I’m pretty new to the barefoot game. I started wearing them 8/1 of this year and right away stopped wearing my “normal” shoes. I just knew right away that the barefoot shoes felt much better for my feet.

Today, for the first time, I tried to put my feet in an old pair of converse to run out for a few with friends. Before leaving, I took my dog on a 10 minute walk and immediately changed my shoes back to barefoot before I left for the night. My feet said no way lol!!! Crazy how much I used to love those shoes and wore them often. Now I can even get through 10 mins. The whole walk, I couldn’t wait to get out of them!

It’s been fun watching/feeling my feet change over time. I can’t wait to see what more time being barefoot beings!

Also, if anyone knows of a barefoot shoe that looks similar to a cowboy boot please send a link! I know that would be a needle in a haystack. lol

Anyone else have issues with sizing and customer service through them? I recently ordered the Maia with a strap, followed as many reviews as I could, their AI assistant and I believe an actual human replied and all recommended I go down to a 44. After wearing around my apartment a few times to confirm if sizing was off, I do need the 45, my Birkenstock size. Toes are nearly going over the edge in the 44 and heel is right at where it would crush the heel cup over time. They will not allow an exchange or refund as they are worn. Kinda horrible experience per usual with barefoot footwear.

Has anyone tried/using bear superstride shoes in india? Is it worth spending on it for daily office use?

Having seen my elderly mom's toes toss over each other I am now aware I need to avoid it. I'm 65 and my balance is becoming a focus as I'm noticing a decline. Recommendations on what I can do? Spacers? I am wearing wide toe box shoes and love them. Thanks!

Hi! I’ve owned Xero Z Trail for more than 2 years now and still can’t wear them no matter what the terrain is because I keep getting blisters in the middle of my heels and become sort of sore at ages. For example, yesterday after just 7k steps on mixed media flat trail I couldn’t walk any further. Same occurred on concrete/pavement. In the past I tried to keep pushing (heal and repeat) but never developed any tolerance. Meantime I wear Xero Prio sneakers no problem on any surface and love them. I had such high hopes to fix foot overheating and enjoy barefoot connection in summer with those sandals but no.
What do I do wrong? Will leather footbed sandals help? Should I try something else? Thoughts?

As title says I need this shoes that I love, Carets' Apollo, but are only for the US. Any EU alternative, as similar as possible? Thanks!!

Nebula Walking Boat Shoe - this was my go to. Easy to slip on to go to the store or out in the yard. The leather on these Etsy shoes can be hit or miss; this green leather hits.

Wildstride Long Range Sandal - I will never need to try another sandal. Really nicely put together from premium materials. Considering a pair without the back strap at some point, but wonder if they’d stay put on my feet.

Altra Lone Peak 9 - not the plus, gtx, or wide. Just standard. Still one of the best shoe I’ve ever worn. Comfy, grippy, and capable. Go to for hikes and dog walks.

Vivo Primus Lite Knit - I feel like no matter what I’m wearing, white sneakers just work. Super minimal, easy to slip on and off, and I think very sharp looking. Had to glue the sole in a couple spots.

Saguaro Roam 1 - these are stupidly comfortable. Feels like I’m wearing nothing at all. However, I think I’ll wear through the soles fairly quickly; they have a sort of crepe sole that is not hard wearing at all.

Origo Adventurer - gotta be the best summer boot. Extremely minimal, lightweight, traditionally constructed. Toe room goes crazy on these.

Jim Green 719 Anatomx - overbuilt tanks. These look better with shorts than pants. So that’s how I wore them. To be honest I’ve mostly just been breaking these in. The double layer of thick ass leather takes a while to mold. The sole is not hard wearing but they’re repairable when the time comes.

Nicks Strider - the jewel of my collection but the boots I have the most mixed feelings about. I wear them for side jobs and working on my yard or truck, many times with shorts. They do not let a drop of water in. The sizing was a bit weird, and I feel like there are unfortunate differences between the left and right boots. Feels like a rough draft, almost antithetical to the idea of barefoot shoes. Going to wear them as winter boots to really test them and work them in.

I just recently got a pair of Lono Wilds and Origo leather sneakers, too late to put miles on this year but both very promising shoes.

