Hi Everyone,

My name is Woby (pronounced like Kobe!). I am a foot nerd from the foot collective, and I advacte for barefoot shoes and the lifestyle, all day everyday...

I am co-founder of a start-up that aims to blend style, comfort, and optimal foot health and mobility

Would love to know your needs in athletic footwear and how to best guide you through your foot health journey...

Please take no more than 7 minutes to complete the following survey...

https://oregon.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5Au7nHoMh8pYBAG

Thanks so much!

IG: Barefootlang

I just bought Xero Prio shoes for casual wear and I love them. Now I need to find suitable work shoes that have oil and slip resistance, and even better if it has a composite/alloy toe. I work in a machine shop and I stand on concrete.

Does anyone know any brands that have these types of shoes? Not interested in boots.

Thanks.

I want a barefoot sandal that is very thin (less than 9mm) I currently wear Vivos and Tolos and I love how thin those soles are and want something more similar to that, I have looked into brands like earth runners, Xero, and bedrock, and have noticed that really only Xero is thinner. These will be used for all kinds of summer activities and would prefer if they do good in the water

I've finally hit the point where shoes irritate the life out of me, and I find myself opting for sandals or no footwear at all. Shoes feel just awful to wear.

Thanks a lot. I blame all of you.

Do you guys synch down the laces on your barefoot shoes hard?

I have really low volume feet and I feel like if I don't have my Xero's tight/hugging my foot, my gait is wrong and it just feels really bad.

Whenever I go from thicker socks to thinner ones I need to adjust my laces a lot, does anyone else have this issue?

Heading to Nepal for hiking Do you know of any store where I can get 5 fingers socks in Kathmandu?

Hello, i fell off a ladder and broke my 3rd and 4th metatarsal. I also permanently sprained my foot. Healing was a mess, but I finally healed. Doc told me to wear supportive shoes with lots of padding and arch support, but when I wear these shoes I feel a lot of pain, and end up going back to my barefoot shoes. I know the Dr knows best, but I don’t think I can stand going back to normal shoes. My foot hurts mostly all the time now, I’m hoping it will strengthen with time. What do ya’ll think?

I’m looking for a replacement insole for my whitin trail runners. They’ve held up surprisingly well, other than the insoles being torn to shreds.

Are there any brands that are known to fit the whitins?

I bought a pair of Purestep shoes off the back of an Instagram ad, they're working out just fine, but the quality is not the best. There was glue visible all along the rims of the soles so clearly a rush job. They're comfortable, but ugly. Been wearing them for several months and don't see any nasty wear and tear yet. Wouldn't tell anybody not to buy them, wouldn't go out of my way to encourage it either.

Anyway, I was searching for UK brands today and came across Natur Contact which is a UK company selling the exact same shoes as Purestep (a Swiss company).

I suspect these are white-label products from a large manufacturer. This would explain the long wait times on deliveries since they're likely waiting on shipments from China/India/Vietnam etc. This also means that if you are looking for reviews of the shoes you can search for either brand. Hope this is helpful.

Aside from the toe box are vans better than other traditional shoes when it comes to foot health. They are flexible and quite thin for a trad shoe. So are they good?

Skateboarding barefoot friends, here’s the update I promised. It finally stopped raining here, so I took these out for about 45 minutes skating with the kids. The laces are hilariously bad, but I planned on replacing those anyway and laces never last long. They are soft and loosely woven. The canvas on the toe seems to have a harder layer underneath it that will take longer to wear through. With shoe goo, I think these will be an alright option for a relatively low cost shoe that doesn’t wreck my toes. If they were suede, they would probably be awesome.

Ive got eds and need supportive shoes to help me stand for longer however regular shoes feel aweful to be in. Any recs?

Hi 👋

I'm visually impaired, so I am having trouble determining what my foot volume is, not sure if I am high, medium or low volume. Same for my instep, am I high, medium or low? - https://i.imgur.com/pOay7f7.jpeg

Has anyone any experience with Saguaro?

