The Nike Solay Thong sports a sleek athletic aesthetic. Their thin neon yellow straps reach far back from the toe post like a Major League Pitcher at the peak of his power position as he dishes up a 100-mph fastball. The too thick battleship gray soles look ready for the impact and the footbed is speckled with mole-hill sized versions of the mountainous nubs seen on many “athletic” flip flops. A feature I usually find painfully uncomfortable but the toned-down version on the Solay’s is tolerable – but not quite comfortable. The traction is solid and performed well at the pool and on the wet tile floors of the locker room.
These thongs are the flip flop equivalent of sweatpants. They can be worn to the mall or the grocery store if that is your thing however it’d be difficult to get much more casual. As with sweatpants, don’t let the “athletic” styling fool you into thinking that these are worn only by elite athletes. No, I suspect that the Solay’s spend more time on the sidelines of youth sports events, mall walks and trips to the grocery store. They seem designed to appeal most to middle-aged men who are reasonably active and are known to speak a bit too loudly at said youth sports events about the fact that they’re training for the fun in the sun quarter triathlon, 5K rock’n fun run, or city to city 15-mile bike ride.
“These thongs are the flip flop equivalent of sweatpants.”
Personally, I find the overly self-conscience focus on looking athletic reminiscent of the new gym member’s excitement at the opportunity to buy some cute workout clothes. Looking “athletic” overtakes the actual activity they strive to appear created for. Because of this I just don’t feel comfortable wearing them to the mall, store or even before or after an actual work out. By the way, did I tell you that I’m in training for a…
