Saucony ProGrid Kinvara 2 

Despite the fact that these shoes weigh a scant 7.7 ounces (thanks to foam soles and a monofilament mesh upper), testers found them to be the most traditionally supportive and cushioned of the group. One said they felt “slow.” Another: “I’d be comfortable going the long haul in these.”    

Best for: Anybody looking to ease into minimalist running. [$90; saucony.com]

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In our August shoe review, our runners loved the snug fit of the Green Silence, Brooks’ 6.9-ounce entrant into the white-hot minimalist category, but several testers didn’t dig its too-soft midsole. Brooks has remedied this with their latest minimal-but-not-barefoot shoe, called the PureConnect (in stores October 1). During 20-plus miles on trails and asphalt around Prospect Park in Brooklyn, I found they provided a good mix of barefoot qualities – promoting forefoot strikes with added groundfeel, along with enough support and comfort for imperfect striders. The upgrade includes a toe that’s almost split from the outsole, an inverted heel, sparse midsole cushioning (with extra material only where the foot makes contact), and a soft, breathable upper. The color — just green for now — is toned down compared to the Green Silence, but the overall design is plenty flashy. Heads will turn.

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LOVE IT: Thanks to the combination of a lopped-off heel, split and supported toes, and carefully distributed cushioning, the shoe feels like a light (7.2 ounce) racer with the benefits of a chunkier but more supportive shoe.

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LEAVE IT: The mesh upper hugs the foot a little too well — You may need to keep the laces loose to avoid restricting blood flow.

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[$90; brooksrunning.com]

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Blake Mycoskie knows how to keep a secret.

On Tuesday, following months of intense speculation, the founder of Toms Shoes unveiled his second one-for-one initiative, Toms Eyewear, in front of hundreds of fans in Santa Monica.

In conjunction with the Seva Foundation, which has been working to prevent blindness across the world for three decades, Toms will provide medicine, prescription eyeglasses, and sight-saving cataract surgeries across southeast Asia, which is home to nearly 90 percent of the 284 million visually impaired people across the globe.

“The more and more I learned,” says Mycoskie, “the more and more I was committed to helping people save their sight. A lot of blind people at one point had their sight, but later developed cataracts. Fortunately, those can be fixed with a fifteen minute surgery.”

Toms unveiled two styles for men: the Classic 101, a wayfarer-style frame pictured above ($135) and the Classic 103, an aviator shape ($145). Both styles feature three stripes: one to represent the buyer, one representing the individual receiving aid, and a third to signify Toms as the connector between the two.

“I wanted to personify the one-for-one equation,” says Mycoskie. “The stripes are there to remind you of that when you buy these sunglasses for your enjoyment, you are helping one person with their sight.”

When asked if additional one-for-one projects are on the horizon, the 34-year old Californian seemed optimistic. “Let’s just say that I’m committed to addressing as many needs as I can. There’s a lot more that I can do with our one-for-one model.”

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