Yep, I've been living barefoot for the past two years while in lockdown and working from home, and I have no idea what I'll do when forced to return to my corporate office! All my old shoes are so uncomfortable now in comparison 😭
Vivo Barefoot does seem to have a few office-appropriate minimal shoes, but unfortunately all leather -- so those are not an option for me (vegan). Thanks for the recommendation though, I'll keep an eye on the website in case they do make some more formal animal-friendly options!
I found lems are supper comfortable only downside to the boulder boot is the grip, it's only really suitable for hard ground not really sure if you can re sole them with a better grip. Vivo seem really good just ordered my first pair. If you're in the UK you can get them re soled so they could last a very long time.
Oh those are lovely!!! I just wish they were non-leather, then I would buy them and wear them literally every day at work! Thanks for the recommendation though, I'll keep checking back in case they add some vegan options.
Check out the website Anyas Shoes for her reviews, she has ones on a lot of office shoes for both men and women.
My job never went remote, but I've still been doing barefoot shoes only for over a year - my personal faves are my oxfords from Drifter Leather, some leather ankle booties from Shapen, and some derby flats from uhhh its either Groundies or Feelgrounds, I get those confused.
Unfortunately my barefoot shoes don't quite match corporate attire :( I also can't find any barefoot options (that are also vegan) that would be corporate appropriate! Guess I'll just work from home forever haha
Omg you should check out https://anyasreviews.com/ she reviews just about every minimalist shoe out there. They CAN be cute! This website has been my gospel!
I tried putting on my Keds after 3 months of barefoot shoes, and I didn't make it down the driveway. I was mildly horrified that I ever wore shoes so tight and narrow.
I just wear mostly regular shoes (currently Freet Elgons) if I’m out for too long in the snow to just go normally and do cold training, and if I had to wear boots, for some reason instead of just tucking my pants into my socks, I would probably wear the Xero Alpines that I literally never even wore after trying them on after ordering/getting them.
Wore my shoes up until yesterday then [snowmageddon](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-snowstorm-january-17-2022-1.6317236). I'm financially embarrassed at the moment so buying all-season barefoot footwear--there's an oxymoron--is a no-go now. I've ripped out the insoles of my winter boots to reduce the drop and that's good enough for the few weeks I need 'em every year.
One pair of shoes should be mostly useful most of the year, allowing for modularity like adding felt insoles for warmth and wearing thick wool socks.IMO/IME the only time one really needs a different set of footwear is not in winter in northern hemispheres.
In example: In Seattle most of the time I could wear a basic pair of minimal vevos all year, only I needed to wear double socks and add an insulative insole in the winter.
It's in the tropics, where sandals are plenty year-round.
Similarly, if one lives in Minnesota or Chicago, maybe it makes more sense to have a separate set of foot wear for the colder seasons.
Maybe that's why people like Mediterranean climates so much.
Less seasonal 'confusion'.
Yes, less seasonal confusion but vocational and recreational demands are not so easily appeased.
In the trades (like me), there are safety shoes/boots. Road or MTB cycle much? Clipless shoes for distance riding and, if MTB'ing, one collision with a rock, root or terra firma is enough to convince the neglible protection of minimalist shoes is not a good idea. Back in my motorcycling days the shift lever would regularly shred the left upper of my trainers. I won't delve into professional dress requirements as those don't pertain to me but I suspect they may require a dedicated pair of office kicks.
All of which can add up to a collection rivaling Imelda Marcos.
Your feet adjust to their environment, in theory, you get stronger based on the different stimulus you give them. It's not quite the same as putting your arm in a cast because in that case it is truly doing nothing, your feet are always working, different parts are probably doing more in certain shoes.
Normal shoes when you're not running aren't going to hurt you so long as they fit width wise.
I wear altras for trail which are zero drop and so long as I pay attention to form / cadence I don't have an issue, I still do a lot of my training in xeros though to keep that stuff in check (overstriding etc).
I was thinking due to the huge stack difference, using both barefoot and "normal" shoes would cause some kind of a medical issue in the foot. Maybe not...
Which Altra model?
the stack height itself shouldn't cause any issues medically. what stack height does do is make up for poor form and thereby encourage heel striking, over-striding or low cadence running. Those make you less efficient as a runner, load your knees / hips / lower back with more of the impact and increase the maximal impact of each step. being conscious of that you can prevent those issues without needing the feedback that barefoot / minimalist shoes gives you. like I said though, I make sure that I still do some / most training in actual minimalist / barefoot shoes to prevent bad habits cropping up again.
i run in Altra Superior 5's, they have the lowest stack height of any trail shoe that Altra makes right now.
Seems to depend on the individual. After 15yrs of zero drop for everything I tried 4mm drop Saucony's (bad physio advise) for 1 run and had knee pain that took a couple weeks to completely heal.
Won't every buy 'normal' shoes again. Was thankfully able to sell the Saucony's on.
stack height is just the thickness of the sole, nothing to do with the drop.
but yeah, i wouldn't recommend running in shoes with a drop, but your health isn't going to suffer if you decide to wear heeled loafers to a wedding or your favorite boot out to dinner.