I ordered sneakers for my child for the first time after seeing so much advertising. Looked nice enough, good price for barefoot shoes. They haven’t arrived after a week and the parcel’s tracking says that they are arriving from China. Now I’m afraid they are not as good as they seem and I’m almost regretting I didn’t research more.

I’ve tried and returned 3 pairs of barefoot shoes. I’m basically kissing frogs trying to find a pair that fit well. The Freet where baggy and ill fitting; the Motus Strength from Vivobarefoot where astonishingly tight around everything but my toe box; and the Lems Primal 3 where amazing comfortable but just weren’t wide enough in the toe box.

I’m giving the Lems another try in the next size up but I’m getting worried this is a waste of time.

Has anyone had similar complaints about these models who went on to find a better fit?

I love my Lems Primal Zens. As someone who's tinkered with barefoot hiking sandals for years and had to go all in on minimal / foot shaped / barefoot shoes to battle a Morton's neuroma, it's been the best balance I've found of zero drop, toe box width, and low cushioning.

I'm suspecting the bit of stack height helps me though you don't have to convince me of the benefits of thinner material if bearable. Maybe when my healing progresses.

In the meantime, I've struggled in my searching to find a sandal with the same balance. I'd love something with a touch more give than bedrock Cairns, more casual oriented, and I tried Earth runner circadians and LOVED the straps but found them impossibly dense despite the low stack height. They felt harder on my feet than the bare floor! I also tried the brand new H-trail from Xero but they arrived warped...so I'm done with those for now.

Anything like a Birkenstock style wise, or, toe post style with heel counter that has a bit of cushion? Ahinsa comfort or barefoot slip ons or comfort sandals look promising, but it's a lot of commitment with international shipping and return/shipping costs.

Thanks!

First time in barefoot shoes, watched videos, just still feels uncomfortable

I recently purchased some Hobibear barefoot shoes from their website. They took a while to arrive, as I did not know they were a Chinese company. All good.

I ordered a US Men’s size 14. I get them and soon realize they are too small. The label on the side reads size 47. Normally I am a Euro size 49. I go back to their website to look at the size chart and it says that Men’s size 13 = size 47.

I contact them regarding returning the shoes, via the "Get in Touch" page on their website and they don’t answer after almost a week, despite the page saying "we will get back to you within 20-36 hours!" Their website returns page says if they send the wrong size that they would accept a return and also pay for the return shipping.

So I email them, with my order details, a screen cap of the size chart and a photo of the box label, explaining they have sent me the incorrect size. I ask how to return the shoes at their expense. Their response was only this "Hello, we did not send the wrong one. You bought the size we sent, so we will not pay the return shipping fee."

Shortly thereafter, I get a second email that says only "What you originally purchased was this corresponding size. What you sent us is the size chart we just revised" with a different sizing chart that I have never seen. On this new chart size 47 is now US Men’s 14 (which is not right).

My response to them was this "The chart on your website is the one I saw when placing the order. And because on that chart size 47 is listed as US size 13, one would assume that size 14 would be larger than that. This is not my mistake. Sending me this new chart that I have never seen is irrelevant. This mistake is because your website gave me the incorrect information, and thus not my fault.  Please refund me and pay for the shipping." They responded "We are very sorry, but we cannot pay for the return shipping. If you need to return the item, please pay for it at your own expense."

From Canada, shipping these shoes back to them (the return address was in Kentucky, USA) will cost almost 30CAD, more than half price of the shoes. Needless to say I am not impressed. I WOULD have ordered another pair had their customer service not been so abysmal.

Thanks for letting me rant. Hoping I will save someone the headache of ordering from this company.

When I was wearing normal shoes (although I have been wearing almost exclusively sandals for the past year before getting these shoes) I always *hated* wearing them the *second* I got home. I was fine while I'm out, but the instant I got home I had to take them off because my feet were so uncomfortable (or sore, because I worked retail/fast food) and I just *love* how I don't hate wearing shoes anymore with these.

Like the title says,I’m new to barefoot shoes . I’m looking for recommendations, I’m not going to do any hiking and little to no running. I’m just looking for shoes for everyday shoes. What do you guys recommend? My budget is around 150 USD.

