and functionality. Zoom Air's need to be double, triple stacked. Max Air's need to be more fully maximized until it is about to burst. Shox and A3 columns need to extended from the rear to the entire foot - leaving the shoe just shy of a mobile trampoline. The rivalry between the manufacturers has created a competitive market place of new gizmos and innovations. It seems like the only new technology not yet offered on shoes these days is a trip to Mars. We must ask ourselves, are all of these things really necessary on a pair of sneakers? In our latest 1STep review, we examine a shoe that utilizes a completely opposite philosophy based on the Huarache concept where less is more.