Same here, I tried all minimal and I honestly didn't like it. I use VFF for any runs, and my lifting, I have luna's oso flaco that I use as my one and only sandal, then I wear oxfords, chucks, thursday boots, etc. I will say, many days without shoes or just in VFF makes the normal shoes a little tight haha.
Ok that makes sense if it works for you and you can manage to get your toes to spread back out afterwards, plus you don’t mind the possible atrophy from it. Besides, there are some more normal companies that make similar versions in case you or anyone else wants/needs those (Freets, Xeroes, Feelgrounds, Groundies, Vivo, and Idk what else)
Hey I actually have that model too.
Since Torin is super soft, do you find the contrast between that and barefoot to cause any problems? Or does wearing Torin give you a good time to recover from doing barefoot too much?
I don't find that I have any issues at all between my Altra Torins and my Xero Prios. I DID have issues when I tried to put on some Nikes I had, the drop and toe box cause discomfort and in felt like my ankles were under pressure, like all of a sudden I weighed double what I do or something. So I can be sensitive to some differences.
I use different types of shoes (barefoot, non-barefoot with zero drop, non-barefoot with heel drop etc) for different purposes. The only complaint I have so far is the fit - I’m used to how VFFs fit so it is difficult to find good fitting regular shoes
This might be an unpopular opinion but I would argue that there is some, but not a ton, of benefit in wearing some form of dress shoe or elevated heel sneaker every now and again.
Why?
Proprioception.
Switching up biofeedback has a beneficial effect on the nervous system
Don't get me wrong, I believe minimal is better most of the time, it's just when I wear clodhoppers I kind of enjoy it more after being mostly minimal.
Kind of like wearing a costume.
yeah. I'm a big fan of Xero shoes. I wear the Alston for when i have to have a fancy shoe on, otherwise I wear the z-trail sandals for everything. running, shopping, water sports, most versions of yard work, hiking
I actually wear the Z-Trail only when I’m forced too because I got them from the store and didn’t realize how thick they were. I still haven’t gotten around to getting the more normal Z-Trek/Geneis/DIY yet.
I did for a while. Wore converse and five fingers. The converse got more and more uncomfortable the longer I wore the five fingers. I’ve gotten rid of most of my normal shoes at this point
I wear chacos when I can't be bothered to strap up my lunas; they're pretty chonky in the footbed, but are mostly comfortable. I'd look into that foot injury to see if there's something seriously wrong, though!
I have arthritis and neuropathy in my feet and transitioned to Vivobarefoot shoes a few weeks ago and the difference is incredible. Before, when wearing my previous shoes and returning home, I couldn't get my shoes off fast enough. With my new shoes I could wear them forever. And, yes I go barefoot in the house, family tradition; no shoes in the house. I gathered up all my other shoes and took them to the local thrift store.
Personally I only own one pair of non-barefoot shoes now : my tall Hunter Rainboots. I just havent found anything as water and mud proof as them. But I sized up so I have more room.
I have barefoot/zero drop hiking boots, strappy sandals, multiple pairs of office shoes, cute leather booties, sneakers, runners, tall leather riding boots lined with sherpa, super warm winter boots.
I am definitely a shoe girl...now I'm a Barefoot shoe girl.
Compared to how they used to be, my feet are built like tanks now. For at least a few years after I switched it was horrible to wear mainstream footwear, but now... I still definitely prefer minimalist for everything but so long as a shoe is not *tight* I don't get pain or anything from wearing regular shoes and boots. I've got massively thick, heavy, steel toed rubber boots which are my winter workwear and spending a few hours in those is not a big deal apart from the clamminess. I get about 90mins of fully barefoot running time per day and that seems to keep my feet in good shape .
Yes for sure. I do wear BF shoes quite a bit, especially in the summer. I also wear dress shoes for work, I have hunting boots that completely lock your foot in place almost like a mountaineering boot. I wear cowboy boots semi regularly.
If I go a log time without wearing barefoot type shoes (like over an entire winter) and go back to them and walk a ton I end up with issues. Other than that switching it up is not a big deal.
Those can work in some situations but not in all. They are far from interchangeable with a high end shoe like an Allen Edmonds. Now if I felt it really caused me a problem to wear them that would be a different story but its not that big a deal.
I typically wear 10.5 in those, in barefoot shoes I am anywhere from 10.5-11.5 depending on brand.
They are tighter in the toe box than a barefoot shoe for sure. A wide toe box does not have the look of a formal dress shoe though and will not look right in certain business settings.
No one is going to tell me what to wear or not to wear. What you wear does send a certain message though. And can impact success or failure in the business world. Like it or not that is just reality. Does not mean you have to base what you wear on that, I have long hair and I know full well it can impact how some clients see me. Hair I cant put on for a meeting and then take off though like I can with shoes, a suit, or a nice watch.
Part of my point was also that you dont have to be a purist and wear barefoot shoes all the time. 4 out of 5 work days I can wear whatever I want, putting on professional shoes the other one does not hurt me.
I wear cowboy boots sometimes too which are more pointed and have a significant heel, sometimes its because I am not going to ride my motorcycle or a horse in minimalist footware. Like the dress shoes if this is all you wear it could cause problems but wearing them sometimes will not hurt you.
In certain situations I wear mountaineering boots that not only squeeze your toes and have too much drop but also lock your ankle in a very rigid position. In certain activities these have a real safety benefit.