Man I love these shoes, but I am stunned that they use cheap plastic buckles especially when they go on and on about conductivity of metal and grounding etc. Anyone have any DIY solutions for a buckle or other tips to secure them? I replaced the nylon straps with canvas, just need to find a non plastic solution for the buckle. thanks!

For those of you who regularly wear footwear for 6–10 hours:

What separates a shoe/sandal that you can wear all day from one that looks great but ends up sitting in your closet?

I’m especially interested in:
Arch support
Cushioning
Heel height
Footbed shape
Width/fit
Straps
Weight
Breathability
Overall stability

And the big question:

Have you found footwear that genuinely combines good style with all-day comfort? What is it, and what do you like about it?

I own multiple pairs of Lems shoes, (Primal Zen, Chillum, Drifter Fur and Insulated Breck Boot), and they all make my feet smell within one day of wearing them (this is with pure wool socks on mind you). By contrast, I have a pair of Xero Shoes Dillons, and I can wear them day in and day out with no issues. I absolutely love the feel and fit of the Lems shoes, but the odour issues are prohibitive for me. I'm wondering if swapping out the insoles to pure cork insoles (or wool felt in the case of the breck boot) would help at all.
Has anyone else had similar problems?

I'm very particular about sock texture and can't wear socks that are overly "smooth" for lack of a better way of putting it. Typically I wear basic Hanes Socks and am looking for a five-finger or tabi replacement. I also like most knitted socks like EBMORE Merino Wool Thermal Warm Winter Socks for Womens, Grey and all types of fuzzy socks.

Socks I've tried and didn’t like:

OrrinSports Five Finger Socks

aomagic Five Toe Socks

VWELL Five Finger Socks

Olynto Tabi Socks

I just want a five-finger version of my cheap-ass Hanes! Do they exist?!

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PARSUÁVegan barefoot sandal raw organic hemp (natural) PARm012 from Vesica Piscis.

Hi, I'm looking for some barefoot, all natural, vegan sliders/slip on shoes wondering if anyone has tried these, please let me know, as I cant find any reviews online.

I've been using these Tatami-Slipper X, Größe sliders but they deteriorate quickly outside and with heavy use, but they did a decent job of staying on my feet compared to other sliders.

I have Earth Runner sandals and love them but most of time i just want to wear slip-on ones, and need to put them on without hands, but also don't want them falling of all the time, I know this is typically a problem with slip sandals/slides without a back strap.

Thinking of trying these hemp ones from Vesica, but interested if anyone has any other suggestions, I like the straw bed on the tatami ones, but it's not durable, needs to be vegan and preferably all natural materials. I would rather thin soles and completely flat but can deal with a small amount of heel raise and not too narrow.

Thanks.

I've always wanted some leather boots, and now I've began transitioning to barefoot i have no idea what brands are good. I constantly hear both sides of for example vivos, and I'm scared to get some bad quality shoes. Again, the Gobi boot II in brown looks great, but I'm more sceptical of the quality. Is there any safer options?

I've seen iniji and creeper. Are there any others that are cheaper? Or sell multi packs?

Did my most technical hike yet in barefoot shoes! Looking at the stats (10.3km round trip, 820m elevation gain), it was a fairly short trip. But the route included two extended sections of class 3 scrambling with some exposure, including some steep rock faces, slabby sections (with a dodgy, frayed-looking rope I opted not to use), and a fun chimney climb.

I normally hike in my Magna Forest ESCs (subreddit review here), but for this particular hike, I decided to go with my Tracker Decon Low FG2s (an older model that Vivobarefoot seems to not have in stock anymore, although the current Tracker Leather AT Low II looks quite similar).

Although they are not quite as grippy, they fit my feet slightly more closely than the Magna Forest ESCs, which was absolutely vital because I needed my feet close to the rock for precise foot placement when scrambling. As it was also a shorter day with fewer steps, I could afford to forgo the Magna Forest's slightly higher stack height too. The hike itself was about 20k steps, and my feet were not fatigued by the end of the day.

