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The Bahe Recharge is another in a growing line up of running shoes made, in part at least, from more sustainable bio-based materials. It also features some very unique grounding technology that’s supposed to help us unlock the benefits of being connected to the world underfoot. Run Tester Kieran took it for some test runs to find out how it stacks up against regular running shoes and the eco-rivals from Allbirds, VEJA and HYLO.

JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:18 – Design
2:37 – Fit
3:11 – The Run Test
6:33 – Verdict

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Hey people welcome to the run tests it's Kieran here and in this video I have Been looking at another sustainable shoe This is the Bayer recharge it's got some Special grounding technology it's made Of quite a lot of bio-based materials I've been taken out to see if it's any Good and can live up to our standard Running shoes let's check it out [Music] So the recharge or a set of vegan shoes That use recycled and plant-based Materials they're designed for casual Daily and Recovery runs rather than Anything particularly high performance What you get here is an Eva midsole That's infused with five percent sugar Cane you've got uppers and Linings that Have got 30 recycled polyester and an Outsole with 65 natural rubber you've Also got organic cotton laces looking at The shoe then you've got a nice big kind Of padded heel collar big padded tongues That gives this that kind of kind of Saloon car kind of cruising feel of a Shoe this is definitely not something That's stripped back and used for kind Of lightweight racing it's very much Like a daily easy kind of shoe in terms Of that overall comfort that follows Through onto the uppers where you've got Quite a dense upper it's also supported By this kind of overlay which is you Know as overlays go there's quite quite

A lot of it that also wraps in the heel There's a heel counter in here too flip Them over and you've got a really good Covering of rubber on the outsole and Some quite kind of deep grip on those as Well so that's good for kind of I don't Off-road they're brilliant in kind of All conditions really so where this shoe Is also really unique is that it Features conductive grounding technology Now if I flip it over what that means is You can see here there's a little nodule Here let me explain how that works so That little nodule basically connects With the ground and then there's a Graphene infused footbed with conductive Stitch performance insoles also have Conductive Stitch and then some silver Fiber webbing throughout the midsole and There's also carbon infused kind of Natural rubber outsole so what this Allows is any kind of electrical charge To come up through the sole of the foot And connect directly with your feet and Obviously we're talking about kind of Safe levels of just walking around not Going standing on anything that is Electrically live because that will send It straight up for your foot so without Going too deep into the wise and Wearfores and does it work of grounding Essentially what you're doing here is Reconnecting your body with the ground Under foot now there are some studies

Not a lot that suggest that this can Help reduce inflammation can help speed Recovery can help with healing Help with sleep there's lots of other Kind of claims that are made there are Some studies they're often done on small Groups there needs to be more done so The effectiveness of this is kind of Guess still sort of up for grabs some People swear by it I think what we're Really interested in here though aside From the grounding is whether or not the Shoe runs well so that's what we're Going to focus on [Music] Quick word on fit then I actually ran in A UK men's size nine I'm normally an Eight and a half sometimes in some shoes That will stretch to a nine or I can run Happily in a nine often as well but in This case I actually think I would go True to size eight and a half rather Than going half a size up it just felt a Little bit too long in the toe going That kind of half size up overall the Rest of the fit was good pretty good Lock down pretty good hold not the most Secure shoe I've ever had on my foot but Overall a pretty comfortable fit and one That I would recommend going through to Size [Music] So then I'm just back from my final run In the Baja recharge men's shoe grounded

Shoe and I thought I'd sum this up I've Done another few miles in it I'm having A cheeky point Hmm What you don't normally do I'm in a beer Garden for once but anyway on to the Review of this shoe I this shoe has surprised me enormously This is going to shoot when you first Put it on because of the materials that It's used you know it's one of those Kind of using kind of sustainable Materials which often don't have the Same kind of performance as other shoes With more traditional kind of plastic Based petroleum-based kind of materials So when you first put this on it has a Similar feel to a lot of the other shoes That you put in this bracket kind of all Birds the Hilo where it doesn't feel Like it's going to be a massively Comfortable shoe to run in it feels Quite firm it's quite heavy uh yeah it Just doesn't feel quite as sort of Performance tailored as some of the Shoes that we're used to running in Nowadays Then I get out and running the shoe and It's complete surprise to me It feels firm for sure the ride is very Firm it does sort of kind of fit into That kind of same bracket but it's Actually really really nice to run and I've really enjoyed running in it you

You've got it like a firm shoe to enjoy This ride but it's got some really good Things going for it it's got kind of Really nice kind of high padded heel Collars got nice padded tongue so it's Got that kind of saloon car feel to it It's really roomy into the toe box Plenty of wiggle room so there's a nice Airy feel the upper's kind of hold down Pretty tight it's not the most kind of Secure lockdown fit that I ever had in And then you come onto that kind of Midsole which definitely runs firm You're not going to get a lot of kind of Spring you're not going to get a huge Amount of kind of give back from the Foam but what you lose in that you get Instability and you're kind of just Getting this kind of nice easy platform To ride it's again it's one of these Shoes that you want to run with quite a Slightly higher Cadence and clip over in It because it doesn't offer a huge Amount of protection you kind of have to Do that but I've just done some really Easy miles right now and it kind of very Slow sort of nine minute mile Pace very Low heart rate it's not too firm it's Kind of I think it's better than the all Birds in terms of that some of the kind Of if you like the Dasher first Generation it feels a little bit softer Than that so it's probably the same kind Of ballpark as the kind of high-low run