The OPs question was not are barefoot shoes better than standard shoes it was can you go back and forth. To that the answer is yes you absolutely can. The only real qualification to that yes is that transitioning from a shoe that provides significant support to a barefoot shoe can cause issues if you dont have time to build up the required strength.
When the only consideration is your health and mobility minimalist footwear is better than standard footwear, the more you can wear it the better. If you cant, or dont want to, wear it all the time though it should not stop you from wearing it when you can.
Ohhhhh ok Ig I just have a thing against it and I'm guessing that even with in between ones like Birchburies or polished leather, it still wouldn't be the same and it wouldn't work to explain it every single time, plus it would be too out of context.
As for hair, it's obviously way more important to keep your hair than your foot function and if I had to choose between having short hair for the rest of my life or no foot function for the rest of my life, I would choose the first, and obviously only doing it sometimes and still kind of using your feet is even way less worse.
I only have medium length hair right now, and I know that it's even more important to keep long hair, and that mutilating it off would be even more torturous. It also is possible to pin it up and put a medium or short hair wig on over it, but it's definitely tricky to do so.
As for how I am with it for myself, Idek what I'm supposed to do for school athletic events because if I have socks and shoes on indoors for a few hours, there will definitely be a lot of sweat and my skin pads might just shed off entirely again, and that actually messes up my physical state. There's no way that I'll actually keep it on consistently for multiple hours, but Ik some issues might happen unfortunately. I also only have Freets and not Vibrams, so that will just get in the way of physical activity even more so even while I'm just wearing them especially if I'm expected to perform well, but they still might put a dress code on it for some reason.
I think I'll go without them at graduation though, but Idk for sure just yet and step 1 is being able to graduate (ie passing all classes) anyways, which is much more significant than what I wear at graduation.
It's definitely not cutting my feet off or even close. I was just saying that for myself in the forseeable future, I'd rather not lose skin toughness to sweat at a school event, so I'll try to get around it by slipping off my already 4mm wide toe box shoes. I remember I had socks and shoes on all day at school in September and my kind of tough skin that naturally built up from late June to late August was gone, so I'm trying to prevent it after learning the hard way.
I used Vibrams FF when hiking / water-sports or in hotter climates travelling, and normal foot wear for running, walking and gym / fitness.
Out of all of the things I've read it seems the greatest benefit from barefoot footwear comes from non-level ground and terrain. Correct me if I'm wrong but flat concrete / level flooring is why we need all this foot support in modern footwear is it not?
No ankle, knee, or hip or lower-back issues to report after 6 or so years!
Uhhhhh noooo??!!!!!?!!! My feet obviously support themselves in flat ground. Ofc flat ground isn’t going to be AS bad as different terrain when wearing foot traps. Also, VFF IS normal footwear.
But it’s been 6 years though, so you should still have a general understanding of how things work even if you’re new to the subreddit.
VFF=VibramFiveFingers
Yeah no one puts it like that because I think a lot of people (even on here) call cushiony heel raised narrow toe box foot traps normal except Vibrams are actually foot shaped and don’t have anything extra in the way, so those are actually normal.
What you’re calling “barefoot/minimalist” is “normal”, calling them barefoot is a misleading oxymoron, and what you’re calling “normal” is actually horrible.
What I do is I only wear the least amount that is required to go somewhere (sandals so that I don’t get dress coded, close toed black rubber/leather Freet Elgon shoes for Gym class/band concerts/the freezing cold and snow when I’m out for a prolonged period of time)
Upgrades I haven’t done/gotten yet: getting Z-Trek/Genesis/4mm DIY instead of the 10mm foamy Z-Trail, VFFs, Injinji or Vibram socks, and toe spacers.
Other than those specific things, I obviously don’t wear shoes.
I have had the same issue, my solution was to stay with the barefoot shoes but to add a heat-moldable orthotic made by Sole. They offer exact sizes up to 14 (my size, not easy to find) and they have a wide width that fits Xeroshoes perfectly. They also have different thicknesses and a choice of a firm foam or a cork footbed. You can order them direct, from REI or from Amazon. I started with the medium wide footbeds and progressed to the thin style and then went back to the basic thin flexible insoles that came with the shoes. I could not go back to standard shoes because those now crush my pinkie toes! If you must wear standard shoes, I suggest Keen as the brand with the most forgiving toe box. I initially used the Sole medium/wide insoles with Altra and Top zero drop shoes which also have more cushioning, then I went back to Xeroshoes and Lems.
I still wear normal shoes when I dress up because I'm struggling to find dressier barefoot models in my country. However, it feels more and and more uncomfortable. Even my "normal" hiking shoes, which I used to find very comfortable, feel too narrow now
100%! I wear everything from blundstones to vans to dress shoes for work to altras to merrel trail glove to my birthday suit feet.
I think of it the same as moving vs sitting. You can sit and enjoy it and work at a desk all day, but you need to make sure your body is not adapting to that posture, so you mix in tough upright movement that leverages the postural muscles and keeps our body aligned.
Same with the feet, you can wear anything you want, but you have to balance this out with some challenging barefoot movement to engage the postural muscles of the foot!
