"Bare foot" shoes

[Hannibal]

Recently I've been introduced to the concept of barefoot walking and barefoot shoes. I thought it was some dumb hippy stuff but there actually seems to be some substance behind it.

Essentially, most modern shoes are pointed with a thick heel, which causes all kinds of feet deformities along with terrible posture, bad knees, etc. How much weight I actually put behind this remains to be determined, but I did pick up a 40 dollar pair of whitin sneakers just to try them out and I'll admit, they are a whole lot more comfortable than I would have guessed. I've been wearing them a month or so and the damage my feet have sustained from the modern shoe is even starting to reverse itself. They look like normal shoes, I am not going with that weird vibram five finger shoe that was all the rage a while back.

I also feel like my balance and posture has improved, as the "barefoot shoe" style is wide toebox with a zero drop heel. I have been going on some monstrously long hikes lately and my arches have yet to collapse in spite of my weight.

Has anyone tried these out? Is it just a dumb fad or is it a positive trend that reverses some of the dumb designs we have done in the name of what's fashionable?

 

[Northern Pilgrim]

I definitely prefer zero drop. Lots of good anecdotal data from myself and friends. Probably the biggest issue I see with folks using them is trying to run too far, too fast without slowly building up for distance.
The surface you are running on can make a difference but the way I see it your foot and leg are designed like springs for a reason.

 

[mountainaire]

I had a few pairs of Merrell barefoot shoes when they first got popular like 12 years ago. Back then I used to hit up this 6 mile loop that was a mix of rocky trails and pavement that connected them together, would run it a few times a week, when I switched to the barefoot shoes I ended up getting nasty bruising on my heels, had to switch back to regular shoes.

 

[analyst_green]

Every ancient, traditional society has worn barefoot shoes. The ancient Romans and Greeks, for example, wore shoes that were only 5 to 6 mm thick. Native Americans hunted in thin moccasins made of leather. Jesus Himself wore barefoot sandals. These shoes give your foot full freedom to work as it's designed to.

It's much easier on soft surfaces like grass or gravel. They can be very punishing on concrete because we're not used to it. Yet the Romans and Greeks wore them on paved stone roads as well. Overtime you get used to them on concrete as well to an extent. But likely we'll never adapt as well as those in ancient times who grew up wearing these shoes.

I've been wearing them for awhile now but the transition is tough. Even so, I'm happy to have switched over because my posture is so much better and lower back pain has been eliminated. My toes are no longer squished together but they have room to spread naturally. You have to relearn to walk, putting more weight on your midfoot rather than the heel.

 

[Northern Pilgrim]

I had a few pairs of Merrell barefoot shoes when they first got popular like 12 years ago. Back then I used to hit up this 6 mile loop that was a mix of rocky trails and pavement that connected them together, would run it a few times a week, when I switched to the barefoot shoes I ended up getting nasty bruising on my heels, had to switch back to regular shoes.

I think for barefoot shoes to work properly, you really have to switch to toe running. Heel strikes are not anatomically good for your knees because all of that shock is just transferred straight up your bones.