Barefoot shoes

[Billybagpuss]

Does anyone use them, for either running or daily use and which brands etc do you recommend. There’s such a mix of reviews out there and conflicting advice from people swearing by them to people saying it’s a waste of money.

I’m interested as there does seem to be evidence that medically they are a good idea, even reducing blood pressure due to awakening muscle groups that are too protected in normal shoes so improving circulation. But they do seem to be a lot of money to shell out and I’d love some personal experiences and recommendations if anyone uses them.

IThoughtHeWasWithYou I was so surprised at how tight I was despite wearing barefoot shoes day to day and my normal running shoes being Altra escalante which are zero drop but not true barefoot shoes. If I want to run in them I think I need to ease in even more but I only ran 3.5km.

Marking for all the suggestion Thanks

I’ve never heard of them! You learn something every day!

There's someone on socials called Barefoot Brit who has lots of different brands and styles which she reviews

I’ve just listened to the podcast that @borntobequiet posted upthread and this is definitely consistent with what the experts are saying. Essentially since cushioned trainers started to come in in the 70s we’ve all got so used to it that our feet are generally much weaker than they used to be and the pressure on the calves was one of the things that was highlighted, it seems a transitional period of very short duration each run is needed.

thank you so much again everyone this has been so helpful.

I am so enormously skeptical about these, or at least how they could never be suitable for my life. That said, the adherents (cult?) gush about them. I would never feel justified to pay out ££££ (the fomo isn't that bad) so will never know if I'm wrong.

I grew up going truly barefoot a lot. Didn't really wear shoes regularly until I started working a lot, so Into my 20s still barefoot a lot. Will still go barefoot outdoors in summer. Definitely like shoes a lot most of the time, especially in a cold climate.

I wear them everyday. Altras, vivio, Groundies and Fleeters are some that I have. I started because I was getting bunions and my toes are now lovely and spread out and bunions are not getting worse. I cannot imagine squishing my toes in to normal shoes anymore.

I have some as my toes were starting to get squashed inward from years of wearing narrow ridiculous shoes. I have some Vivos and some Campers and love them BUT I tried running in my Vivos once.. never again! It’s SO hard. You would need to seriously build up to that gradually.

Even for walking you have to build up to longer periods of use if all you have been wearing is very padded supportive shoes (especially trainers). You can feel all the ground and there is no support so you use all of your foot muscles for the first time in ages.

I exclusively wear barefoot shoes and have done for the last 6 or 7 years. I have a few pairs from Vivobarefoot but in the last few years I’ve been getting them more from Feelgrounds which do more non sports type shoes. I live in their Chelsea boots for half the year!

lljkk

My most recent pair cost me £60 which is less than my "normal" trainers cost (about half) so you don't need to pay loads if you wanted to try.

I wear vivos regularly and also some hobibear shoes. They're really reasonably priced. Vivo barefoot are pricey.

I don't mind so much about the barefoot thing, it's more the wide toe box I like. I now hate the feel of anything squeezing my toes.

Also the weight now. I put my old walking boots on one day in the winter when it was icy and they felt like a lead weight on my feet.

Ooh that’s interesting, the weight thing is something I haven’t considered

My daughter has some Xeros which she uses for running. She took up running around 18 months ago and most recently ran the Brighton Marathon. She bought hers from a resale site so didn't pay anything like full price, but she loves them. She has a birthday in the summer and I expect they will be on the Wishlist.

I got Vivobarefoot hiking boots because of my wide feet...I found conventional hiking boots were hurting my feet.

I find them really comfortable, flexible and grippy, and I can even feel my lower back kind of realigning itself when I'm wearing them, which is interesting.

Quality wise, I'm not so impressed. In both of the pairs I have (both the vegan ones) the edge of the sole is already coming away from the upper. I mean, I've given them a good pounding, but hiking boots should be designed with that in mind. I couldn't send them back because I got one pair from Revivo (pretty sure they were end of line stock rather than 2nd hand though) and one from Vinted.

Also, the winter waterproof ones have stopped being so waterproof after several long hikes wading through streams/ falling in bogs etc. I can hopefully spray them to rewaterproof them, but didn't have to do this with my heavy leather (horribly uncomfortable) boots.

Interesting thread, thankyou @Billybagpuss for posting.

I've been dithering buying a pair recently and on a visit to my podiatrist asked his opinion on them.

His advice was a resounding stay away from them! No arch support and potential to cause serious foot issues if worn long term - he's had a few clients recently that have needed corrective procedures because of them.

I value his advice, so regrettably I'm resisting the hype on this one!

@Everleave thats interesting as someone upthread was recommended to them by their physio.

my pair have arrived and I’ve been wearing them for a week so far and I love them, I keep wriggling my toes, because I can, and I’d had issues with Achilles for a while and it is generally feeling much better. I just did a walk along the canal path and it was weird, but not unpleasant being able to feel more of the ground beneath my feet.

I’m sure they’re not a complete cure all and I don’t feel supported running in them but they are very comfortable.

My physio recommended them to me.

i have significant foot problems after being in an accident and was working on building up my foot muscles.

I think that just because my physio recommended them for me doesn’t mean they are right for you,

I read that the blood pressure thing was derived from studies of horses with shod feet but in horses, the dynamic is totally different and unshod hooves are designed to move and assist the heart in moving blood around in a much larger animal.

The thin soles would have me in fear of getting a deep set foreign body like a hawthorn or getting glassed.

I love Vibram five fingers.

The concept has been around since the 1970s (despite the other side of sports shoe manufacturers going for successively more cushioned footwear) and Vibram FiveFingers have been sold for twenty years.

Even in the 70s and 80s, it was normal to run in what would be termed a minimal shoe - the plimsoll - and even things now sold as fashion like Converse All-Stars were originally for professional basketball (and are still popular with weightlifters for the zero drop).

They're not the latest fad. They're more akin to what was used for thousands of years, have been around specifically for over two decades and the pillowy running shoes designed to stop heavier people from getting injured are in the great scheme of things, far more of a recent fashion than they are.

I've been wearing them for about 15 years! All day, every day, including boots for winter (Vivos). My bunions have just about straightened out. Why wouldn't you want to wear foot-shaped shoes?

I'm a convert and I think the 'support' thing is a red herring. Unless you have foot problems, you don't need support, just a sole to protect from sharp stones and dog poo.
If you have a look at the feet of people in eg the Brazilian rainforest they manage perfectly well, and their toes are the widest part of the foot.
Our shoes used to be more 'foot-friendly' - apparently it was aristos putting feet into stirrups for riding that led to the trend for narrow toes.

My favourites are from Merrill but I'm not sure they make them any more. The others I have are Vivobarefoot.

I'd be interested to hear from those that run in them. I heard a podcast (possibly on DOAC) talking about a different style of running needed in barefoot shoes, with the landing needing to be on the forefoot rather than the heel and although it is better from a knee perspective, the rate of ankle injury increases.