I recently wrote about my experience of having my feet scanned for a bespoke pair of 3D-printed sandals- and now they’re finally here.
Promising ‘yacht-inspired architecture’ and developed in partnership with Joe Foster, the founder of Reebok, Syntilay is promising things that could radically shake up the way we buy shoes.
We’ve all heard about how 3D printing is going to revolutionize this, and AI is going to change that – but, in reality, can the two combine to create a pair of perfectly-fitting, nice-looking shoes for a fraction of the cost of custom insoles?
I won’t bury the lede here: yes they can. Not only was I really impressed the first time I put these sandals on, I was actually shocked.
A new way of shopping for shoes
Let’s roll back a touch: I think a great-fitting pair of shoes are a necessity. After all, if you’re fortunate enough to be able to walk around, looking after the contact patch between yourself and the ground makes sense.
But my path hasn’t been smooth:from off the shelf shoes to quality insoles such as SuperFeet to custom made orthotics, each step was a little better… but not perfect.
And they’re not cheap either. Custom made inserts typically cost about $500. Sure, they’re portable but they’re still an approximation.
That’s why my ears perked up when I heard about Syntilay, and their promise to scan your feet perfectly to 3D print your perfect sandals and sneakers at a reasonable price.
To get these shoes made, you’ll either need to go to a concept store (I headed to the new TM.RW concept store in New York’s Times Square) or use a smartphone app-and-camera combo.
This collects thousands of data points to get shoes that “truly understand your feet,” according to Syntilay CEO Ben Weiss.
I left the store excited – two minutes of scanning, and I was going to get a one-of-a-kind pair of Xplorer Ultra sandals… for just $119.
Then came the waiting.
Because the shoes are custom-made in Europe by Zellerfeld, you should expect to wait up to six weeks to receive them, although thankfully mine arrived in only three.
A nice touch in the box
Not surprisingly, I had some trepidation about ordering shoes from a new company, using new technology, and then waiting weeks to know if the experiment worked. I needn’t have worried.
The Xplorer sandals arrived in a box that felt pretty high-end, especially for the price. It would have looked appropriate to deliver a pair of John Lobb custom made loafers.
Inside the box, before I got to the sandals, I discovered a small gift from the manufacturers, as well as a hand-written note from Syntilay itself – which really reinforced the idea that I was getting a pair of shoes that were truly one of a kind.
The moment of truth
While I’d already held the shoes in the store already, seeing those made just for me felt different. They still felt smooth and soft, but heavier than I expected.
(Although when I picked up my Chacos to compare, I realized that they were about the same weight).
My feelings about the design hadn’t really changed – they didn’t give me the sense I was wearing something inspired by a yacht, but I felt like the Xplorers would look at home in the sandals aisle between the Birkenstocks and the Crocs, which is no bad thing.
My wife, on the other hand, was less impressed with the look – and perhaps her reaction was more realistic, as she hadn’t already seen them in the store or spent time researching online.
But that wouldn’t matter if they felt as good as promised, so I came to the pivotal moment: did they actually fit my feet in the way I was promised?
Somehow, even though I knew they were custom made, when I put them on I was surprised they really felt as if they were an exact match for me. They were genuinely comfortable from the first moment.
I instantly took them out on a walk, and I found no issues at all to speak of. No rubbing, flapping or general movement. Just a pair of sandals that sat quietly on my feet.
In fact, the only minor issue was that they were too snug. I won’t get into the debate about socks with sandals, but I found that I could only wear thin socks with them. Barefoot they were perfect, but with thicker socks it was impossible – they were just too tight.
The value I wanted
I’m a ‘value-oriented’ guy (some might say cheap, I disagree) – and as I was walking around, I couldn’t believe these shoes cost just $119. Now, that’s not budget-friendly for a general pair of sandals, but given these were custom made, that’s kind of amazing as a price.
It didn’t inspire me to try others in the range though. Syntilay also makes sneakers, and the factory that makes them also builds high-end Nike shoes.
But the Luminez sneakers are not designed to be used for athletic events, so they would just fill the same hole in my closet as the Xplorer Ultra sandals, so they’d be redundant.
A worthwhile wait
All in all, I can’t really believe that I have a pair of shoes that I want to wear so regularly for the price.
Even the effort of heading into the store to have my feet scanned and waiting weeks for them to arrive was worth it – and I would always prefer the scanner if it was available.
However, as there are only a few stores that have the hardware to measure your foot, the photo option does a good job – it just doesn’t have as many measurements, so I’d be worried they might not fit as well.
Sure, the design isn’t to everyone’s taste, but both the fit and the little extras on delivery make me feel like this was a purchase well worth making. Now I just need to see how they hold up over a few months’ use – will 3D printed shoes last the same distance as my other sandals?
