Is barefoot running/hiking a meme?

I'm about to buy a pair of hiking boots. My old ones are Vasque with a typical vibram sole with heels and stuff. The ones I'm eyeing are available in "batefoot" style whatever that means. <br>Why should or shouldn't I pick that one over the traditional sole? I'm mainly going to use them orienteering.

>>2729038
>Why should or shouldn't I pick that one over the traditional sole?
Have you got a pair of old skateshoes?
Basically, you're looking at Vans soles (possibly thinner) with a boot top. If that'll work where you are, great. If there's rocks and roots and generally uneven terrain I would suggest your feet will very quickly become very sore.

>>2729046
sounds like you don't like them

>>2729038
(just enlarged OP pic)
My feet won't bend like this without breaking so I prefer a bit more support.
Good on you for orienteering though, I hope it's still done with a map and compass, it's a dying skill.

>>2729048
>sounds like you don't like them
Not for me with a flexy sole like that over rough ground, but I don't know what's comfy for you.
Just get some and let us know - you'll never know if you don't try, and worst case, you now have a pair of boots you can wear out with jeans.

>>2729049
Compass if the area is big enough, which it is most times. Maps is pretty much a given. The club I'm part of has lots of teens and older folks plis young families. It's so wholesome

>>2729038
"barefoot shoes" are shoes. they are not going barefoot.

>>2729038
ive been hiking and running barefoot or with minimalist sole shoes like OP for the better part of the last 20 years. yes your feet and legs will hurt for a while at first. modern humans are complete pussies and need cushioning for their tender tootsies. not to mention the fact that so few people even walk anywhere anymore

>>2729057
What's the benefit of flimsy soles other than bragging rights for not being a pussy?
Is painful feet and legs all I'll have to show for or os there more to it?

if you arent used to it then youre in for a reckoning. the shoes dont even out terrain so you feel every step. ultimately its good for your leg health but dont go out on an expedition for your first wear

>>2729058
well its about personal strength, well-being and self-actualization as a human. walking barefoot in the garden of eden is how god intended

>>2729055
>It's so wholesome
That's cool, ours was less so.
We'd get dropped off god knows where with a section of map with an X showing where the next bit of map was and so on. Could be one or several days through pic. Guaranteed to rain or be misty some or all of the time. No electronics.
I like your way better. Was alpine/wilderness guide and SAR courses rolled into one to either save time or give us more to do, possibly both.

>>2729038
as someone who has odd shaped feet who spent most of their childhood barefoot i only wear skate shoes/ barefoot hiking shoes or sandals. my feet never get sore probably because all the little muscles are stronger than most people who grew up in more supportive shoes.

>but muh prickles
i find that for even the worse of thorns thick baggy jeans that fall around my heel work just fine and i dont need any more ankle or foot protection than what normal sneakers offer.

all that being said if you prefer more supportive shoes anon who cares. i know im an outlier.

>>2729038
You should definitely go on a 5 day hike immediately after getting them.

>>2729038
>Barefoot
I've been easing my way into it and genuinely feels great, I'm not a barefoot Chad yet but your feet toughen up rather fast and your grip on rocks is insane.

>>2729058
as you use them and your feet start building muscle for support(if they get support from your shoes they don't build support by themselves) you won't get sore anymore, or at least significantly less than you would with a conventional boot. Also because your feet's support isn't reliant on outside sources you have it with you all the time.
Some other benefits: you have way more stability(they permit your toes to act individually and over a larger area), you have more flexibility and more ground feel(at first you might not like feeling the rocks you're stepping on but it is way better and after your feet build actual muscles it won't hurt anymore)

>>2729038
You'll probably be walking wrong initially, your muscles will be underdeveloped and there are some terrains for which a thin sole is a bad fit.
You can of course get shoes with less heel drop that still have thicker soles.
>>2729058
Lower risk of a sprained ankle once you're more used to it and it doesn't stop you from using your whole foot in the walking/running motion.
They're also more more suited to my retarded footshape because barefoot shoes typically avoid squishing all your toes together.

>>2729038
I preordered these back in October and have been using them weekly since January. I fucked around with minimalist shoes for the last couple years, Xero, Lems, Tadeevo, I even made a simple pair of center seam mocassins and wore those on a couple trips.
The ultimate issue I've had is that the thin sole is just too, thin, any rock you step on is going to make itself apparent, and the thin nature of the sole means they wear out in a year or less. I still like zero drop heels and a wide toe box so these seemed like they would be a happy medium and I've been very happy.
I hike with the Jim Greens multiple times a week and my only concern is their longevity. Also like other anons have said, you'll want to take it slow if you've never worn mimalist shoes before, start out with 2 miles hikes max for the first month to play it safe and get accustomed to your new gait.

>>2729038
Barefoot walking is much healthier than wearing shoes/boots all the time, and the natives got around fine wearing nothing but moccasins to protect their feet from thorns for millennia.
That being said, it you're going to be walking somewhere with rocks, roads, or even mountains, going barefoot or wearing "barefoot shoes" will feel no different than going on a hike while deliberately placing rocks in your boots. Honestly just stick to conventional heavy duty hiking boots, then change over to good sandals whenever the terrain is nice enough.

