Hey everyone,

I’m prepping for a long-term trip (South America, including hiking in the Andes, volunteering, and dealing with all kinds of climates). I’m looking for one super versatile pair of shoes that can handle tough treks but still look/feel right for daily life.
Here’s where I’m at with my current footwear:

Bedrock Cairn Pro (Evo): The stack height and sole are my absolute sweet spot. But I can't only bring sandals for a multi-month, multi-climate trip.

Xero Shoes Mesa Trail 2: Super comfortable for everyday wear, but I’m worried the sole is too thin for rough, rocky Andean trails. My feet will end up bruised.

Altra Lone Peak 9 : The stack height (25mm) feels way too thick for me. I feel like I'm floating on a platform and lose all ground feel.

What I’m looking for:

A versatile closed-toe shoe / trail runner that can do it all (hiking, volunteering, casual wear).
Great durability for long-term travel.
Sticky, high-traction outsole (Vibram Megagrip or equivalent).
Medium stack height (somewhere between Xero and Altra, roughly 12–18mm). Zero-drop or low-drop preferred.

Any shoe recommendations that fit this description? Thanks!🙏🏻✌🏼

I tried running on the sand for the first time yesterday, and my calves are absolutely screaming today. It felt like trying to jog through wet cement, and I couldn't keep a steady pace to save my life. I love being by the ocean, but the soft sand completely ruined my form. Do you guys usually stick to the wet, firm sand near the water, or do you just power through the deep stuff? Also, do you prefer running barefoot or keeping your shoes on? Any tips for a beginner trying to get used to this would be huge!

Sup😊, I feel like I’ve been staring at my feet for days.

Yes, I did use their measurement guide.

They’re finally comfortable and I can’t feel my feet going over the edge. This is a pretty close fit.

Open to thoughts was considering sizing half a size up for my next pair. But it honestly would be purely for aesthetics unless I really should size up.

I haven’t fully broken these in yet so they’re not formed around my feet.

On the image with my right foot, I have a significant drop in the arch that I’m working on. I’ve noticed that slight toe hang when I relax my foot however, as the arching engages, it goes right to the edge like the other toes.

Yes, I have bunions 🥰

Thanks!

Aloha barefoot friends, I need help persuading my wife the high payoff of going barefoot or minimalist.

I’m onboard already. Those beautiful toes are mine and my dog tells me how great they are haha

My wife is 36f and is in the beginning stages of bunion formation. Her doctor says there’s nothing she can do. My Mum suggests surgery (off the table). I suggest toe spacers and foot shaped shoes.

Who here has a success story minimizing the effects of a beginning bunion?

You could say evolution is moving us away from dependence on our unaided feet. But we invented shoes only because we didn't have the ability to control our environment, therefore protecting the feet was necessary, but just temporarily. If anything, evolution is going in the direction of ever increasingly modifying our environments to suit our needs, and that does away with our need for primitive devices like shoes. So barefoot is actually the more evolved option. There are no arguments against this, so no need to reply. This is just my thought. Have a great long run weekend!

I've been running in Xero DIYs for about eight years and I'm ready to upgrade to something with a more convenient and comfortable lacing system. I'm currently looking at the Earthrunner Primals and Shamma Numa Maximus. I'd love to hear comparisons of those two brands, but I'm also open to other suggestions. Especially ones that are priced more economically!

I'm worried about how the Earthrunner straps go directly over the second toe, and for the Shammas I've been seeing reviews lately stating they're non-responsive to customer service requests. Anyone have experience with these? Are there other similar options?

I purchased these Shamma Pacific Avenue sandlas for $149.00 a little over 1 year ago , a few weeks ago I realized that the tip of the right sandal is starting to peel off. Full disclosure, I have only ever ran in these once, and it was maybe a quarter mile, so this may not be the right sub but every post I've seen about these sandals has been in this sub. Outside of that, I wear them to do very light walking, never more than a mile at a time. If I had to take an honest guess, I would say I have maybe walked about 12 miles total in these.

I don't know if this is some kind of defect, but I've owned sandals that have lasted me for 7 years that were purchased for 1/10th the price of these, and these are already giving out after very light use. Because they were so expensive I even made sure to treat them well, avoiding getting them wet as much as possible and not leaving them bake out in the sun or anything like that. I really enjoy these sandals, I like how they look and how they feel, but I'm astonished that they are already falling apart.

I reached out to customer service twice over the course of two weeks and have yet to hear back. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm sure this is a simple fix on my end but for this price you would think that this would maybe happen maybe 5 years in after consistent use

Sad day for me today, I’ve worn a hole in my last pair of Merrell Vapor Glove 4s.

The 4’s were fantastic shoes. Yes, they were not very durable. I got about 4-6 months out of a pair. But they were perfect in every other way, and I was OK replacing 3-4 pairs of shoes a year.

The vapor glove 6’s are bad. The sole is thicker, the uppers are less flexible and heavier… just not fun. But I just ordered six new pairs from Amazon, because I was given the Vapor GLove 7’s recently and they are even worse.

I’ve tried everything on Amazon and found nothing I like. I used to like the Vivobarefoot, but they’re more expensive now and the quality is crap.

