I was wondering if anyone has tried any of the barefoot running shoes and if so, do they recommend any particular brand, etc?
I quite often either walk around in flat, boat shoe type shoes and have even done some of the 30 minute runs from C25K on the treadmill barefooted.
I'm just restarting again and was thinking of trying them outside when I start venturing out, etc.
I have been summoned! 😆
I'm a full-time barefoot shoe wearer since 2012, primarily in Vibram FiveFingers. I started C25K in March 2020 (and again in June 2020).
I did the whole of C25K in Vibram KSO EVOs, pretty much the most barefoot you can go whilst still wearing a shoe.
I did get a bad ankle sprain in my graduation run, but that wasn't the fault of the shoes -- more that I pushed myself too hard and was running at a pace that my muscles could handle, but the rest of my legs couldn't at that point.
I have also run barefoot outside a few times (2 miles on paving slabs and tarmac). If I wanted to do that more often I'd need to build up the calluses on my soles more.
I do own VivoBarefoot shoes but haven't run in them much. I have seen recent photos of ju-ju- (creator of the Magic Plan) wearing VBs, but unfortunately she's no longer active on the forum.
I also have some Merrell Barefoot shoes, but haven't run in them.
My usual street running shoes nowadays are Vibram V-Run (previously known as Vibram Bikila EVO), and Vibram Spyridon MR (no longer made) for trail or sand.
Did you have any particular shoes in mind?
Thanks for the answer, I don't have any particular shoe in mind, a search online throws up many brands, types, etc, I don't mind spending the money on a good pair (my Asics cost me £170), it's just knowing which brands are good ones to try.
A tip for sizing: Amazon will often have some shoes on free returns, and "wrong size" is a valid return reason. It took me several goes to find the right size for Vibrams, as they're sized unusually, and only the Euro size is consistent (I take 46).
However, I get most of my shoes off eBay! I rarely pay more than £50.
Brands you'll hear: Vibram, Merrell, Xero, VivoBarefoot, Whitin.
Perhaps we need something like the bat signal for summoning… maybe 👣 would be appropriate? 😂
It's fine, I know people have a life outside the internet and it can take time for people to answer questions, etc.
If I don't hear back, it's not an issue, from the above message I get the impression that Vibram and Merrell are respected brands and ones to possibly try.
What a lovely reply LeeU ! 👍😀
I definitely think of nowster as the barefoot shoes guru, and the IT guru too. Speaking of which I need to summon him for something unrelated to your post, unless of course he's currently down the chippy... 😉🤣
I'll be setting off to run to the chippy in about 15 minutes. 🤣
This is so nice! I was thinking more that Nowster deserves his own signal as a reward for his expertise and willingness to help people on their journey to barefoot running. Definitely not an instruction to reply or a call to arrive quickly (although looking at his run stats on here, I know he is more than capable of speed!). Just some slightly silly fun!
Didn't mean to offend anyone, I have a habit of doing that quite often I'm afraid.
Sorry if I offended you.
Genuinely not offended even a little bit! Sometimes my tone gets lost and I’ve got a bit of a dry sense of humour that doesn’t translate when written down. I was worried I’d offended you! Glad that’s not the case.
All good here.❤️
Trust me, that's never going to happen, I've been married for 29 years and I've worked in high pressure IT jobs for over 25 years, I'm very hard to offend.
p.s. I'm more worried about offending people with my sense of humour, which can be very dark at times.
The great thing here is we’re full of lovely posters who understand that we don’t always write what we mean very well and sometimes accidentally say the wrong thing. Everyone has been very gracious to me when I’ve got things wrong.
Can’t wait to hear about how you get on with your new shoes. 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
"we don’t always write what we mean very well "
I can relate to this today 🤣
The nowster ... he is the brilliant brain behind the barefoot beat!
Hi LeeU, I use vivo barefoot and softstar primal. I started C25K using a pair of vivos that I had bought for walking, got on fine with them so thought I may as well continue.
I've had a couple of issues with the vivos, one is the laces or top of the shoe digging in and inflaming the tendons on the top of my foot. The laces are weird and cover the whole of the top of your foot, and my dry trail pair were made from quite a stuff fabric where the creases could dig in a bit. My wet trail pair are made from a softer fabric and have such a snug neoprene sock type fitting that I don't find the laces necessary. They also have fantastic grippy lugs that work well in slippy mud.
I've also found that they slope off too quickly across the toes for me, they assume that your big toe is the longest and then the rest of your toes get progressively shorter. My foot shape is more square across the toes so my fourth toe tends to rub and get a blister, unless I wear quite constructive socks, which sort of defeats the object. Having said all that, lots of people love them and I think they have a thirty day trial thing, as long as you've paid full price.
My softstar primal shoes are super wide across the toes, they are made from super soft leather. They look like flippers but don't constrict my feet at all. They look quite hand crafted and you can choose custom colours, you can return them if they don't fit (to USA) but not if you've been out running in them. I found the sizing advice on their website led me to the correct size.
Downsides, being leather they are not ventilated. They don't snugly cup your foot so little stones can flick into them, although this hasn't happened as much as I thought it would. They arrive flat as a pancake , you have to stuff the toes overnight to shape them before you first go out in them.
This website helped me find a pair and she does have a page that describes what shape feet some of the different brands work for.
Note that most of the shoes she talks about are not running shoes.
anyasreviews.com/barefoot-s...
I hope that helps a bit.
Thanks for the information, I've had a quick look at the Prima range, they look good.
To try them I think I may look at the Vivobarefoot Geo Racer and see how I go.
When it comes to running shoes I've pretty much only worn minimalist (which I fell into by chance because I was on a search for something a fraction more ethical than the usual cesspit selection)
I like Vivobarefoot, although I have to say my current ones (Primus Trail) ripped my feet in umpteen places for a while. My other current shoes are Freet Feldom and although I should have binned my Merrell Bare Access at this mileage I do still pop them on as well... (Honestly I am not as bad as my father... he had 30+ pairs, the running version of Imelda Marcos)
Thanks for the info, more brands for me to look at.
I used to have one pair of trainers for everyday use and one pair of running shoes, I've still only got one pair of running shoes and a couple of pairs of trainers plus I have boat shoe style shoes that I wear a lot, they're flat with little to no rise, love walking in them, they feel great.
I've just moved to barefoot running shoes after walking in barefoot boots for quite a while. I bought vivobarefoot. You have to go a size up though! They're serving me well so far.
I've prefer Xero to Vivo for running (have Vivo walking boots). I'm female, but found the male shoes are better for me as they are wider. I run on the roads (not tried them on trails) 5 to 10k, I've never run longer distances.
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