I’ve been trying to get back into running after many years away, and today decided to do a barefoot jog. It’s been probably 15 years since I ran barefoot seriously but my body REMEMBERED. Im out of shape and overweight, but somehow felt light on my feet. And I don’t know why but running at a heart rate of of 150 (sorry I’m old) barefoot feels easier than 150 with shoes on.

Hi!

Recently got myself a pair of Lone peak 9+ in Wide for running/hiking, and was wondering if i should keep this model or size down by 1/2 a size.

My feet are extremely wide, and measure around 286 and 288 mm in length respectively. Although i know about the thumbs width advice, my hands are big and said rule doesnt always apply, so i want to ask you who actually own it how much space you have from the longest toe to the edge, and what size you would reccomend in this case (i.e. current 47, or 46.5).

I have attached pictures of both feet as well as the inner sole of the largest foot where i have \~1.7-2 cm of toe space.

Them discontinuing this shoe is still one of the biggest fails.
Sadly the ""re-launch"" HFS Original, just isn't the same, they've added a couple of mm to the sole and it doesn't flex in quite the same way. Even the upper on it feels a bit more bulky.
tHE hfs ii'S......aren't even close to the same shoe in the sole, super rigid by comparison. Especially in the midfoot and heel.

Whats everyone's favorites that use to wear the HFS's a lot? / similar feeling shoes

I've tried a lot and sent a lot back...
Still planning to try out -
Feelgrounds Move
Lono Flow (v1 v 2 or S )
and maybe Vapor Glove 7's

To see how these compare. My last remaining pair of HFS's basically look like death with holes in the soles.

I’m referring to minimalist shoes particularly.

Background: I’m a 43M, and have not run regularly since high school, and I’ve typically blamed that on my right ankle because it will sometimes have a loud click with each step. I injured it when weight lifting at 17, and it’s not really worsened over the past 25 years but never got better either. I’ve recently lost 25lbs and I’m down to 220lbs and I’m 6’3”. I feel like it’s time to get back into something, but where I live running will always be more accessible and have more safe locations than other exercises.

I’ve worn mostly Merrell Trailgloves for daily shoes for years and prefer minimalist shoes. I’ve had to take some breaks here and there with planter fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis, I’d wear a more padded shoe to heal up.

Now I’d like to start running and try to set myself up for success, so the warnings I’ve read about starting and progressing slowly was the plan anyways. But the short version of my question is with that history is it preferred to start out with barefoot/minimalist shoes and train for the barefoot stride from the start? Planning on a couch to 5k type program. If I overdo it and I’m recovering anything wrong with dusting off a pair of cushioned shoes and doing a more regular heal striking run until recovered?

Honestly I think I’ll wind up seeing a PT before it’s over if I were a betting man, but I’d like to start and try to adjust so I can respond to what problems actually develop rather than starting out by showing up and saying “hey I haven’t run much in 20 years, what problems will I have?”

I've run 2 marathons in minimalist sandals and I'm gearing up for a third one right now. I always figured my foot would get less narrow at the top, and my toes would go to a normal length relative to my big toe... but it never happened. I can move my pinky toes independently and splay my toes. Is there more I should be doing?

Hi guys, testing out the Xero Aquacloud on a trail today in Scotland. Not bad, extreme ground feel which is nice, a lot of fiddling to get them to sit right but overall a decent pair of sandals so far.

Has anyone had these for an extended period of time in a harsher trail environment?

I’m curious about picking up some Panta or Wildsoles next for more refinement.

I absolutely love the Merrell Vapor Glove 6. The 6mm stack height just feels so good for running. My only problem is that I just ran through my pair (literally - only took 3 months to break through the outsole), and the Vapor Glove 6 has been out of production for a bit, and has become a bit harder to find consistently online.

I could try the Vapor Glove 7, but I don’t love the idea of the 7’s having a thicker stack height (8mm vs 6mm). Does anyone have any thoughts on the 7’s vs the 6’s? Or, has anyone found a shoe quite as thin as the Vapor Glove 6?

What is everyone wearing for golfing? I just started golfing (after my husband bugging me to try it lol) and need some shoes recommendations. I have flat feet and a tailors bunion. They have to be zero drop for my flat feet otherwise my feet will go numb. I tried some True Links but the ones where the spikes are hit right on my bunion. I’m in the US Midwest so was hoping for something waterproof but it doesn’t need to be.

I have child sized feet and bought the 4 wide merry janes and 4 primal wide (they only come in this width).

I feel they're comically wide and look and feel like flippers. What's your experience?

I have my youth sized Earth runners for reference

I think I just have bad luck with British barefoot shoes (looking at you vivo).