Shoe that we tested recently but when You're talking about kind of the more Sustainable shoes the materials that They use this is one of the better ones That I've run in actually and although They still feel I think they feel like Shoes or running shoes used to feel Maybe sort of five or six seven years Ago before we got the super Foams they Still feel a little bit like they've got This kind of dense kind of slightly Heavier Foams that don't give you as Much kind of cushioning and protection They're not that lightweight you don't Get maybe the response but it's a Perfectly happy shooter running and if You are looking for a shoe where you Just you just want to run for Fitness I Mean I think it looks nice as well so It's quite a good crossover shoe if you Just want to wear it and then regular Life and then use it for running as well It's got that kind of smart feel to it Perfectly good kind of easy sort of do 5Ks every now and again or you go out And do the odd 10K this shoe will cope With that it's 145 pounds so it's Slightly expensive A bit more you know it's basically Pushed it up there and there are much Cheaper shoes if you're going to buy Things that aren't based kind of on Sustainable materials but one thing I Think you've really got to do is Judge

These shoes about against the shoes that Are like them as much as the shoes that We'd pick for performance and I think This is on par with a high low and on All birds and if you're looking for a Shoe that has a more sustainable Edge to It than I think these Baja recharge Shoes are probably worth a look [Music] Verdict on the recharge then I think It's fair to say that this wouldn't be My first choice of running shoe to Running it's one of those shoes that Kind of does okay but you are definitely Making compromises in order to have Those more sustainable materials now Like it stablemates the all birds vaser Shoes what you're doing really is Trading a little bit of that performance For the Eco materials that are in here And there's no getting away from that Yes you're going to have a lower Environmental footprint arguably from These shoes but what you're going to get Here is a much much firmer ride that I Think if you're into the kind of softer More cushion shoes that we're seeing Lots and lots more of then this might Not be your bag now what that kind of Firmness and the overall weight you know At 300 grams is a heavy shoe I think This is definitely a shoe that's better Suited to kind of shorter easier runs Though I will say it kind of moves best

When you're still moving at a reasonably High Cadence with a good form you know When actually you're not having too much Ground contact Time partly because of That firmness yeah the other thing is Locker you know it's got casual styling This is a pair of shoes that you can Definitely wear with jeans and then go For a 5K run at the end of the day or it Might be something you get away with Wearing into the office and then using As your running shoe it's also something I think that would work pretty well for Kind of crossover training in the gym if You need something that's got a little Bit of a sort of firmer platform to do Some of those workout drills and then You want to hop on the treadmill for a Short cardio burst this is where this Shoe could work nicely that said if you Like the big kind of pillow issues like The Nimbus 25 that kind of thing Asics Nova blast all of these shoes this shoe Is probably not going to be for you now In all of these reviews it's very easy To compare them to shoes that are using Petrol kind of chemical Plastics and Foams but really I think it's fairer to Kind of put it up against some of the Other shoes that are in this category The other sustainable shoes and in that Sense I actually think that the recharge Pretty much holds its own against things Like the Vega Condor you're talking

About the all birds dash of those kind Of shoes that all run a bit firmer they All require you I think to move with a Little bit of higher canes they're all a Bit heavier they're all not quite as Kind of high performance although we're Hopefully going to get to a point where That improves soon I think the Hilo run Is arguably one shoe that works a little Bit better for that I think the Zen Running shoe as well is also a um an Improvement on that so overall I think Another shoe that kind of edges us Closer from a sustainability point of View to having running shoes that we can Rely on feels like an old Trad shoe Though a bit of work to do on the Performance and then the other thing to Say obviously if you want a grounding Shoe and you're into grounding and That's for your thing then this is Really unique this is the only shoe That's going to give you that in terms Of a running shoe and so this is the one That you should choose an interesting Shoe for sure we hope to see more from Bayer in the future if they can fix some Of the phones make them better high Performance you know face down some of Those challenges that all the Sustainable shoes are facing then we Could have a very interesting product Indeed yeah but overall it's a kind of a Good not great for me so there you have

It that has been my review of the Bayer Recharge an interesting shoot from a Technology point of view and what it's Trying to do in terms of grounding if You have any questions or comments hit Me up below do you believe in grounding If you tried it do you think it's useful Have you seen studies that say that it's A good thing to do I'm still got a Juries out on that I'm always interested In these new things that we don't quite Understand yet but would love to hear Your thoughts do you think it's just a Bit of smoke and mirrors what about Sustainable shoes have you found any Shoes with sustainable materials that Really work for you yet let us know in The comments as well otherwise it's been A pleasure to talk to you about these Shoes and we hope to see you again soon On the Run testers happy running Everyone