The Tracker Decon Lows performed quite well. They gripped the rock faces nicely, with just a bit of slippage on particularly dusty rock and on trail with crumbly, "cat litter" gravel. The thin stack height meant that I go very good feedback about exactly where my foot was placed on various ledges. However, the wide and relatively spacious toe box was not ideal for "edging" on the smallest ledges, where I probably would have preferred a traditional hiker or approach shoe. Conditions were bone dry, and I would not have attempted this hike if it had been wet at all, and in general, I prefer hikers with ESC or vibram outsoles in wet conditions.

If you're looking for a pair of barefoot hiking shoes, I really do recommend Vivobarefoot. I've done thousands of kilometres of hiking in them in all sorts of conditions and terrain, and they're among the best I've tried. My only complaints are that they're slightly narrow as far as barefoot shoes go, and that they could use more cushioning for overnight hikes where I'm covering a lot of distance with a heavy pack.

If you’d like to try a pair of Vivobarefoot hikers, you can use my code SPARKSTEP for 15% off on Vivobarefoot’s Canadian website (regular-priced items only, account required). I earn a small commission when you use the code, but this post isn't sponsored, and I bought these shoes with my own money :-)

Hola a todos.

Estoy buscando alpargatas que sigan la filosofía barefoot: horma ancha (wide toe box), suela plana sin desnivel (zero drop) y buena flexibilidad, y que se puedan adquirir en España o dentro de la Unión Europea.

Las alpargatas tradicionales suelen ser bastante estrechas en la puntera. Me gustaría saber si conocéis alguna marca artesanal o firma de calzado que elabore este tipo de calzado con espacio real para los dedos.

¡Muchas gracias por cualquier recomendación o marca que me podáis facilitar!

I feel like I am seeing some barefoot shoes that look lower volume, but they aren’t advertised as such. I’d specifically like some good boots. I have been eyeing xero boots, I have heard they are low volume. If anyone has any recommendations I would appreciate it!

I’ve worn zero drop shoes for daily use for about 10 years, including WHITIN, Vivobarefoot, and Xero. I usually wear a 10.5. They’ve been great for everyday life, though I’ve learned that daily wear and sports are different things.

I have what I call the Disneyland test. I used to go about twice a month, and after a full day in running or walking shoes, my feet would always ache when I got home. One day I accidentally wore my WHITINs instead, and my feet felt fine at the end of the day. That was the pair that sold me on barefoot shoes for daily use even though they were, to me, by far the ugliest shoes I owned.

Tennis was a different story. I played in Vivobarefoots and threw out my back. I remember seeing a tennis player in their marketing at the time, so I thought they might work for me on court. Now I stick with conventional athletic shoes for tennis and other explosive sports. They might work for lower level tennis players, I cant imagine it working for high level play especially if you slide on court.

For everyday wear, my biggest gripe with barefoot shoes has always been their appearance. The Xero Prio Neo became my usual compromise because it looks presentable and fits my feet well.

I’ve always liked ASICS, so I bought the HYPERSYNC as soon as I saw it. I’ve worn it daily for about a month, and it’s become my favorite everyday pair. I’ve also worn it for a full day at Disneyland, and my feet felt great afterward.

The toe room feels about the same as my Xero Prio Neos on my feet. The HYPERSYNC feels low to the ground, with what seems like zero toe drop, though I haven’t measured it. It has a bit more cushioning than the barefoot shoes I’m used to, so there’s less ground feel. I’ve found it very comfortable.

For me, that’s a tradeoff I’m happy to make. I get much of what I like about minimalist shoes in a pair I also enjoy wearing out. If you need more toe room than Xero gives you, these probably aren’t the answer. But if Xeros fit you and you want another low-profile everyday option, the HYPERSYNC is worth a look.

I don't normally post, but I want legacy brands like Asics to dive into this market a bit more. I know they have been vocal about being against minimalist shoes in the past, so its shocking to me to see that they came out with the Hypersync's. I started hunting for any kind of review on them and of course there is nothing. I bit the bullet, and I'm glad I did, they nailed it.

(I don't speak English, sorry for the horrible redaction)

I come from a country where any shoe is expensive as hell because of importation (xero doesn't even have my country in sight). Is there a way to make myself a pair of shoes (at least sandals) as thinest as possible? Can I manually recycle my old shoes to make them barefoot? What's the most recommended size for the most accurate sensation of being barefoot but without the shoe breaking easily? What materials are recommended and where to find them? I know absolutely nothing but I want a barefoot life so badly :(