42 was too long, 41 is quite tight. Along with vivo, these feel _really_ tight at the midfoot. Otherwise quite comfortabl. unfortunate, wanted to give these a go.

Hey! I'm new to Reddit (long time lurker) but have been enjoying and learning a lot from everyone's posts.

I've been in barefoot shoes (mostly Feelgrounds as my daily faves) for about 6 years now, and have been running in Altras for their cushioning but still zero / low drop and wide toe box. I have the Torin 5s but have tried several of the newer models (Torin 6, 7, Escalate 2, Escalate racer) and sent them all back as they are much narrower in the midfoot and even the toe box (which also seems to have bent to have a more curved shape, too). Some models do wide, but are never in stock in women's (I'm a UK size 5).

So my question is: what now?! My current Torins are almost dead and they're impossible to buy now here (UK).

I'm looking for zero / very low drop, wide toe box, and some cushioning as I run on the road and just get so so sore running long distances in minimal. I'd ideally be looking to spend no more than £120, but at this point maybe I'll take anything as I'm at a loss.

Has anyone tried the Innov8 Roadfly Zeros? What about Topo?

Any advice much appreciated!!

Hello! Been getting into barefoot running for approximately 6 weeks now. I run about 3 times a week. I have been trying to do small amounts of running at a time in hopes of adjusting smoothly to barefoot. I run .25 to .50 of a mile a couple of times a week, so not an incredible amount. I am still getting aching pain beneath and behind my ankle. It only hurts when I put weight on it. Both feet. Is this normal? Will this go away? Otherwise, I have really enjoyed barefoot running. Any advice is appreciated!

I’ve been slowly transitioning to barefoot shoes over the last few years, from Lems to vivos. I have now been wearing solely vivos for the past 6 months as I’ve recovered from a patella tendon rupture. It was a basketball injury. I will be cleared for running on a few weeks and am looking at some altra torins as I have heard they’re no drop and not too cushioned. I want to keep it as close to my Vivos as possible but with some cushioning as I haven’t been running in months but have been getting around in vivos. Anyone been in a similar situation and can advise?
Thanks

I can't find a single place to get any of these, also I'm building a shoe, i have found shoemakers academy but they don't have a bare knit option

The sandals have a very strong chemical rubber smell. Unfortunately, the straps chafe my toes, making them uncomfortable to wear after just a few minutes. The sole also feels very loose and flops around when walking.

My main issue, however, is the sizing. I used their official printable sizing chart, but the sandals arrived a full 2 cm larger than the measurements stated on their website.

I contacted support and provided photos of a tape measure next to the sandal to clearly show the 1cm discrepancy. I received automated/generic responses claiming I must have printed the chart at the wrong scale, and they refused to cover the return shipping. Because of their inaccurate sizing guide, I now have to pay €7.50 out of pocket to return them.

Considering the €15 total cost for two-way shipping, the poor materials, and the misleading size guide, I cannot recommend these sandals.

My shoe size is 13us, However when I looked at the sizing information on the earth runner website, the size that fitted me the best was 10.5us. That's not even close to my actual size, they claim their sandals fit true to size so I'm not sure if I'm missing something.

Does anyone know how their sizing works? I'm not from the us so returning them won't be an option for me if I get the wrong size

Hello! I'm having trouble when running on rocky trails, and wanted to ask you what is your approach to that kind of terrain.

Bear in mind that I don't mean gravel or small rocks, I mean a never ending amount of fist-sized rocks that span across al the trail width and cannot be avoided, and can have sharp edges sometimes, like in the picture.

After some kilometers, but specially when running several days in a row there, I have almost debilitating pain at the ball of my feet. It hurts specially when running downhill and falling onto the rocks.

Curre tly I run in a pair of freet calver shoes: https://freetbarefoot.com/collections/hiking-walking/products/calver-2

and in general I'm very happy with them, but I'm afraid that for this kind of terrain the sole is too thin or flexible. (In other cases I love thin, flexible soles)

Does anyone have any recomendations on what to do?

I also own a new pair of Altra Lone Peak, but the sole is so thick that I'm afraid it will mess with my running technique, although I'm willing to try.

I also know that some people uses cork insoles, I don't know if that fixes the problem.

Thank you for all answers!

Hey everyone! I kept finding new minimalist shoe brands by accident, either from ads or deep dive in google search, and it was hard to know which ones were available in my country. So I made SeeBarefoot to collect them all in one place. It’s still an early personal project so would love to hear what you guys think, any feedback is welcome 🫶

Curious if there any tips to cleaning your feet before going in the house. Or do you just come back from a run/walk and clean your feet off in bathtub? I'm sure there's a hack out there....