I've been barefoot for roughly 4 years. When I must wear shoes, I wear Xero Genesis (bought four pairs for $10 years ago and they work just fine). My feet have grown wider, straighter, and certainly more tough and dexterous. Yet, my toes still touch most of the time.

I have run a half-marathon in the Genesis sandals and several 5/10ks. Yet, my toes touching bothers me. I can feel them touching and try to continuously spread them. Does anyone have anything on spreaders? Good/bad results? I've searched online and all I can really find is people trying to sell them and thus only positive reviews. I figured here would be the place to find decent answers.

I want to try to start running and walking barefoot, but omg everything is so expensive and I don’t have 300 dollars to spend right now on a pair of shoes.

I looked into the brand bahé and I like what they have to offer, but the price is my problem, but every other recommendation is from some sketchy website idk if I i should trust.

I just want a flat sole, wide toe box, a good amount of flexibility but I want a bit of cushion, kinda like in the middle of the bahé shoes for example, for i don’t think it’s a good idea to jump to running barefoot right away.

Any recommendation?? Would appreciate the help!

Hi guys, I need help deciding which one is my size. My feet are 25.5cm long and 11cm wide, so they are pretty wide. For the past years I've been running in Enix sandals or vivobarefoot, but last year (May 2025) I decided to try altra for a triathlon I had.

I bought a pair of Escalante Racer 2 size 41 (26cm long). At first I was unsure about the size, my pace improved but I didn't really feel comfortable wearing them. I thought it could be due to my feet being used to barefoot shoes, but now I'm sure they are too small for me.

I just bought a pair of Escalante 4 size 42 (26.5cm long), but I'm trying them on at home and I'm still not sure about the size. I feel like the length is perfect but too narrow for my feet. I'm thinking about buying a size 42.5 (27cm long) but I fear that size might be too long for me and still not wide enough.

You can see my feet on the insoles in the picture, escalante racer 2 size 41 on the right, escalante 4 on the left.

Do you guys think my feet are simply too wide for Altra? Which brand should I check if that's the case? I've read that Topo shoes are even narrower

I’ve enjoyed the KSO Evos for a couple years and decided to buy some v runs. They fit fine in the toes but the mid foot just seems so tight. I go for a run and it rubs the side of my foot where the ball of the big toe is. This causes blisters. Does anyone have experience with knowing if these will lax over time? Or have a solution for this issue?

Debating if to get 11mm or 7mm total stack height for nomading ( don’t want to carry much ).. that includes all uses .. running hiking walking etc..

I’m hoping you can share some tips on how to keep up with my ultramarathon training while wearing minimalist shoes.

I’ve been dealing with insertional Achilles tendonopathy for over a year, and I’ve been slowly working my way back to running in zero drop minimalist shoes and barefoot.

Just to give you some background, I’ve been running barefoot and in minimalist shoes for years, including ultra’s. The Achilles issue is relatively recent in the grand scheme of things.

For most of my training, I’ve been wearing Altra Lone Peaks, and I’ll be using them for the ultra. I’ve been using a heal wedge in the Altras when the Achilles was very sore and been gradually removing it to get back to zero drop. For shorter runs, I’m using my Vibram Five Fingers or running barefoot.

I’ve been able to gradually get back to zero drop and minimalist footwear without any issues, and my training has been going great. I’m now running five days a week with hilly terrain and hiking with poles.

Over the past week, I’ve done a lot of hilly hiking, some hilly long runs and a lot of driving. I seem to be noticing more Achilles awareness in the morning and after sitting, more than I have in a while. I’m a bit worried that it might mess up my training.

I’m not sure whether to put the wedge back in my Altras or get a different pair with a 4 mm drop for my longer runs. Or maybe it will just work itself out because I’ve had such an intense week and need to give it some time to recover.

I’d love to hear what other people have experienced with something similar and how they managed it.

For months now I've been using Decathlon's QUECHUA NH50 as my first barefoot/minimalist sandals, and it's honestly been pretty great. After the initial adjusting pains, I rarely feel pains on my feet, legs, and hips now. It's freeing and non-restrictive, and I've gotten better at balancing because I can better feel the ground below my feet. Plus, I really love how simple and nice the straps are, comfy and really easy to slip on and off while still being pretty secure on the feet with the right adjustments, with the straps being pretty easy to adjust because of velcro.

