We love our lightweight running shoes, but during bad weather, do we still stick to them?

By Ray Zhang

I have been buying and wearing sneakers with mesh uppers for a while now that when it started raining continuously for three consecutive days this past weekend, I found myself without a pair that could handle even a hint of a flood. And as my luck (or weather reality?) would have it, I was caught in one. Well, sort of. I had planned with some friends to go to Johor Bahru to do some Chinese New Year shopping. I don’t need to tell you how alluring the prices of CNY goodies over there are. As it was raining—correction, pouring—when we were planning to leave, I was in a bit of a fix: What sneakers to wear? I discounted my Nike Calm Mules because water will definitely wet my feet even if the sandals would dry relatively quickly since they are made of foam and finished with what appears to be water repellent surface. They would be of little protective use.

All of the others shoes in my current rotation come with mesh uppers: Asics Gel NYC, Mizuno Wave Rider 10, New Balance 725, Nike V2K Run, and Saucony 3D Grid Hurricane Tortoise. The only pair within my immediate reach that did not appear to be helpless against the torrential generosity was the Nike React Element 87 from 2018. I grabbed them, put them on, and felt decidedly triumphant—again—for not having had to pay for the astronomical version made in collaboration with Undercover (which were impossible to score anyway). I headed out, the rain appreciable only for the welcome coolness it offered. My umbrella was no match for the downpour, but I was still unsoaked, as I had worn my Nike trail windbreaker. Most importantly, my feet remained dry and I was happy.

As it was raining—correction, pouring—when we were planning to leave, I was in a bit of a fix: What sneakers to wear?

By the time we crossed the Causeway, it was way past midnight. The rain seemed heavier in JB. The traffic was lighter than we had expected. My friends and I decided to head to our favorite wan ton mee (noodles with dumplings) shop in Taman Seri Tebrau (in the Taman Pelangi area) for a much-needed 夜宵 (yexiao), post-midnight snack. We parked the car apposite the shop. As I headed towards it (the roadside seating was not available because of the rain), I realized that the road just before the steps that led to our makan destination was flooded. I tried various points along the row of shophouses, but there was not a spot where I could merely make a wide stride onto dry ground. I had no choice; I had to step into the shallowest part of the flood before I could get on to the five-foot way.

As expected, my shoes, especially the left foot, could not avoid being soaked. When I was seated, I desperately needed to remove my shoes and my socks. But the time we took to finish our noodles was insufficient to dry the kicks. When I put them on again, I could discern a frosty squishiness when I walked. It was like taking steps with a squid underfoot. At the hotel, I quickly removed the shoes and had them enjoy a hot air shower, thanks to the wall-mounted hairdryer available. I must have spent at least thirty minutes with my drying task until sleepiness had a better hold on me. I decided to place the React Element in the path of the draft of the air-conditioning to dry. In the morning, I found them still terribly irrigated. I still had to wear them. Thirty minutes after I left the hotel, I sensed something weird around my feet. I looked at the shoes—they were coming apart. Some little bright-green geometric bits of the outsoles were already on the floor. The crusty reminders of past sneaker adventures.

And then the mid-sole of the left side started to crumble, like some hard cheese that yielded to touch. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I found a rubber band, strapped it to secure the shoe, but that could not stop the shoes from disintegrating, and the upper decided to divorce the mid-sole. One of the my favourite pair of kicks from the late 2010s was dying before my eyes. The need to buy a new shoe was unavoidable. I walked into the Nike store at Mid-Valley Southkey and walked away—nothing caught my eye, nothing that would be tough against the still-falling rain. And then I caught sight of Sports Direct, the British retailer not particularly concerned with store aesthetics. Amid immense number of sneakers from just as many brands, I spotted a pair of from Karrimor that had a whiff of Salomon about it.

The Karrimor Caracal WP that I eyed was not immediately comfortable when I slipped into a pair. The shoes felt a tad rigid and hard at the sole. But I was attracted to the Caracal WP for its seeming sturdiness and the tab near the heel that said “waterproof”. I got used to the stiffness just an hour into wearing them, and appreciated the lightness and how watertight they are, especially at the top, where the tongue is stitched on both sides to the eyestays. Karrimor, the 80-year-old British outdoor brand, is mostly known on our island for their bags, especially rucksacks. I have never seen their shoes in any store here. They are handsome, in a rugged sort of way. Karrimor describes the Caracal WP as “perfect for hitting the trails, with the waterproof membrane protecting you in all conditions”. Out in the pouring rain, my new kicks kept to its proclaimed capabilities promisingly. I wondered, as I traipsed the deluged JB streets, why—given the increasingly unpredictable weather—I have kept to running shoes permeable by water for so many, many years.

Karrimor Caracal WP, RM479 (now marked down to RM239), is available at Sports Direct, nationwide. Photos: Zhao Xiangji