>>2729049
They don't need to flex like that, I put a stiff insole in mine to get more support. I don't care if it's not pure barefoot it works for me.

>>2729064
Kahurangi? It's a jungle in there.

>>2731287
>the natives
Had a life expectancy of 30 years

>>2731322
That's just cause all the weak ones died within a year, ignoring those natives lived to 90 on average

>>2731836
>if you ignore how an average works then the average looks a lot better
Amazing. Now tell us how the average Roman actually ate bugs exclusively.

>>2731846
In that context an average is a metric for retards. What the guy you replied to was suggesting, correctly, is that the median age at death was not much different than today.
And suggesting that what differences there were, either average or median, were due to footwear makes you a double retard.

>>2731321
Near enough.
You been up the Richmond ranges? Underrated, but I hear sections are super busy now it’s part of the Araroa trail.

>>2731855
>correctly suggesting that 100 percent of third-world migrants are peaceful and valuable members of society because we didn't count the percentage that aren't
lol

>>2729038
I run and hike in barefoot shoes whenever I can. Best thing you can do with your feet and leg. Since I use barefoot shoes I don't have knee pain.
I don't want to get normal shoes ever again. The minimum I need is zero drop and wide foot space.

>>2731322
Are you implying that the infant mortality rate of primitives was caused by the adults not wearing shoes

>>2731971
NTA but he seems to be saying that basing your decisions on the habits and lifestyle of a failed primitive race is ill-advised.

>>2731984
>Failed primitive race
How foolish of me to have forgotten that only the natives didn't wear shoes, and that every other group on Earth was born with thick rubber boots back in the stone age.

Also, the post says that the natives got on fine doing it, which is true. This may come as a surprise, but while the Indians may not be as good at us at the creation and maintenance of higher civilization, it's quite possible that the primitive tribe of nomadic hunters knew a thing or two about walking around in the outdoors.

>>2729038
I own a pair of those Jim green barefoot boots and I've worn them everyday at work for a few months now as a surveyor and they are super comfortable, I actually bought a pair of their razorbacks a day ago and I'm wearing them now

>>2731931
What are those shoes? Also, comfy pic; where is it taken?

Will wearing barefoot shoes help me fix my squished in toe structure? I want to have splayed out toes like humans naturally do

alright bro we all know you just wanted an excuse to post your hogs

>>2732094
Merrell Wrapt Mid Wp.
It was taken in Slovakia, we started from Podlesok.

>>2732144
You have to do foot exercises too.

I have some Vivobarefoot Forest ESCs and really like them

>>2732144
Get toe spacers. You probably want sandals over shoes
With toe spacers you should notice your circulation improve immediately
>>2729038
Honestly not a fan.uses nlblown rubber so will wear fast. Should have beefed up like lems or gone with Solis rubber like their other models

>>2731287
>it you're going to be walking somewhere with rocks, roads, or even mountains, going barefoot or wearing "barefoot shoes" will feel no different than going on a hike while deliberately placing rocks in your boots
thats a retarded take. i scree walk barefoot all the time, it is actually easier to grip the rocks with bare skin than some boot sole. most of the "beaches" of the north pacific arent sandy anyway its piles of boulders covered in barnacles and zebra mussels. yet somehow i can do it without crying like you are right now

>>2731322
>30 years
people always throw that kind of hyperbole around but theres plenty of evidence of humans living much longer in primitive societies and even nowadays. living simply is a recipe for good health

>>2731971
>>2732079

>muh infant mortality pilpul cope
>sabotage your body when you are young, your feet can take it!

the average life expectancy of an adult male street sweaper in industrial london was 22 years old. The average life expectancy of a factory worker was 40. the average life expectancy of a modern american living in the roaring twenties with access to most modern conviences was still only 60. stop beliving deathcult propaganda and take care of your self. The stoneage retards that lived to 30 were never living to 90 unless they occupied a position of privilege (leadership/priest caste). No big wumpum fire warrior was making it to 90 hunting buffaloo with their bare feet, but his boss probably did since he sat on his ass all day giving orders just like today.

>which is true

it's not true. you are biologically immortal until your mid 20s, which means you can abuse the fuck out of your body doing retard tier shit until you start hitting that middle age. Oh wow, look at those statistics. Body stops being able to replace cell damage and BASED HECKIN BAREFOOT NOBLE SAVAGES suddenly start dying a few years later from accumulated damage.
also, you should be wearing shoes to protect your dumbass from parasites and fungal infections. Not wearing shoes is like saying 'i dont need modern sanitation, the noble indignenous people drank water unfiltered and lived to 30 because of infant morality hurr durr durr'

>Are you implying that the infant mortality rate of primitives was caused by the adults not wearing shoes. HAHA ADULTS NO WEAR SHOE, CHILD LE DIE?

infant morality was increased by children not wearing shoes, that is easily proveable. chronic infestation with parasites, entering the body through cuts on the feet, would result in chronic malnutrition which would lead to a lower quality of life and early death. an adult who lives to an oldage but is chronically weak would also be a poor provider for achild, indirectly contributing to child mortality

why is every shoe today le Barefoot™ even if it don't have anything with barefoot?