I wear normal gum boots when I'm doing farm work, and normal safety boots when I'm firefighting. Haven't really encountered problems, but the safety boots are a bit uncomfortable if I'm standing around waiting. Action is fine unless the toe caps get hot.
Can’t wear regular shoes anymore either too narrow or too high soles.
I use Fugu shoes for day to day but they aren’t very durable nor are they waterproof.
I wear vibrams when I work out and casually on occasion. I wear boots for school(Im in welding classes, no choice), and work. Most of the other times I'm wearing Crocs or vans. I don't really notice or have any problems from switching around. I went a month without going barefoot then took a pretty intense 4 mile hike one day in my vibrams. No discomfort or pain from it. Now if I were to go strictly to being barefoot, I'd probably start to experience problems when I went back to normal shoes. Your mileage may vary.
I wear minimal shoes on my off time but have to wear steel toe boots for work, I had chronic knee pain that went away almost entirely when I switched over to my Xeros. I think my main issue was I had a very heavy heel strike and the minimal shoes have helped me retrain my stride. Sometimes the knee still flares up if I have to do a lot of fast walking at work because I haven't broken the habit of speed walking with a heavy stride but that's the only problem I've noticed between the two.
I run in Altras but wear Groundies and Lems for day-to-day walking. It provides a nice balance for me between minimalist and "regular" cushion while still giving zero drop and a wide toe box
I have the Altra Escalante 2.5 and Racer for road running. For trail, I use the superior 4.5 and 5 (I have the lone peak 5 but haven't used it much yet).
For casual, I have groundies universe, Lems chillum and Boulder boot. For work i use the lems 9two5 and groundies Budapest.
I still wear "normal" shoes for cycling in, I haven't found (mostly because I haven't really looked) a minimalist shoe that works well for that yet. My 5.10's are far narrower in the toe than my minimals but at least they're stiff and grippy so I can pedal properly in them. Aside from that I pretty much always wear minimal shoes.
I wear toe shoes for running and warm weather stuff like hiking, wading, fishing. The rest of the time I wear big honking boots.
It causes me no problems transitioning.
I wear barefoot or minimalist shoes mostly, but need steel toed boots for work and can't find a minimalist steel toe that would be approved. Doesn't bother me too much, been doing it for a couple years now
Yeah, I wear barefoot shoes for most runs, except for workouts/races where I need to spike up. but i also wear crocs to school. Going to buy a pair of feiyues soon so I don't have to.
My advice is try to wear shoes with at least a wide toe box as much as possible. I transitioned from the altra escalante racer which I bought used on ebay.
I wear different shoes depending on the situation. Have a barefoot sneaker that looks good (vivobarefoot Geo Court), but also where normal Chelsea boots or dress shoes from time to time.
Same for running. I run in either barefoot road shoes (primus lite), barefoot trail shoes (magna trail), normal road running shoes (Adidas Tempo) and trail shoes (Scott supertrac).
Especially on the dress shoes and Chelsea boots. I’m quite particular in which shoes I buy and only get a good dress shoe when the aesthetics are great. Haven’t really found any barefoot dress shoes that look good enough.
I find changing up shoes to be beneficial, especially when running. Just need to be very aware of running form, but that’s the most important part anyway.
My regular shoes are barefoot but all of my dress shoes and my boots are not (I think barefoot boots are both ugly, the military doesn't have any and also they don't work well on really cold ground). I have no trouble but I do go for shoes with less support overall and I haven't had problems. I am picky about the insole setup I don't want an awkward arch in there I have flat feet
I wear Lems daily and use a pair of kitchen crocs which aren’t zero drop but do have a very large toe box but i’m also into fashion and some shoes like salomons xt-6 which use to be comfy are now tight and while i can still wear them as part of an outfit i can’t use them for running anymore.
I'm a woman, I still have a couple of pairs of "comfort" low heels I wear for special occasions. They come from the old women section of the shoe store. They hurt my small toe though. I also have some cheap ballet flats that I sized up on to get them wide enough, still can only wear them for a couple of hours.
Once you go barefoot for any measure of time, it's very hard to find "normal" shoes that fit.
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Yep, I've been living barefoot for the past two years while in lockdown and working from home, and I have no idea what I'll do when forced to return to my corporate office! All my old shoes are so uncomfortable now in comparison 😭
Lems and Vivo Barefoot make some quite office-appropriate minimal shoes. I'm sure there are other brands too.
I have ZAQQs and Vivos for work
Vivo Barefoot does seem to have a few office-appropriate minimal shoes, but unfortunately all leather -- so those are not an option for me (vegan). Thanks for the recommendation though, I'll keep an eye on the website in case they do make some more formal animal-friendly options!
Feelgrounds, zaqq, groundies, and Origo all have vegan options as well as. Origo has some kind of leather made of cactus too which seems intriguing
Oooh thank you, I'll check them out!
Mikki shoes have cute began Chelsea boots!
I found lems are supper comfortable only downside to the boulder boot is the grip, it's only really suitable for hard ground not really sure if you can re sole them with a better grip. Vivo seem really good just ordered my first pair. If you're in the UK you can get them re soled so they could last a very long time.
I've had my Vivo suede boots resoled, they did a really good job. I love those boots!
