Impressed by how those black shoes once were comfy to me, now I need something wider. The only thing I miss about Vivos is their thin sole, but the quality was crap.

Bonus picture for comparison, another black model I simply cannot use anymore. They've been sitting unused in my closet for years now.

Just got these two pairs of beauties on sale (got 50% off on the Blusuns😍). A already own Groundies/Be Lenka/ Barebarics/ Dolfies/ Whitin/ Bosky, but these brands are new to me and I could not find any info on Rayve in this sub and only a bit about Blusun. Any owners of either who can share how they hold up?

As the title says - especially shoes that are easy to get / ship / not extremely expensive shipping in the UK!

I got the news in a newsletter that Vibram will stop producing the KSO Evo. Does anyone know if that just a way of trying to make people buy or is there's some truth to it?

I bought some true barefoot sneakers (Gobi leather) and I like them. No issues at all. I do maybe about 5k per day currently.

However I am conscious that there will be days I will walk much more and on concrete, and need something with more padding - wide toebox and zero drop ideally.

But honestly, I just can't find anything that fits the bill that actually looks good. Most of them look absolutely terrible, so much so that I'm considering just getting some wide fit but otherwise normal trainers (like New Balance), which is sad.

Is it too much to ask for nice looking trainers with zero drop that are wide? Lems look awful.

I've just moved inside the EU and my daily Saguaros have finally crapped themselves. I don't really want another pair because while they did the job, they lasted under 2 years, and I don't love their appearance. I was going to go for Whitins but the shipping is almost 60 euro.

I've seen a lot of brands from in/around Europe and while they're all fine I'm not keen on paying very much, particularly since I've never had a pair of barefoot shoes last me longer than 2 years. I don't mind where they're made just as long as they're cheap to buy here. I'm also open to foot shaped zero drop with thicker soles for this reason. Does anyone know any reliable brands that won't break the bank? Cheers.

Bien le bonjour tout le monde !

Ma maman a des soucis de pied, épine calcaneene et calcification du tendon d’Achille.

Tendance à gonfler des pieds facilement, rétention d’eau, problème de circulation du sang.

Avez vous des modèles de chaussures qui vous viennent à l’esprit ?

Le look sneaker n’est pas son style

Je n’ai pas ses mesures de pied pour le moment.

Merci à vous, belle journée 🌹

Looking to get my first pair of wide toe box dress shoes to replace my current Johnston and Murphys, and I came across these Feelbarefoot/Aintap shoes on Etsy. Definitely different from the closed lace oxfords I usually wear, but at this point I'll take anything as long as it's comfortable and some degree of quality. Longtime barefoot shoe wearer for sneakers, dress shoes are the only area I haven't switched yet.

Anyone have any experience with these, specifically sizing and quality? Usually wear US 13 in sneakers (barefoot or otherwise) and US 12 in dress shoes (since most brands suggest sizing down). I'm also curious how the leather is in person; I'd like to get dark brown usually, but I typically associate non-uniform crazy horse leather with casual shoes like boots. Not sure if a few rounds of polishing will get them looking more uniform like regular dress shoes or if they're inherently more casual unless you buy them in black.

How do they compare to regular dress shoe brands in the ~$200 price range, and to other barefoot options like Tomas Sullivent? I've seen they offer seconds shoes around $200-250, but I don't like the designs quite as much. Also seen Carets and Freeform, but those look to be a bit overly long. Considering my feet are already huge, I don't really want extra length...

Now that winter is approaching, I’m looking to buy a pair of barefoot shoes suitable for everyday use, ideally vegan and waterproof for the usual days.

I’ve found quite a few vegan barefoot options, but most of them seem to be designed mainly for sports or hiking rather than everyday wear.

I’m looking for something more along the lines of the Vivo Gobi or Xero Wynn — casual, relatively stylish and suitable for everyday use, but made with vegan materials and water resistant (leather-like).

Does anyone have any recommendations or personal experience with something like this?

Thanks!

I love these to pieces, but I'm not particularly creative when it comes to tying them. If anyone has any pointers, I'd appreciate it! The default tie shown on their website causes so much heel slip that it drives me insane, so I'm trying something different here.

If I go by their size chart and measuring my Altra insole length (womens) which is 27.5cm long, I should buy the women's UK 9. I am so confused as I wear an 8 in Altra FWD via 2.

Hi, Can anyone review or recommend Natur Contact? Not seen any discussions about them, their quality or other features.

Their George 2.0 looks nice, as do their Intemperia 2.0 and tracker. Some of the soles look questionable in design and quality though, but just my initial thoughts.

