What a 1,000 Mile Cushion Rating Means

The American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine considers a midsole worn out after 300 to 500 miles of running or walking. That guideline is about the foam, which can be worn out while the rest of the shoe still looks fine.

The midsole and insole in every MACAW are Blumaka foam with a 1,000 mile cushion rating. The number comes from lab testing. Blumaka uses Heeluxe, an independent footwear testing lab, and Heeluxe defines cushioning failure as a 15% loss from new. In the results Blumaka publishes, its midsole foam retained 96.6% of its cushioning at 750 miles. In a separate test, 87% of cushioning was retained after 1,389 miles, which is the basis for Blumaka's 1,000 mile cushioning guarantee. Blumaka notes that these are separate tests on different products and should not be read as one continuous run.

At three miles a day on your feet, 1,000 miles is about eleven months of wearing the same pair every day. At five miles a day, it is 200 days. It is also two to three times the mileage at which a conventional midsole is considered worn out.

The rating covers the cushion. It is not a rating for the upper or the outsole.

I tested an early pair of the MACAW Golf over 157 holes in four days at Bandon Dunes. I have torn ligaments in my knee and fractured my fibula, and I had no knee pain over those four days.

Our insoles are the Blumaka Max Cushion insoles with a retail value of $55.

The same foam is in the MACAW Golf, the MACAW Skate and THE MACAW LOCAL.

Blumaka midsole and insole, up to 85% recycled performance foam. 1,000 mile cushion rating. Designed in Costa Mesa, assembled by hand at DMG in Santiago, Dominican Republic.