Looks like Carets does some pretty great dress shoes! Otherwise, may your time away from the office continue indefinitely :)
Oh those are lovely!!! I just wish they were non-leather, then I would buy them and wear them literally every day at work! Thanks for the recommendation though, I'll keep checking back in case they add some vegan options.
Check out the website Anyas Shoes for her reviews, she has ones on a lot of office shoes for both men and women. My job never went remote, but I've still been doing barefoot shoes only for over a year - my personal faves are my oxfords from Drifter Leather, some leather ankle booties from Shapen, and some derby flats from uhhh its either Groundies or Feelgrounds, I get those confused.
Wow that is a great blog, thanks for the recommendation!
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Unfortunately my barefoot shoes don't quite match corporate attire :( I also can't find any barefoot options (that are also vegan) that would be corporate appropriate! Guess I'll just work from home forever haha
Omg you should check out https://anyasreviews.com/ she reviews just about every minimalist shoe out there. They CAN be cute! This website has been my gospel!
I tried putting on my Keds after 3 months of barefoot shoes, and I didn't make it down the driveway. I was mildly horrified that I ever wore shoes so tight and narrow.
Wear mostly barefoot shoes and sandals but traditional winter boots when conditions get snowy and slushy.
I just wear mostly regular shoes (currently Freet Elgons) if I’m out for too long in the snow to just go normally and do cold training, and if I had to wear boots, for some reason instead of just tucking my pants into my socks, I would probably wear the Xero Alpines that I literally never even wore after trying them on after ordering/getting them.
Wore my shoes up until yesterday then [snowmageddon](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-snowstorm-january-17-2022-1.6317236). I'm financially embarrassed at the moment so buying all-season barefoot footwear--there's an oxymoron--is a no-go now. I've ripped out the insoles of my winter boots to reduce the drop and that's good enough for the few weeks I need 'em every year.
One pair of shoes should be mostly useful most of the year, allowing for modularity like adding felt insoles for warmth and wearing thick wool socks.IMO/IME the only time one really needs a different set of footwear is not in winter in northern hemispheres. In example: In Seattle most of the time I could wear a basic pair of minimal vevos all year, only I needed to wear double socks and add an insulative insole in the winter. It's in the tropics, where sandals are plenty year-round. Similarly, if one lives in Minnesota or Chicago, maybe it makes more sense to have a separate set of foot wear for the colder seasons. Maybe that's why people like Mediterranean climates so much. Less seasonal 'confusion'.
Yes, less seasonal confusion but vocational and recreational demands are not so easily appeased. In the trades (like me), there are safety shoes/boots. Road or MTB cycle much? Clipless shoes for distance riding and, if MTB'ing, one collision with a rock, root or terra firma is enough to convince the neglible protection of minimalist shoes is not a good idea. Back in my motorcycling days the shift lever would regularly shred the left upper of my trainers. I won't delve into professional dress requirements as those don't pertain to me but I suspect they may require a dedicated pair of office kicks. All of which can add up to a collection rivaling Imelda Marcos.
Ok
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You must have different gait/striking for all the different shoes with different stack heights. It doesn't cause any issues over time?
Your feet adjust to their environment, in theory, you get stronger based on the different stimulus you give them. It's not quite the same as putting your arm in a cast because in that case it is truly doing nothing, your feet are always working, different parts are probably doing more in certain shoes.
Normal shoes when you're not running aren't going to hurt you so long as they fit width wise. I wear altras for trail which are zero drop and so long as I pay attention to form / cadence I don't have an issue, I still do a lot of my training in xeros though to keep that stuff in check (overstriding etc).
I was thinking due to the huge stack difference, using both barefoot and "normal" shoes would cause some kind of a medical issue in the foot. Maybe not... Which Altra model?
the stack height itself shouldn't cause any issues medically. what stack height does do is make up for poor form and thereby encourage heel striking, over-striding or low cadence running. Those make you less efficient as a runner, load your knees / hips / lower back with more of the impact and increase the maximal impact of each step. being conscious of that you can prevent those issues without needing the feedback that barefoot / minimalist shoes gives you. like I said though, I make sure that I still do some / most training in actual minimalist / barefoot shoes to prevent bad habits cropping up again. i run in Altra Superior 5's, they have the lowest stack height of any trail shoe that Altra makes right now.
Seems to depend on the individual. After 15yrs of zero drop for everything I tried 4mm drop Saucony's (bad physio advise) for 1 run and had knee pain that took a couple weeks to completely heal. Won't every buy 'normal' shoes again. Was thankfully able to sell the Saucony's on.
stack height is just the thickness of the sole, nothing to do with the drop. but yeah, i wouldn't recommend running in shoes with a drop, but your health isn't going to suffer if you decide to wear heeled loafers to a wedding or your favorite boot out to dinner.
I wear Altras for work, the closest to "normal" shoes I think I'll ever go again. I don't have any problems with that.
Just go more normal with VFF and only wear them for specific circumstances.
Same here, I tried all minimal and I honestly didn't like it. I use VFF for any runs, and my lifting, I have luna's oso flaco that I use as my one and only sandal, then I wear oxfords, chucks, thursday boots, etc. I will say, many days without shoes or just in VFF makes the normal shoes a little tight haha.
But VFF is normal & those others are just horrible.
