SoftScience shoes are still available!
HOW THE MOST COMFORTABLE SHOE WAS BORN
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In 2011, two sailing enthusiasts with experience in the footwear industry formed SoftScience, Inc. to research new shoe technologies. No longer under non-compete agreements, Scott Seamans, Crocs founder and chief designer, and John Duerden, formerly a Reebok COO and Crocs CEO, set out to design a comfortable, safe, water-resistance deck shoe. Duerden became president and CEO of SoftScience, Inc., which was headquartered in Oceanside, California.
Seamans, meanwhile, developed what SoftScience trademarked “Trileon”— an EVA closed-cell injected foam. But instead of Croc’s wholly injection-molded shoes, SoftScience added uppers made of canvas, polyurethane, or synthetic mesh in a variety of styles, both slip-on and lace-up. The foam comprises both a removable, odor-resistance insole and an impact-absorbent outsole. The outsole is slip-resistant and non-marking.
Combined with a low-rise footbed trademarked “Levelast”, the SoftScience team developed stable, ultra-lightweight, casual shoes for boating, fishing, and everyday wear that disburses body weight evenly across the sole. Ideal for water use, they are slip-resistant, fast-draining, and quick-drying.
By the official brand launch in late 2014, the company had raised more than $3 million and SoftScience offered several styles and colors. In 2015, the company raised an additional $950,000 in equity funding and had a dedicated following of water sports enthusiasts, as well as everyday users including nurses, waiters, and others who work on their feet all day. In addition to woven microfiber mesh, and canvas mule or espadrille slip-ons, the company began offering lace-up and Speed-Lace shoes, clogs, and sandals or flip-flops in “Oiled Nubuck” polyurethane and PU leatherette.
WHAT HAPPENED?
However, by 2019, business wasn’t going as planned and by the fall of 2019, the company was offline. SoftScience, Inc. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on January 17, 2020 in the California southern Bankruptcy Court. By December, it was all over…
BUT….
You can still get them! The remaining stock was sold off to various companies and is being re-sold on websites such as Skuze (which has developed its own, similar shoe) and marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. Pepper Pearl also has a stock of more than 3,000 pairs of assorted styles, colors, and sizes.
SoftScience shoes typically come in men’s or women’s sizes and are marketed to a certain segment, but all their shoes are unisex. A wide toe-box allows for a loose fit to accommodate many foot shapes and sizes for both men and women. Offered in whole sizes only, most styles run small, so size up when ordering.
SoftScience shoes are machine washable and will air-dry in a few hours to a day.
Below is a partial list of SoftScience shoe styles with original list prices, where available:
- The SailFin combines a woven, breathable, reinforced synthetic fabric upper with a forefoot water flow drainage system in an athletic-looking lace-up shoe for $80.
- The Fin, Fin 2.0, and Fin 3.0 fishing shoes feature a quick-drying, breathable, microfiber mesh upper with stay-tied laces, while the Fin H2O is a slip-on with a neoprene collar for a snug fit at $80-$90. The Fin Blacktip Shark is a multi-colored lace-up shoe.
- The Drift Canvas is an espadrille style slip-on with a canvas upper and lining at about $60.
- The Drift Weave women’s shoe is an espadrille style slip-on that can be worn as a clog– perfect for after exercise, work, or surgery.
- The Daisy Canvas women’s shoe is an open-heel slip-on with cotton canvas upper and elasticized goring panel at about $60.
- The Daisy Pro women’s PU Clog is a slip-on mule with a synthetic, waterproof upper–about$60.
- The Frisco Pro men’s shoe is a slip-on with an Oiled Nubuck synthetic upper.
- The Durango Canvas men’s shoe (also known as the Frisco Canvas) is a slip-on with a washed cotton canvas upper–$60-$70.
- The Cruise Canvas men’s shoe is a lace-up with a washed Canvas upper and a classic boating collar, and drainage ports in the sole–$70.
- The Cruise Oiled Nubuck men’s shoe is a lace-up with a synthetic, waterproof upper.
- The Cruise SpeedLace women’s shoe features an elastic lace with synthetic mesh upper.
- The Tradewind women’s shoe comes in slip-on or speed-lace with a mid-height elastic collar, perforated heel fabric for ventilation, interior suede heel cup for comfort, and a silicone band to minimize slip–$70.
These are not your cheap drugstore flip-flops:
- The Waterfall Unisex Sandal has fabric and synthetic uppers, soft toe post and straps, and arch support to reduce heel pain (plantar fasciitis and back pain). It comes in various patterns and colors–$50.
- Skiff EVA Unisex Sandal has a synthetic, waterproof upper, while the Skiff Canvas Unisex Sandal has a canvas upper–$50.