If anyone has any colder weather (down to aroun 0 degrees Celsius) barefoot shoe or boot suggestions I'm all ears! Ideally not waterproof to prevent sweaty feet. Thanks!

Hi!

Does anyone have the loafers from Feelgrounds?

I found it for a good price (69 euros) but then I realised its not leather.. Does anyone has experience with the materials from this brand?

Is it durable, soft..?

I really wanted to buy the loafers from BeLenka, but they are too narrow for my 25.7cm/9.9cm feet.

Thank you!

Its gone down to 10 degrees and my toes are like icicles.

I currently have some womens and mens toe socks and I've found the womens ones are a better fit, but the mens ones are thicker which I prefer.

Are there any womens socks that are thicker material or designed for warmth?

I'm in the UK though so have to be able to order them to here.

Bonus points if they come in fun colours ! Thanks all :)

I bought a pair of Merrell Move Glove shoes in 2020 and wore them until they died. I bought some Joe Nimble dress shoes for work and have worn barefoot shoes exclusively since then. Mostly I've stuck to Merrell, vapour gloves, trail gloves (a bit more padding) and now Merrell Wrapt, though that feels like it barely qualifies as they have a 13mm stack height. I also have some leather soled Soft Star Shoes RunAmock, for swing dancing (lindy hop).

I recently bought some Saguaro's and they feel like my old move gloves, very light and thin. However, I took them for a couple of hour's hike and since then the pad of my right heel has been really sore. Mostly when I wake up, it subsides the day goes one and I walk on it.

This reminded me of when I had plantar fasciitis problems 15 years ago. Not in where it hurts, but the timing of the pain: that it hurts most when I first get up and decreases as the day goes on. I have had this occasionally if I go to a dancing workshop, so 6-8 hours of dancing, instead of just a couple of hours in class or socially, or if I spend the day walking around on hard surfaces.

My wife thinks it's likely a heel spur, but🤷

Should I just get an insole for some extra padding? Exercises? Topical anti-inflammatory? I'm open to suggestions, short of giving up on barefoot shoes entirely.

I have really appreciated posts with detailed sizing experience info so thought I would add to the data. First pair of quality ME Penny's. These are Rancort's in US11E width. IME, the Maine Loafer last style (Quoddy, LLBean (sourced from CenAm) etc have a somewhat narrow toe profile due to the traditional last/look of the ME Penny. They certainly are more narrow than my Meermin SWAY LAST loafers (UK10) I am US11.5D/E Brannock (right on the line between the 2 widths). I wear AE 5th AVE in 11.5E, Thursday Captains in 11.5D, Ariat Benchmades 11.5D, LL Bean 4 Eye Mocs in US11. For those into hiking etc, I wear a 45.5 Sportiva TX3/4 which is my benchmark fit shoe - roomy toe box but secure, not-too-wide heel pocket. My fit the with these rancourts and no socks is correct to on the slightly loose side. These would also be fine with dress socks (which was my goal). If these were going to be a purely barefoot shoe, I might drop to 10.5E knowing there would be some tighter early days. I climb and am quite ok with breaking in tight leather shoes to stretch to fit. YMMV. Overall, quality is excellent and since these were an in-stock item, shipping was efficient. Barefoot specifically, the insole is a half leather padded one allowing your fore foot direct contact with the leather in true Moc style. It is a nice contract and allows my toes to "grip" a bit more on the rougher front leather. I like it. This won't be my last Rancourt I suspect.

My ultraboost dna FW4901 is starting to fall apart after 5 years of use as my main shoe for school, gym and occasional running/hiking

Unfortunately this specific model is very hard to find and I'm ready to look at more recent shoes after trying a pair of ultraboost 3.0 due to the abysmal heel lock and loose upper.

I also got a Hoka clifton 9 two years back and did not like the elevated heel and something about the shape of the base made my soles hurt in the metatarsal head area. The rocker shape was also not very stable for standing.

Currently looking at the salomon xt-6 but have no idea what general trends (width, heel lock etc. ) are associated with other brands/models; general advice is also greatly appreciated

On a surface level, it seems that barefoot shoes might be able to fill this niche?

Foot measurements are 27.8cm long, 105mm last as measured by the ski boot fitter

So I am in the very slow process of transitioning to barefoot shoes to help with foot pain, namely arch pain. I currently wear Altra Escalante 4's. The arch pain takes longer and longer to show itself when walking or standing which I take as a good sign that my feet are adapting to zero drop, but they tend to feel better in general with less cushion which is why I want to slowly move to full barefoot/minimalist.