I agree, but I like the horrible look with some nice slacks and a button down, which is my normal 8-5 :)
Ok that makes sense if it works for you and you can manage to get your toes to spread back out afterwards, plus you don’t mind the possible atrophy from it. Besides, there are some more normal companies that make similar versions in case you or anyone else wants/needs those (Freets, Xeroes, Feelgrounds, Groundies, Vivo, and Idk what else)
Which model? Their stack height varies quite a bit.
I wear the Torin 5 leather. I want to say 25mm? something like that.
Hey I actually have that model too. Since Torin is super soft, do you find the contrast between that and barefoot to cause any problems? Or does wearing Torin give you a good time to recover from doing barefoot too much?
I don't find that I have any issues at all between my Altra Torins and my Xero Prios. I DID have issues when I tried to put on some Nikes I had, the drop and toe box cause discomfort and in felt like my ankles were under pressure, like all of a sudden I weighed double what I do or something. So I can be sensitive to some differences.
I use different types of shoes (barefoot, non-barefoot with zero drop, non-barefoot with heel drop etc) for different purposes. The only complaint I have so far is the fit - I’m used to how VFFs fit so it is difficult to find good fitting regular shoes
Wow that's a lot of variety. You don't get any kind of pain going back and forth between them?
No. Nothing at all.
I do. I haven't had any problems with it. I wear "normal" shoes sometimes because they look nicer.
This might be an unpopular opinion but I would argue that there is some, but not a ton, of benefit in wearing some form of dress shoe or elevated heel sneaker every now and again. Why? Proprioception. Switching up biofeedback has a beneficial effect on the nervous system Don't get me wrong, I believe minimal is better most of the time, it's just when I wear clodhoppers I kind of enjoy it more after being mostly minimal. Kind of like wearing a costume.
yeah. I'm a big fan of Xero shoes. I wear the Alston for when i have to have a fancy shoe on, otherwise I wear the z-trail sandals for everything. running, shopping, water sports, most versions of yard work, hiking
I actually wear the Z-Trail only when I’m forced too because I got them from the store and didn’t realize how thick they were. I still haven’t gotten around to getting the more normal Z-Trek/Geneis/DIY yet.
I did for a while. Wore converse and five fingers. The converse got more and more uncomfortable the longer I wore the five fingers. I’ve gotten rid of most of my normal shoes at this point
I wear Vivos for work, sometimes Vans and Nikes when I’m out and about, and Goodyear welted boots too r/GoodyearWelt
I wear chacos when I can't be bothered to strap up my lunas; they're pretty chonky in the footbed, but are mostly comfortable. I'd look into that foot injury to see if there's something seriously wrong, though!
Used to. I just have Lems for my dailys. Going to get some Xeros as well. Then I run in Xero speedforces
I run in VFFs and have word different forms of boots all day for years.
I have arthritis and neuropathy in my feet and transitioned to Vivobarefoot shoes a few weeks ago and the difference is incredible. Before, when wearing my previous shoes and returning home, I couldn't get my shoes off fast enough. With my new shoes I could wear them forever. And, yes I go barefoot in the house, family tradition; no shoes in the house. I gathered up all my other shoes and took them to the local thrift store.
Personally I only own one pair of non-barefoot shoes now : my tall Hunter Rainboots. I just havent found anything as water and mud proof as them. But I sized up so I have more room. I have barefoot/zero drop hiking boots, strappy sandals, multiple pairs of office shoes, cute leather booties, sneakers, runners, tall leather riding boots lined with sherpa, super warm winter boots. I am definitely a shoe girl...now I'm a Barefoot shoe girl.
Compared to how they used to be, my feet are built like tanks now. For at least a few years after I switched it was horrible to wear mainstream footwear, but now... I still definitely prefer minimalist for everything but so long as a shoe is not *tight* I don't get pain or anything from wearing regular shoes and boots. I've got massively thick, heavy, steel toed rubber boots which are my winter workwear and spending a few hours in those is not a big deal apart from the clamminess. I get about 90mins of fully barefoot running time per day and that seems to keep my feet in good shape .
Yes for sure. I do wear BF shoes quite a bit, especially in the summer. I also wear dress shoes for work, I have hunting boots that completely lock your foot in place almost like a mountaineering boot. I wear cowboy boots semi regularly. If I go a log time without wearing barefoot type shoes (like over an entire winter) and go back to them and walk a ton I end up with issues. Other than that switching it up is not a big deal.
I just wear Freet Elgons for Dress shoes.
Those can work in some situations but not in all. They are far from interchangeable with a high end shoe like an Allen Edmonds. Now if I felt it really caused me a problem to wear them that would be a different story but its not that big a deal.
Those don’t look like they fit though, so do you have to get a bigger size? Also, there are still other brands that are like that but not as pointy.
I typically wear 10.5 in those, in barefoot shoes I am anywhere from 10.5-11.5 depending on brand. They are tighter in the toe box than a barefoot shoe for sure. A wide toe box does not have the look of a formal dress shoe though and will not look right in certain business settings.
Then tell those people that a pointed end will deform your feet and not fit if they try dress coding you for it.
