There's a new version of the 'world's most comfortable shoes' that Silicon Valley loves - here's our verdict

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Allbird Sneakers 2

Hollis Johnson

The Wool Lounger from Allbirds

Can you improve on something that's already close to perfect?

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That's what I wondered after Allbirds last month debuted a new shoe, the $95 loafer-style "Wool Loungers."

When I reviewed the original $95 "Wool Runners," last year, I was charmed by the New Zealand wool sneakers' look and feel. And I've continued to get tons of unsolicited compliments from strangers on them since.

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I'm not the only one in their thrall. Over the last year, Silicon Valley startup founders and venture capitalists have developed a taste for Allbirds, which claims its shoes are the "most comfortable in the world." Indeed, the Valley has become "obsessed" with the shoe because of its low-key style and comfort, as my colleague Melia Robinson observed.

To see if the Loungers lived up to the standard set by the Runners, I decided to put them to the test for a few weeks.

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Here are my impressions:

The Loungers retain a lot of what made the original Runners special. They are extremely comfortable, though the fit is a tad tighter than the original around the toe. They are breathable enough to be fine in most weather, but I wouldn't recommend slogging through water in them.

But it's in the style where they feel the most different from the Runners. From a comfort perspective, you can wear the Loungers either with or without socks. But from a stylistic perspective, they look much better without them.