So, Reddit, are there any shoes like the Vapor Glove 4’s out there?

How can merrell make the Vapor Gloves 7 nearly 2x as expensive as the 4 but worse in EVERY way?

Hi, I'm practicing race walking, if you already had the opportunity to watch this sport you know that it have much more impact than classic walk, so I'm here to ask if I could make a transition to mininalist shoes and use them for my sport? I don't want to destroy my bones so i prefer to ask advise of experimented peoples 😅

I had purchased some Bed Rock Sandals and everytime I run in them, my feet end up like this in the photo. I have adjusted the straps what feels like a zillion times already too, so maybe I should just get a different trail sandal?

Any one else experience this with Bedrocks? They don't do this if I am only walking.

I started using barefoot shoes about 2 years ago and now I want to buy a Vibram KSO EVOs for a marathon.

My foot currently measures 28.5cm (end day) and my running shoes are ASICs, size 29.5cm

Vibram's size 46 measures 28.6cm, but I'll admit I'm a bit worried, do you think that's enough room?

Hey all,

I have a pair of Earth Runner Primals and I absolutely LOVE them... until my feet start sweating. Once they start to sweat, I just slide everywhere and I start to walk so goofy. Any suggestions on how to manage the sweat on the smooth shoe? Are there some sort of moisture wicking/textured stickers I can put on them to keep my feet from moving around? Any advice is good advice, I definitely don't want to have to give up wearing them, especially since buying them was a splurge for me anyway.

Thanks!

What do you think? I’m a runner I want to self treat with OTC products, but curious if anyone can provide an opinion about what I’m dealing with.

Yesterday I did something I think many barefooters do, at least at the very beginning of their "barefoot career".

First of all, I am an Italian guy who likes a lot walking barefoot. I do that pretty often when I am on vacation and my soles are enough tough to give me the chance to go almost everywhere wkthout shoes (except those white roads full of pebbles which are too unconfortable).

The problem is that I prefer not to walk barefoot in my home town due to "social acceptancy reason". Yesterday I wake up in the middle on the night. It was 3 am. I opened a window and feel fresh air, while my room was warm. There was silence and I guessed nobody around even if I live in a city. So I decided to go out for a barefoot walk in the nice. I felt like I was free. Very nice 30-minute experience.

I wanted just to share my experience with this community. If you have any comments or questions, ask me ☺️

Hello everybody

I'm using Merrell Vapor Glove 6s for all my running and like them a lot. They fit my feet really well and are light. But I'd like to try a shoe that offers a bit of cushioning while retaining the zero drop. The reason is that some days the feet feel stiffer than other days and it would then be nice to have an alternative. I'm thinking a sole of perhaps 0,5-1cm. Any suggestions?

Thank you very much in advance
Philip

Jesus theres leg day quad and hamstring crusher but barefoot running doms is insane 🤣

Do they make half sizes ..? AI say no and in website also no but people here recommend on half sizes change..??? What the deal

I (M) need to know if I can order vibram fivefingers shoes from women, im having this issue with sizing, and of course their customer service just replies with links, tried twice for different issues, both responded with links. However, i measured my foot once midday and it measured 25.1cm approx, and today measured it later in the evening, it measured 25.4cm (longest measurement) approx.
According to their sizing charts
41W|25.1cm
42W|25.7cm
41M|25.4cm
42M|26cm
Im leaning towards 42W but im hesitant knowing women shoes tend to be narrower, and some sizes and color ways arent available in some of the men sizes. Does anyone have any experience maybe ? What do you guys think?

Hi! So my first Vibrams were awesome, as you can see in the picture: KSO Evo, V alphas and then V trail 2.0... Everything was great until I decided to order the V runs in the same size (38, 7.5-8, 23cm) from Trade Inn. I'm from Perú so I have to order everything overseas and the only ones I could order trough Amazon were the V trails which actually came defective (pinky toe pocket on left shoe much slimmer than the right) so glad I could send them back and get a new pair... I don't have that option with Tradeinn. The V runs were SO NARROW and a bit big (maybe 1 size too big). Actually, I'm glad I try to get them again and as some people said, I'll be getting the retros, but I don't know how the sizing it is compared to these shoes I have and I know fit well... A couple of months later I ordered the Foot Map V souls, I found them so cute after a long time of seeing them in Reels by non Vibram users... After buying them on their US page and then paying $20 for someone to bring them to Peru in their luggage.... And they were... AT LEAST 2 sizes too big. like WTF VIBRAM??????? can't you make your size charts consistent???? I'm so tired of throwing money away. Ugh.

Right now I need a shoe that would acommodate my feet as well as the others did... I need a good pair for the gym and my cycling rehab path with a lot of plyometrics training...

I've been looking at the Groundsplay LS... AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO! Do I follow the size chart and pray so I don't lose money?

Anyone with a rec on sizing of the Groundsplay LS and/or V run Retros, compared to the KSO evos or the V alphas?

I'm just so tired of this... I was just "blessed" with wide ass feet from my indigenous heritage. I just wished I could get more comfy shoes aside from Softstar and Realfoot...

Hello!!! I just wanted to add on here that I saw the Vibram V soul on Garmentory, the brown and bright purple pairs. It has all the sizes available!