I've found BeLenka makes the widest barefoot shoes I've tried, if you don't mind that the soles are thicker than other barefoot brands. For very small walking feet Bundgaard do the most flexible/widest barefoot gumboot I've come across for toddlers. Obviously no shoes is best for that age group but not practical in winter!
Oooh thank you so much for the recommendations! Really appreciate it. And yes - I love my sandals, but as soon as it's below 5 degrees C, it's too cold!
I love the aesthetic of Wildling shoes but find they get wet in winter as the soles are so thin and don't cover the whole foot. Do their latest winter boots have that issue?
Would love to hear your thought on Birkenstocks. I know they're not minimalist, but they're the only sole that's comfortable for me (not a runner, so that's not an issue) and in my late 60s now, they feel pretty healthy.
It’s interesting to reflect that as a child in Brisbane Australia in the 70s it was permitted to attend primary school barefoot, and was very common, particularly for the boys (my mum made me wear sandals as it was more ladylike). I went barefoot as much as possible as a child, and still do. I just love to feel the ground under my feet
Going barefoot is the best but my feet ( and my body) gets cold so easily ! I can only go barefoot when it’s 20°+ so like 3 months of the year… :( I was made for warm Weather!!
I switched to barefoot shoes six or seven years ago and now hate it when I have to wear normal shoes (i.e. dress shoes or hiking boots). It was so encouraging to see my toes spread out again and to rebuild my arches.
When I moved to Costa Rica for a year, I was almost always barefoot. The school I taught in had a gravel yard and it took me about three months to feel comfortable running over the sharp stones. I just kept at it, and eventually my feet became comfortable playing sports on the gravel. Super cool until I stepped on a scorpion.
Amazing, amazing, amazing - the technology of our feet is beyond anything made my mankind. How foolish we are to think we know better.
Wow! How bad was the scorpion sting??! I've never had one!
It is amazing to see feet regain shape and strength. It is so strange that we could possibly think that shoe-shaped shoes might be better than foot-shaped shoes!
Interestingly, it looks like the rapid weight loss from Ozempic and the other GLP-1s can reduce the fat pads under the feet, making barefoot movement much more painful. Maybe we've invented a drug that makes people need shoes...!!
Yeah, the scorpion sting sucks. I had a hilarious conversation with the local 'security guard' in broken Spanish. He wanted to squeeze the poo out of the scorpion and stick it under my tongue. Ancient jungle remedy - but I decided to pass on that one. It felt like stepping on electric glass, followed by a deep sleep, then a day of feeling stoned. Not fun, but it was worse for him/her. I was sad to have been the cause of its demise.
Ozempic - what a mess. The bone density and muscle mass loss is crazy. I read it also reduces muscle mass in the heart. I hadn't heard about the foot pads - most people can hardly walk barefooted without pain regardless of Ozempic.
In the summer, I like to run the wild boar trails in my local forest barefooted. It keeps my feet tough and it's quite exciting when I bump into a boar (or two, or three).
With Ozempic, I'm not convinced that the bone and muscle loss is greater than you'd expect from 1) weight loss requiring less bone and muscle, and 2) resolution of metabolic dysfunction in muscles resulting in smaller, more efficient muscles. I'm not sure that the functional loss is great, even if the percentage loss is.
That's a helpful perspective. I think it's easy to get sucked into sensationalist media when one doesn't have the technical skills to consider all the perspectives.
Yes, boar get the heart pumping. We have a lot of them around our house. When they're with babies they are protective/aggressive, otherwise they tend to avoid or ignore humans. The exception is when they've been abused by humans in the past - stupid humans doing stupid things.
We started letting our eldest go barefoot at the playground and she’s falling so much less. We already give her soft, foot shaped shoes. But even that was a problem, it seems. She no longer wipes out while running or climbing
Oh my goodness - I've seen this too! Even socks seem to really affect how a child moves, and not just because they are slipping in them. I've got another post planned on socks, but thank you for sharing this!
Mine always get into a playground and shed their shoes. And then all the other children want to take their shoes off too!
We started letting our eldest go barefoot at the aground and she’s falling so much less. We already give her soft, foot shaped shoes. But even that was a problem, it seems. She no longer wipes out while running or climbing
Been following your work for a few months now and really appreciate it. Although I’ve not done the traveling you have, I came to many of the same conclusions just by studying anthropology and having exposure to the right people and sources.
In terms of feet and shoes, my brother is a runner and he went completely barefoot in his early adulthood, for quite a few years. He tried to get me to follow suit, but it wasn’t until my first pregnancy and the foot issues that came with it that I was convinced to try something different. I’ve been in minimalist shoes for some years now, and I definitely notice the difference in my feet. Though the issue I’ve now run into is that there are no shoes on the market truly wide enough for my toes! I wear the widest ones I can find, but I’d have to have custom shoes to give my fifth toe enough room.
Hello! Thank you so much for writing, it's lovely to hear from you! And yes - a lot of this stuff is common sense when you look outside our blinkered cultural view. :)
For me the epiphany was also post-pregnancy! My feet were too flat to fit in any shoes, and I remember googling how to make my feet shoe-shaped! :D how ridiculous! but it was so frustrating - I remember trying about 30 pairs of hiking boots on one day, trying to find something comfortable!
I now spend virtually all my time in xero genesis sandals because they only have a thong and some string round the ankle. Little-toe bliss! :D
Just out of curiosity - which other brands have you tried? I have a pair of Vivos that I use for smart times, but they aren't that comfortable. I sometimes use cheap water shoes as they are very wide. Looking for suggestions!