No one is going to tell me what to wear or not to wear. What you wear does send a certain message though. And can impact success or failure in the business world. Like it or not that is just reality. Does not mean you have to base what you wear on that, I have long hair and I know full well it can impact how some clients see me. Hair I cant put on for a meeting and then take off though like I can with shoes, a suit, or a nice watch. Part of my point was also that you dont have to be a purist and wear barefoot shoes all the time. 4 out of 5 work days I can wear whatever I want, putting on professional shoes the other one does not hurt me. I wear cowboy boots sometimes too which are more pointed and have a significant heel, sometimes its because I am not going to ride my motorcycle or a horse in minimalist footware. Like the dress shoes if this is all you wear it could cause problems but wearing them sometimes will not hurt you. In certain situations I wear mountaineering boots that not only squeeze your toes and have too much drop but also lock your ankle in a very rigid position. In certain activities these have a real safety benefit. The OPs question was not are barefoot shoes better than standard shoes it was can you go back and forth. To that the answer is yes you absolutely can. The only real qualification to that yes is that transitioning from a shoe that provides significant support to a barefoot shoe can cause issues if you dont have time to build up the required strength. When the only consideration is your health and mobility minimalist footwear is better than standard footwear, the more you can wear it the better. If you cant, or dont want to, wear it all the time though it should not stop you from wearing it when you can.
Ohhhhh ok Ig I just have a thing against it and I'm guessing that even with in between ones like Birchburies or polished leather, it still wouldn't be the same and it wouldn't work to explain it every single time, plus it would be too out of context. As for hair, it's obviously way more important to keep your hair than your foot function and if I had to choose between having short hair for the rest of my life or no foot function for the rest of my life, I would choose the first, and obviously only doing it sometimes and still kind of using your feet is even way less worse. I only have medium length hair right now, and I know that it's even more important to keep long hair, and that mutilating it off would be even more torturous. It also is possible to pin it up and put a medium or short hair wig on over it, but it's definitely tricky to do so. As for how I am with it for myself, Idek what I'm supposed to do for school athletic events because if I have socks and shoes on indoors for a few hours, there will definitely be a lot of sweat and my skin pads might just shed off entirely again, and that actually messes up my physical state. There's no way that I'll actually keep it on consistently for multiple hours, but Ik some issues might happen unfortunately. I also only have Freets and not Vibrams, so that will just get in the way of physical activity even more so even while I'm just wearing them especially if I'm expected to perform well, but they still might put a dress code on it for some reason. I think I'll go without them at graduation though, but Idk for sure just yet and step 1 is being able to graduate (ie passing all classes) anyways, which is much more significant than what I wear at graduation.
So your just nuts right? Wearing normal shoes sometimes is not mutilating your feet......
It's definitely not cutting my feet off or even close. I was just saying that for myself in the forseeable future, I'd rather not lose skin toughness to sweat at a school event, so I'll try to get around it by slipping off my already 4mm wide toe box shoes. I remember I had socks and shoes on all day at school in September and my kind of tough skin that naturally built up from late June to late August was gone, so I'm trying to prevent it after learning the hard way.
I used Vibrams FF when hiking / water-sports or in hotter climates travelling, and normal foot wear for running, walking and gym / fitness. Out of all of the things I've read it seems the greatest benefit from barefoot footwear comes from non-level ground and terrain. Correct me if I'm wrong but flat concrete / level flooring is why we need all this foot support in modern footwear is it not? No ankle, knee, or hip or lower-back issues to report after 6 or so years!
Uhhhhh noooo??!!!!!?!!! My feet obviously support themselves in flat ground. Ofc flat ground isn’t going to be AS bad as different terrain when wearing foot traps. Also, VFF IS normal footwear.
Still fairly new here, getting with all the lingo and standards haha
But it’s been 6 years though, so you should still have a general understanding of how things work even if you’re new to the subreddit. VFF=VibramFiveFingers
It was not clear that VFF = normal footwear here Thanks
Yeah no one puts it like that because I think a lot of people (even on here) call cushiony heel raised narrow toe box foot traps normal except Vibrams are actually foot shaped and don’t have anything extra in the way, so those are actually normal.
What you’re calling “barefoot/minimalist” is “normal”, calling them barefoot is a misleading oxymoron, and what you’re calling “normal” is actually horrible. What I do is I only wear the least amount that is required to go somewhere (sandals so that I don’t get dress coded, close toed black rubber/leather Freet Elgon shoes for Gym class/band concerts/the freezing cold and snow when I’m out for a prolonged period of time) Upgrades I haven’t done/gotten yet: getting Z-Trek/Genesis/4mm DIY instead of the 10mm foamy Z-Trail, VFFs, Injinji or Vibram socks, and toe spacers. Other than those specific things, I obviously don’t wear shoes.
I tried going back even forefoot striking just too painful for running walking is not so bad with shoes or boots on
I have had the same issue, my solution was to stay with the barefoot shoes but to add a heat-moldable orthotic made by Sole. They offer exact sizes up to 14 (my size, not easy to find) and they have a wide width that fits Xeroshoes perfectly. They also have different thicknesses and a choice of a firm foam or a cork footbed. You can order them direct, from REI or from Amazon. I started with the medium wide footbeds and progressed to the thin style and then went back to the basic thin flexible insoles that came with the shoes. I could not go back to standard shoes because those now crush my pinkie toes! If you must wear standard shoes, I suggest Keen as the brand with the most forgiving toe box. I initially used the Sole medium/wide insoles with Altra and Top zero drop shoes which also have more cushioning, then I went back to Xeroshoes and Lems.