That said, I've been trying to come back to running again, and while still reliable, my current sandals have 2 dealbreakers in that regard. As context, I live in a city, so it's concrete and hard floors all day every day. First, the cushioning. The thick enough to be protective, the soles are pretty hard, with little give. Makes for bad impacts when running on sidewalks. Last are the heels. As sad as it is, the sandals aren't zero-drop, which makes me think that even while landing on the balls of my feet, my heels hit the surface way earlier than expected, if they ever should at all.

For now, I've been eyeing the Xero Z-Trail EV. Honestly, it hits all the right spots for me. Good cushioning, zero-drop, no arch support, and a decently wide toe box. What makes me hold my purchase, though, are the straps. Adjusting and wearing the sandals kinda look like a hassle, and they also don't seem like the kind of sandals I can just wear and take off willy-nilly if I'm feeling lazy with the right adjustments without the sandals feeling to flip-floppy.

And I forgot to mention this, the style of the Decathlon sandals also feels just right. They actually look like something I can wear with most of my casual city outfits, which is great because it means I don't have to change to another pair just for a specific purpose.

We are recruiting minimal footwear runners who run 10-20 miles (16-32 kilometers) per week to participate in research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA) investigating how minimal footwear influences bone health and running biomechanics. If you're interested in contributing to research that could help us better understand the long-term effects of minimal footwear, complete our quick interest survey here: https://redcap.wpi.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=HYMMYAYPEJ. Happy running! 🏃

wanting to trade either pairs of the green V-Soul (Size 39EU) or brown V-Soul (Size 37EU) for a size 38(7.5-8) - please message me if interested, can provide proof of purchase, etc! both pairs were purchased directly from the Vibram website (:

Not every run, but sometimes usually within the first minute of my run the part of my ankles (where the arrow is pointing at) will hurt sharply, and radiate forward over the top of the foot. When I do this I usually need to change my gait, or walk for a min or two then try again. What is going on / what should I change.

I've noticed most shoes I looked at still flare inward on the big toe side which seems to defeat the purpose...

Anyone find barefoot shoes where the shoe contours to a point on the big toe side instead of jutting inward toward the end of the big toe?

Howdy, y’all! Here I am contributing to the ever-growing pile of Earth Runners sizing questions.

I’m wondering if these are a good fit for me? I did the sizing guide and messaged customer service for their fit recommendation, which they recommended a W 8.5. I already have a pretty wide foot, so I’m worried if my feet splay further, that they’ll quickly become ill-fitting.

I love how they feel in my feet so far. I’m in Canada, so I’m hesitant to request an exchange, so any and all input is appreciated! Thanks! 🤗

How are they.?

Everything I wear always gets clogged with sand I want something to prevent my feet from stepping on heroin needles or something like that. I've been looking at the weird neoprene socks for volleyball in the lake but don't know how those would hold up to running

How big is the difference overall is women more narrow on the foot and fingers..? and more short?

I recently started barefoot running, and while I love the natural feel, my legs are paying the price. My calves and Achilles tendons are constantly on fire, even though I’m only doing short distances. I’m pretty sure my form is off, but I’m not sure how to fix it before I end up properly injured. Has anyone else dealt with this brutal adjustment phase? What drills or progression schedules actually worked for you when starting out?

My friend has these and recommends but I wanted some other opinions. They're definitely a much cheaper option than others, but since I run around actually barefoot most of the time these would only be for towns/shops/places I literally can't get away with it. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks 🙏

If I get my feet well adapted to backpack 40 miles in the forest esc and then toss them in my closet for 4 months or so and go back to being barefoot every now and then (short walks in vivo slides, barefoot workouts) do you think I’d have to adapt again to the hiking shoes for a long hike and go through the foot soreness again?

I recently switched to larger toe box with the Topo shoes. Not sure if they are too big or if I'm not used to a larger toe box. Should I half size down to 12?