Skinners: Ultraportable footwear for every adventure

Is this footwear socks or shoes? According its creators, it is neither and both.

Norway-based startup Skinners Technologies launched a crowdfunding campaign at Kickstarter for footwear that has the portability of socks and protects the feet like a sturdy pair of shoes. The campaign started last June 7 with an initial goal $10,000. It has since raised more than $311,000 from about 4,600 backers with more than a week to go.

The eponymous product, which has a sock-like appearance, adopts Lycra uppers embedded with silver fibers that fight odor-causing bacteria and viscose cooling thread. These feature mesh ventilation zones, allowing the feet to breathe and keeping moisture at bay. The footwear's underside uses anti-abrasive polymer from Sweden with dual-layer water-resistant coating for enhanced protection.

The footwear is machine-washable, thanks to its patent-pending glue-, stitch- and seamless design. It is also handmade. The materials and construction enable Skinners to be folded easily to fit inside any bag. The product comes with its own pouch as well.

In addition, the creators said that Skinners simulate actual barefoot experience, activating all foot muscles and tendons as the footwear forces the feet to adapt to different terrain. The result is stronger feet.

Skinners are available in XS to XXL sizes. Logo color options are white, orange, yellow, pink, ocean blue, lime green and fluorescent yellow. The first batch will ship in August while online sales are set in October.