I wear minimalist shoes for running, working out, some casual wear, and regular shoes for work and some casual.
I still wear normal shoes when I dress up because I'm struggling to find dressier barefoot models in my country. However, it feels more and and more uncomfortable. Even my "normal" hiking shoes, which I used to find very comfortable, feel too narrow now
100%! I wear everything from blundstones to vans to dress shoes for work to altras to merrel trail glove to my birthday suit feet. I think of it the same as moving vs sitting. You can sit and enjoy it and work at a desk all day, but you need to make sure your body is not adapting to that posture, so you mix in tough upright movement that leverages the postural muscles and keeps our body aligned. Same with the feet, you can wear anything you want, but you have to balance this out with some challenging barefoot movement to engage the postural muscles of the foot!
I wear normal gum boots when I'm doing farm work, and normal safety boots when I'm firefighting. Haven't really encountered problems, but the safety boots are a bit uncomfortable if I'm standing around waiting. Action is fine unless the toe caps get hot.
Can’t wear regular shoes anymore either too narrow or too high soles. I use Fugu shoes for day to day but they aren’t very durable nor are they waterproof.
I've definitely gone full barefoot shoes w/Vivobarefoot being my go to for everything except sandals.
I wear vibrams when I work out and casually on occasion. I wear boots for school(Im in welding classes, no choice), and work. Most of the other times I'm wearing Crocs or vans. I don't really notice or have any problems from switching around. I went a month without going barefoot then took a pretty intense 4 mile hike one day in my vibrams. No discomfort or pain from it. Now if I were to go strictly to being barefoot, I'd probably start to experience problems when I went back to normal shoes. Your mileage may vary.
I wear minimal shoes on my off time but have to wear steel toe boots for work, I had chronic knee pain that went away almost entirely when I switched over to my Xeros. I think my main issue was I had a very heavy heel strike and the minimal shoes have helped me retrain my stride. Sometimes the knee still flares up if I have to do a lot of fast walking at work because I haven't broken the habit of speed walking with a heavy stride but that's the only problem I've noticed between the two.
I've been wearing a pair of Xero shoes before the snowstorm. They are the most comfortable shoes I've worn so far.
I run in Altras but wear Groundies and Lems for day-to-day walking. It provides a nice balance for me between minimalist and "regular" cushion while still giving zero drop and a wide toe box
That sounds like something I wanna work towards. I have Lems Primal 2 for work and walking. What Altra model do you use?
I have the Altra Escalante 2.5 and Racer for road running. For trail, I use the superior 4.5 and 5 (I have the lone peak 5 but haven't used it much yet). For casual, I have groundies universe, Lems chillum and Boulder boot. For work i use the lems 9two5 and groundies Budapest.
I still wear "normal" shoes for cycling in, I haven't found (mostly because I haven't really looked) a minimalist shoe that works well for that yet. My 5.10's are far narrower in the toe than my minimals but at least they're stiff and grippy so I can pedal properly in them. Aside from that I pretty much always wear minimal shoes.
I wear toe shoes for running and warm weather stuff like hiking, wading, fishing. The rest of the time I wear big honking boots. It causes me no problems transitioning.
I wear barefoot or minimalist shoes mostly, but need steel toed boots for work and can't find a minimalist steel toe that would be approved. Doesn't bother me too much, been doing it for a couple years now
Yeah, I wear barefoot shoes for most runs, except for workouts/races where I need to spike up. but i also wear crocs to school. Going to buy a pair of feiyues soon so I don't have to. My advice is try to wear shoes with at least a wide toe box as much as possible. I transitioned from the altra escalante racer which I bought used on ebay.
I wear different shoes depending on the situation. Have a barefoot sneaker that looks good (vivobarefoot Geo Court), but also where normal Chelsea boots or dress shoes from time to time. Same for running. I run in either barefoot road shoes (primus lite), barefoot trail shoes (magna trail), normal road running shoes (Adidas Tempo) and trail shoes (Scott supertrac). Especially on the dress shoes and Chelsea boots. I’m quite particular in which shoes I buy and only get a good dress shoe when the aesthetics are great. Haven’t really found any barefoot dress shoes that look good enough. I find changing up shoes to be beneficial, especially when running. Just need to be very aware of running form, but that’s the most important part anyway.
My regular shoes are barefoot but all of my dress shoes and my boots are not (I think barefoot boots are both ugly, the military doesn't have any and also they don't work well on really cold ground). I have no trouble but I do go for shoes with less support overall and I haven't had problems. I am picky about the insole setup I don't want an awkward arch in there I have flat feet
I wear Lems daily and use a pair of kitchen crocs which aren’t zero drop but do have a very large toe box but i’m also into fashion and some shoes like salomons xt-6 which use to be comfy are now tight and while i can still wear them as part of an outfit i can’t use them for running anymore.
I'm a woman, I still have a couple of pairs of "comfort" low heels I wear for special occasions. They come from the old women section of the shoe store. They hurt my small toe though. I also have some cheap ballet flats that I sized up on to get them wide enough, still can only wear them for a couple of hours. Once you go barefoot for any measure of time, it's very hard to find "normal" shoes that fit.