Under Armour started in 1996, ten years later they started producing footwear and now in 2015 I’ve had my first look at a pair and I am genuinely surprised.
I don’t consider myself a fitness freak but I will hit the gym around four times each week and do a mix of cardio and weights. I’m not a marathon runner to be clear, so I am assessing these shoes as an average fitness punter. Take that as you will. In the past I have bought Asics, New Balance and other major brands so I was quite interested to see how Under Armour will compare.
The Under Armour Speedform Gemini is firstly a stand-out item. In a fairly bright blue it was a little confronting for me, I don’t usually like to stand out in the gym, I don’t like to attract attention and I instantly start thinking of the “wish I was Arnie” gym goers and what they’ll think as I walk in.
I take the pair out of the box and it is almost like I’ve been working out too much because they felt extremely light. The fact is, they were; 240 grams. I could lift them, a near born baby could lift them!
Note: We couldn’t find a newborn to test this fact.
I wanted my first wear of these shoes to be a light jog, in previous runners I’ve had I find they need to be worn in a bit so I don’t end up with missing skin on my heels or toes. The interesting thing about the Gemini’s was that the rim around the heel area and sides was actually really soft and thin. Not a lot of padding but a mode elastic fabric that made putting the shoes on easy and really comfortable. From the first step I felt ready to go harder.
The shape and orientation of the Gemini’s is also what makes this shoe a real running shoe. Walking around is almost difficult, the shoe encourages every step to go faster and you’ll be running around the house whether you like it or not!
The souls have a great spring and the tops of the shoe are netted so you wont be running in a pool of your own sweat.
Finally, upon arrival into the gym and after seeing a few people, yes it attracted interest, yes the colour made me stand-out but it was only so they could ask me about how the shoes actually were to own. Many owned Under Armour clothing and were curious about the shoes, like yourself perhaps, but left the gym that day knowing that this guy (me) felt fitter just by putting them on. A real winner.
In Australia they sell for a retail price of $179.99