I've found BeLenka makes the widest barefoot shoes I've tried, if you don't mind that the soles are thicker than other barefoot brands. For very small walking feet Bundgaard do the most flexible/widest barefoot gumboot I've come across for toddlers. Obviously no shoes is best for that age group but not practical in winter!
Oooh thank you so much for the recommendations! Really appreciate it. And yes - I love my sandals, but as soon as it's below 5 degrees C, it's too cold!
Wildling shoes are great for winter!
I love the aesthetic of Wildling shoes but find they get wet in winter as the soles are so thin and don't cover the whole foot. Do their latest winter boots have that issue?
Would love to hear your thought on Birkenstocks. I know they're not minimalist, but they're the only sole that's comfortable for me (not a runner, so that's not an issue) and in my late 60s now, they feel pretty healthy.
It’s interesting to reflect that as a child in Brisbane Australia in the 70s it was permitted to attend primary school barefoot, and was very common, particularly for the boys (my mum made me wear sandals as it was more ladylike). I went barefoot as much as possible as a child, and still do. I just love to feel the ground under my feet
Going barefoot is the best but my feet ( and my body) gets cold so easily ! I can only go barefoot when it’s 20°+ so like 3 months of the year… :( I was made for warm Weather!!
I switched to barefoot shoes six or seven years ago and now hate it when I have to wear normal shoes (i.e. dress shoes or hiking boots). It was so encouraging to see my toes spread out again and to rebuild my arches.
When I moved to Costa Rica for a year, I was almost always barefoot. The school I taught in had a gravel yard and it took me about three months to feel comfortable running over the sharp stones. I just kept at it, and eventually my feet became comfortable playing sports on the gravel. Super cool until I stepped on a scorpion.
Amazing, amazing, amazing - the technology of our feet is beyond anything made my mankind. How foolish we are to think we know better.
Wow! How bad was the scorpion sting??! I've never had one!
It is amazing to see feet regain shape and strength. It is so strange that we could possibly think that shoe-shaped shoes might be better than foot-shaped shoes!
Interestingly, it looks like the rapid weight loss from Ozempic and the other GLP-1s can reduce the fat pads under the feet, making barefoot movement much more painful. Maybe we've invented a drug that makes people need shoes...!!
Yeah, the scorpion sting sucks. I had a hilarious conversation with the local 'security guard' in broken Spanish. He wanted to squeeze the poo out of the scorpion and stick it under my tongue. Ancient jungle remedy - but I decided to pass on that one. It felt like stepping on electric glass, followed by a deep sleep, then a day of feeling stoned. Not fun, but it was worse for him/her. I was sad to have been the cause of its demise.
Ozempic - what a mess. The bone density and muscle mass loss is crazy. I read it also reduces muscle mass in the heart. I hadn't heard about the foot pads - most people can hardly walk barefooted without pain regardless of Ozempic.
In the summer, I like to run the wild boar trails in my local forest barefooted. It keeps my feet tough and it's quite exciting when I bump into a boar (or two, or three).
https://substack.com/@ryanbromley/note/c-92096877
Wow - sounds like a bullet ant sting...
With Ozempic, I'm not convinced that the bone and muscle loss is greater than you'd expect from 1) weight loss requiring less bone and muscle, and 2) resolution of metabolic dysfunction in muscles resulting in smaller, more efficient muscles. I'm not sure that the functional loss is great, even if the percentage loss is.
And bumping into wild boar???! incredible!
That's a helpful perspective. I think it's easy to get sucked into sensationalist media when one doesn't have the technical skills to consider all the perspectives.
Yes, boar get the heart pumping. We have a lot of them around our house. When they're with babies they are protective/aggressive, otherwise they tend to avoid or ignore humans. The exception is when they've been abused by humans in the past - stupid humans doing stupid things.
We started letting our eldest go barefoot at the playground and she’s falling so much less. We already give her soft, foot shaped shoes. But even that was a problem, it seems. She no longer wipes out while running or climbing
Oh my goodness - I've seen this too! Even socks seem to really affect how a child moves, and not just because they are slipping in them. I've got another post planned on socks, but thank you for sharing this!
Mine always get into a playground and shed their shoes. And then all the other children want to take their shoes off too!
We started letting our eldest go barefoot at the aground and she’s falling so much less. We already give her soft, foot shaped shoes. But even that was a problem, it seems. She no longer wipes out while running or climbing
Been following your work for a few months now and really appreciate it. Although I’ve not done the traveling you have, I came to many of the same conclusions just by studying anthropology and having exposure to the right people and sources.
In terms of feet and shoes, my brother is a runner and he went completely barefoot in his early adulthood, for quite a few years. He tried to get me to follow suit, but it wasn’t until my first pregnancy and the foot issues that came with it that I was convinced to try something different. I’ve been in minimalist shoes for some years now, and I definitely notice the difference in my feet. Though the issue I’ve now run into is that there are no shoes on the market truly wide enough for my toes! I wear the widest ones I can find, but I’d have to have custom shoes to give my fifth toe enough room.
Hello! Thank you so much for writing, it's lovely to hear from you! And yes - a lot of this stuff is common sense when you look outside our blinkered cultural view. :)
For me the epiphany was also post-pregnancy! My feet were too flat to fit in any shoes, and I remember googling how to make my feet shoe-shaped! :D how ridiculous! but it was so frustrating - I remember trying about 30 pairs of hiking boots on one day, trying to find something comfortable!
I now spend virtually all my time in xero genesis sandals because they only have a thong and some string round the ankle. Little-toe bliss! :D
Really appreciate your comment. :)
Yes, I have those as well!
Just out of curiosity - which other brands have you tried? I have a pair of Vivos that I use for smart times, but they aren't that comfortable. I sometimes use cheap water shoes as they are very wide. Looking for suggestions!