Hi there! 👋 Today, I had my feet professionally measured in the UK. Turns out, my left foot is a UK Mens Size 8, while my right foot is a UK Mens Size 8.5. Because of this difference, it was recommended I go for Size 9 shoes. They also noted that I have extra-wide feet, so when I order Size 9, I should opt for extra-wide shoes.

Currently, I'm testing out a pair of Vivobarefoot Primus Lite 3's. Initially, Vivobarefoot recommended a size 8, but that was before getting my feet measured professionally, and was based on Vivo's strut fit recommendation, where you have to take a photo etc.

Additionally, Vivobarefoot provided me with width measurements - for the Primus Lite 3's:

Size 9: 108.64mm
Size 10: 110.24mm
Size 11: 111.86mm
Size 12: 113.46mm

Considering my extra-wide feet, I had a feeling Size 8 might be too snug. Therefore, I ordered Size 9, when I tried Size 9, it still turned out to be too narrow. So now, I'm wearing a Size 10 to accommodate the extra width - although weirdly, it feels a little tight across the top of the left shoe, despite my left foot being smaller than my right, and the right shoe feels absolutely fine. Therefore, I am looking for other recommendations, outside Vivobarefoot, as it seems their shoes fit my feet weirdly, and ideally a shoe that can accommodate my extra-wide feet, vs just your typical wide feet.

Hey, I'm scouring the internet looking to see how people feel about these Xero Nexus Knits: https://xeroshoes.com/shop/shoes/nexus-knit-men/

For some background, I work a job that requires me to be on my feet most of the day but isn't necessarily punishing on footwear (I am an Asst. Director at an Animal Shelter and hate being at my desk, so I'm walking constantly, and our workplace attire is not typical professional in the sense that we are always around animals, helping with cleaning, handling, etc.), and I owned a pair of Prio's about 3 years ago, and frankly I thought they felt cheap. The materials seemed rigid/artificial, and the soles began tearing away from the shoes after maybe 2 months. That has been my only experience with Xero shoes.

I have worn Merrell Vapor Gloves and really liked them, but can only get soft Glove style shoes because the toe box is generally not big enough and anything more rigid like the Trail Glove hurts my small toes.

From pictures alone the Xero Nexus looks like a great shoe both in style and function for me. But I'm afraid to try Xero again based on my past experience. Was that experience isolated? Should I give them another try? Or alternative suggestions for a barefoot shoe that can be worn every day and withstand lots of walking/movement on concrete?

I’m considering getting my first pair of barefoot shoes in Australia, and I’m wondering which brands are best. I’ve looked at Vivo and Leguano (a German brand) so far but am really not sure what to look for. Is there a brand you can recommend?

Hey, the app is glitching and will only let me post 1 picture per post so i had to collage them.

Anyway, one shoe has the round laces the boot came with. The other has flat laces I borrowed from another shoe.

They just showed up a minute ago (a couple days late because of the post office), but it's perfect because I'm hiking tomorrow. Have never hiked in barefoot shoes before. Also have a slight heel injury, so we will see how it goes.

Overall, upper seems kinda stiff and the shoe looks a little cheap close up to me. But they feel alright and look okay from a distance. Wish I'd have gotten brown, in hindsight.

These are vegan.

Sizing for this said EU 41, women 9 and men 7. I wear an 8.5 in women and these fit okay. I have moderate to low profile feet.

Wish me luck cuz my heel already hurts lol.

Is this a fad or a permanent shift? Why or why not?

Kept getting ads on FB/IG as you do, was tempted by one brand (naturcontact) I think, but withheld the urge due to price (funnily found the one I liked on aliexpress for less than half the cost)

Popped onto Amazon/reddit and saw hobibears getting some good feedback, cheap enough on Amazon, even cheaper on aliexpress so thats where I went.

My feet usually take a few days to adjust/wear in most shoes (typically skate brands), these though no break in period at all, feet are in bliss. Definitley converted and will be getting more, should of switched sooner.