Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention relates to an open toe footwear system including a base member, toe post, and strap member. The toe post is coupled to the base member at a region corresponding to a location between a user's big toe and the adjacent toe. The strap member is intercoupled between the toe post and two lateral foot coupling regions on the base member. The strap member includes a structural portion which may be composed of a stiffer fabric type material that is configured to maintain separation from the base member. The strap member further includes a stretched padding portion coupled to and extended over the structural portion so as to be externally exposed on both the top and bottom surfaces of the strap member. The coupling on the top surface of the strap member between the stretched padding portion and the structural portion may be seamless. The stretched padding portion may include both a wrapping and retaining tensile extension.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention relates to an open toe footwear system including a base member, a toe post, a strap member, and two lateral foot posts. The strap member is coupled to both the toe post and the two lateral foot posts. The toe post and two lateral foot posts are coupled to the base member. The toe post includes a structural toe portion and a padded toe portion. The structural toe portion is composed of a material with a particular hardness and structural rigidity. The padded toe portion is composed of a soft material configured to minimize chaffing and bruising of a user's skin. The structural toe portion and padded toe portion are intercoupled to form a conventionally shaped cylindrical toe post. The intercoupling between the structural toe portion and the padded toe portion may include a bonding member configured to increase adhesion and prevent stretching and/or translation.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a single lace boot with multiple compression zones. In one embodiment, the present invention is a boot having a first side and a second side opposing the first side. The boot also has an upper zone located near a top portion of the first side and the second side, a middle zone located below the upper zone, and a lower zone located below the middle zone. Furthermore, the boot has a plurality of lacing mechanisms located on the first side and the second side and a single lace with a first end secured to one of the plurality of lacing mechanisms in the upper zone and a second end secured to one of the plurality of lacing mechanisms in the lower zone.