Barefoot shape shoes but not barefoot soles? And not too horrible?

[Talipesmum]

Firstly - I’m posting this in style and beauty not because I think what I’m after is stylish or beautiful (I suspect it’s very much neither) but because this seems to be the de facto place for clothing recommendations. So I’ll apologise in advance to fashionistas for any offensive shoe images that may arise…

I’ve got really wide square feet, and so has my teen son. My Facebook has been slowly infected with adverts for barefoot type shoes, eg vivobarefoot, hobibear etc. My son saw some and was v excited at the prospect of shoes shaped like his actual feet, and so am I. I’ve also seen barefoot shoes recommended on here for wide feet.

I’m not actually interested in the “feel the connection with the floor / zero drop” aspect of barefoot shoes, though I’d be willing to try. It’s all about the “barefoot” shape natural toe box for me.

These ones didn’t look as weird as some others but the trustpilot reviews are shocking hobibear

My question is - has anyone with wide feet tried any of these brands and can recommend specific ones, ideally that don’t look too weird with rubber stripes coming up round the foot? Anywhere we can try them in real life or is it nearly always an online order job? And are there any with normalish soles but barefoot shape that can be recommended?

No idea, but interested too and would love some suggestions!

Have a look at Conker shoes. ££££ and a particular look that you may not like, but they are the shape you want.

Thanks, I had heard of those in passing. I do like the leather but I think I’m after more of a nice casual sneaker type thing, probably leather / suede / similar for me, and something that doesn’t cost £275 for the growing teen.

Appreciate you taking the time though - might work for others!

VivoBarefoot have a shop in Covent Garden in London:

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/store-finder

I've never tried barefoot shoes because I'm sceptical about the zero drop - having had plantar fasciitis in the past, which if you read up about it is blamed on spending too much time in flat shoes. In my case I'd spent the summer wearing Clarks' Freckle Ice shoes and thinking I was treating my feet well because they had cushioned soles.

I'd like to try them though, but maybe not for pounding the pavement.

Ah thank you - that’s really useful. I can get into London easily though. I have plantar f worries myself, not got it yet but starting to feel like I should be careful. I’m wondering if what with this and the giant width I might be well served to visit a chiropodist but I wonder if they all have different solutions.

We made the switch as a family to barefoot shoes as a family over the past couple of years. We have wide toe boxes too!

I'm not going back to 'normal' shoes. I used to have issues with my ankles that I don't have now - I'm fairly sure it's because of changing my footwear. We've also found that our toes have become much more spread and my balance is definitely better.

We generally wear Hobibear and we really rate them, particularly from a price perspective. I have also tried Xero (more expensive) and Saguaro (a similar price to Hobibear and I would say slightly more tapered).

VivoBarefoot have a second website called ReVivo. It seems to be for refurbished shoes and factory rejects. I've had a quick look and don't see any in the 'Never Worn' category, but they have so many styles/sizes in 'Excellent' that I can't believe they're all secondhand. So maybe a lot of old styles or seconds? Unless they never reissue as new any shoes returned by customers who just tried them on at home.

www.revivo.com/conditions-explained

For barefoot and not-quite-barefoot style I'd try xeroshoes.

For normal soles there are a couple of running shoes brands that specialise in foot-shaped toe boxes, Altra (available online from sportsshoes) and Topo (available online through various online running shops and their bricks-and-mortar stores). I can vouch for northernrunner's mail order service and they have stores in several northern cities. Both brands sell proper running shoes rather than fashion trainers, so they won't qualify as super-stylish, but they are very comfortable.

Where do you get your hobibear ones from? Are they all online from their main store, or via a retailer? I was a bit put off by the UK trustpilot reviews, but was previously keen to try them.

I love these
https://www.happylittlesoles.co.uk/shapen-re-wind-sneakers-white.html

Thank you - those altra trainers look good and I think my son would like the look of them - they even have a couple of pairs in size 13!

In fairness, we haven't bought from the website - DH buys them from AliExpress. But never had an issue from them.

My saguaros were tricky as initially they weren't the right size and it took an age to sort out an exchange. My advice would be to always check the size guide of every brand and measure, you might not be the size you think you are.

I have super wide feet that are also swollen and love the mesh Sketchers.
Not the slip on ones tho. They are useless.
You will have to go into a shop i imagine and try them on
I think mine were £130 but feel like im walking on air

Ah I can’t get on with sketchers. They never have options in the extra wide that I like, and the normal wide don’t fit well on me. My son has the extra wide arch support ones though and likes them. We have a huge store and I go in periodically to try to find something and never do! Thanks for the suggestion though, I’m sure I’ll keep trying in there as it’s one of only three shoe shops where I live!

Might risk it then. Your saguaros experience is what I’m trying to avoid - every time I try to get shoes for my son it’s often order 8 pairs from multiple places and return 7, and I’m barely recovered from the giant hoo haa that was me trying to get some summer sandals that were wide enough and that didn’t cut my feet to pieces 😭😭. I’ve got a lot of tracings of feet on printed out size charts around the house. It’s such a pain! But worth it if there are actual brand recommendations like this, rather than me suspiciously scrolling facebook adverts…

Have you looked at Birkenstock trainers? Two foot widths and a proper toe box. Bend Low or Honnef are the styles to look at.

Birkenstock have some lovely shoes with a wide toe box

Good call - those look nice. Maybe not for my son as they mostly don’t go big enough, but I’d like them. Think I’d better head into Covent Garden and browse all the big stores. I hadn’t looked at them as I don’t get on with the hard sole of their sandals, but these look flexible.

I had my hobibear from Amazon - with their usual returns policy. Not sure how they compare on pricing / range.

I've been wearing them most of the summer but have now succumbed to plantar fascilitis annoyingly. My feet other than my heels are much happier though. Im going to look at using insoles with them... not sure how that will pan out!

(So I too am on the look out for better soles with the right toe box - so here for the recommendations too!)

My dd has just bought some Dr Martens which as a wide footed woman the unisex/men's range works for... might be worth a try.

Just wanted to add Lems to the mix, they have a wide toe box but more cushioning than a true barefoot shoes. If you google they have a website and also stocked at various places.
Also Freet though they are less cushioned than Lems and a less stylish option I would say.
Browsing the happy little soles website would be a good call, their returns are good and they have the length of the sizes in cm on their website so I find it easy to order from there.
While vivobarefoot look nice they aren’t that wide and are super flat and thin so can be hard to adjust to.

Also this website is useful for recommendations
Anyas reviews

I find Hobibear too flat for me (I wear orthotic insoles and need a bit of heel support) but these from Amazon are absolutely perfect: https://amzn.eu/d/32RFtJV

They have a wide toe box and plenty of room for my orthotics, plus they're tall enough (I have a high instep). I have them in two colours. They're not massively stylish, but they could be a lot worse!

@Talipesmum The Bend Low are very comfortable. They come in different finishes. The Decon style is great for casual. I use the leather ones in the gym.

Happy Little Soles are a great website with a wide range of barefoot shoes. You can filter for wide and extra wide fit. They have a good customer service as well and you can ask if there are any that have a thicker sole or some drop if you don’t want zero drop.

I buy for my child who has extra wide feet. Vivos are too narrow for him now. We’re going to try Freets for the new school year. I’ve just returned a pair of Hobibears as the soles were definitely narrower than Freets but they did look nice enough.

I wear old Vivos and Xeros myself.

Very much not the height of fashion but Fitville (available on Amazon) has some that might work for you. Look for the extra wide fit.

A family member who has severe bunions, and hence needs a v wide toe box, uses them.