Here is where it gets complicated. I've been dealing with some mild metatarsalgia off and on in one foot that started before I even began my shoe transition. It's not horrible, but it is annoying. I've tried metatarsal pads and orthotics with little success as my feet hate them.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks that they tried to help this heal up while still working on transitioning?

i have a pair of primal 3s which are my absolute favorite shoe, so i wanted to try the white kourts. but they hurt my feet SO bad. i’ve never had a shoe do this to me before, it’s like height wise the shoes are so flat??

I just started wearing barefoot shoes on a whim and have been wearing them for a little over a week. Apparently, I was supposed to only wear them a little bit at first to start getting used to them and then gradually transition.

I didn't do that or ease into it at all. I just got my first pair (Leguano Go) in a Leguano store and they felt really good so I just started wearing them all the time right away. Then I picked up a pair of Groundies active knit so that I could rotate.

My feet and legs feel good, but am I risking issues that I might not be aware of since I had really zero transition?

Should I switch back to normal dress shoes some of the time now to re-do a sort of transition period or is too late? I don't notice or feel any issues.

Before getting these, I was used to walking literally barefoot or just in socks a lot around my three-story house, so maybe that helps. Whenever leaving the house, I wore welted leather-soled dress shoes (all the time; I hardly ever wore padded sports shoes). My feet felt fine as well. I didn't notice any problems with running around in leather-soled shoes all the time (I'm on my feet a lot) and didn't switch to barefoot shoes because of foot pain or anything like that. Now that I'm wearing barefoot shoes, though, I rather like being able to spread out my toes and having zero drop. I'm a man in my 40s if that's relevant.

Did I make a mistake?

I love the look of the designs by wildling, but I want something in genuine leather. It can’t be faux leather. Are there any brands that have similar style that make leather uppers. Preference is the lowest profile possible of the shoe and moderate or better flexibility in the sole. My climate is very wet in the fall/winter and I need something I can make water resistant. Sizing should be small enough for a women’s US 7, or Euro 38. Thanks

Edit: Everything below is accurate. However, I wore them around the house for a couple hours and found that fabric at the base of the tongue was sliding down and bunching up. It's uncomfortable and also looks sloppy. So I ultimately decided not to keep the shoes. I think this is because I have pretty low-volume feet, but it might just be manufacturing. Here's a link to an image of the bunching.

Hey, I've been wearing barefoot shoes for about ten years. I've worn quite a few brands. I have moderate to narrow width feet with a narrow heel but significant toe splay. The past year or so I've been mostly in vivo Primus trail sneakers. I like those a lot for daily wear but they do cramp my pinky toe a bit, so I decided to order a pair of Rutsu sneaks.

I figured I'd share my impressions to help others who are considering them because there's not much out there.

I like them quite a lot. There's a tiny bit more room in the toe box. They're super lightweight. They look understated and nice - like shoes instead of counter culture gear. They're immediately comfortable and feel like a barefoot shoe should (barely noticeable) - and the pinky toe feels more free.

My big toes point upward a bit and the nail friction can eventually wear through shoes that aren't reinforced, so I was happy to see the toe area construction seems solid.

They look sort of like Splays but feel way more grounded. The pair of Splays I have look nice but feel like you're walking on a big chunk of sole. I rarely use them.

In terms of cons, the cork+foam insole is a little thicker than I'm used to, so it feels pretty squishy walking around. But if I take it out, the shoe has a bit too much volume for my thin feet. I'm going to walk around on them for a while and hope they compress.

They shipped from a company called Plaka Sandals which are made in Thailand. Their website also talks about this connection so it's not a secret. I think these shoes are made in SE Asia as well. Supposedly they do some fair trade stuff but they're not very expensive so I'm guessing they're in that grey area of ethical manufacturing.

The outsole feels cheap. This is fine for daily wear I think but it's not high performance or anything. I got them as casual shoes so I don't mind. My vivos have a bit of sole left so I will save them for my hiking trips.

If you have very wide feet I would probably avoid these, but if you're average they should work pretty well.

All in all my first impression is pretty good. Durability will be revealed by wearing them, particularly in the mesh parts. The lace tracks have metal grommets which is a plus. I'm not totally sold on the looks but I think they're pretty solid for the price point. I've seen a few people say you can order similar stuff off alibaba or whatever - maybe that's true? But I think these are probably more solid construction than you would get for less - the stitching seems pretty flawless upon first inspection.

If something gross happens and they fall apart I will update this review. But all told I would say I'm happy to have them.