>>2732144
Yes, just by walking, spreading and some massaging in the evening.
Do not post pictures of your feet, cut your toenails.

>>2732311
Meh, I guess I'm just used to boots. The more you go barefoot, the tougher your feet are, and I really don't do it anywhere near as often as the people who swear by it. My issue has never been the thorns or pebbles, but those annoying marble sized rocks that I always seem to step on while running. Those fuckin hurt.
That actually reminds me though, I saw this video of a real old afghani elder dude who got his first pair of sandals after walking the rocky slopes barefoot all his life. Bro was actually able to cut callouses as thick as his fingers off the bottom of his foot, and still have tough as nails feet.

>>2732318
>Average life expectancy of an adult male street sweeper in London was 22 years old
Yet they wore shoes. Curious.
Firstly, I have never seen someone throw a fit this big over shoes. Chill out my man.
Secondly, people died back then because of disease mostly, which now that we have modern sanitation (not to mention stronger immune systems due to constant biological turmoil) is not really an issue. Walking barefoot doesn't damage you. You get sore and bruised when you first start because you've been wearing shoes since you were a kid.
Side note, fungal infection comes from your feet being wet for a long duration. If I wear shoes and don't change my socks after them getting wet, I get trench foot. This is no problem when you have a constant supply of warm, clean socks like (you) do, but in the case of people outside for months or even years, sometimes you find yourself in conditions where it rains for a week or more. You know how to prevent trenchfoot in conditions like that? Keeping your feet open to the air lmao.

Tl;Dr: shoes were not the miracle cure to the average age of death. Sanitation was. You're weirdly angry, now go outside.

>>2732144
I ruined my feet wearing high heels for 12 hours a night (I did VIP bottle service for a few years) but managed to fix it almost. My toes were crushed together and I had fallen arches. I also had ATP from when I was younger. I still overpronate when I walk, but continue to work on my gait. My feet used to randomly get a swollen spot on the bones on the top and I always had foot, knee and hip pain. I don't have any of those problems anymore, and have regained a lot of strength and mobility since I started 5 years ago. Here's what I did.

>stop wearing any shoes that are causing this problem for you, this is the most important because you will just put yourself back at square one every time you put them on during the first year
>toe spacers every night after a warm shower
>then stretch my feet and ankles
>do feet exercises throughout the day when I remember, so at least once a day
>also calf raises and then stretches
>don't neglect stretching and strengthening the quads, hamstrings and hips
>barefoot at home, including outside, only wear shoes when I have to go places
>mindful of my gait and correct it every time I notice it is off
>my shoes are all flat, thin soles, thin fabric and wide size
>my everyday and gym shoe cost $8 because of how little material it is made of

This is a mostly fixable issue. You won't be able to get rid of any extra bone growth, but you can improve a lot. Hope you have success anon, your feet look like they hurt at the end of a long day.

>>2732421
>Bro was actually able to cut callouses as thick as his fingers off the bottom of his foot, and still have tough as nails feet
gnarly, i half gagged and half am amazed

>>2729038
For anyone looking for recommendations here is mine.
>freet
Get one with the side stitched sole. I use Esk. Generally barefoot shoes only use glued soles and time and wax conditioners will break down the bond. Freet uses good leather too. They used to sell an eva transition half insole that was the best.
>vivobarefoot
The esc tracker and forest are probably the best outdoor barefoot options out right now. Lots of grip and good leather. I find the fit of the tracker especially good. I do think they use an outsole material that wear a little too fast (they just say 50% additive but probably PU) and the tread will collect mud and rocks like nobodies business.
A lot of vivobarefoots models are not worth it. Easy to get a refer a friend coupon too for site. Hate their insoles.
>bedrock sandals
Best sandals you can get. Can even be resoled in us unlike vicobarefoots which only is good in UK.
>belenka
Specifically barebarics since it uses a side stitched sole. Probably best for a casual shoe option or transitioning since the outsole tends to be hearty. Try to find a us retailer cause shipped from Czech republic.
>other info.
I am more of a fan of a minimalist shoe so tend to buy barefoot and add a solid insole after sizing up a half size to whole.
I like tread labs for traditional support with cushion because you buy foam top with support bottom and then the foam top replacements are only 20 after. But foam stinks.
I also use the Canadian wool insoles that are flat but chunky which is still no heel lift. You can find on Amazon. They are navy. They have a chunkier grey one too. Going to test a Buffalo one for more insulation in winter.
I also like meindls cork insole which only has a few mm of lift.

>>2733240
If you look up Lems boots you will see that they use blown rubber that wears faster than solid rubber. It is more comfortable but if you want it to last a long time you want it really thick like lems boots.
Jim greens uses the same type if rubber in this shoe which is a shame.m because it will wear fast.
I have contacted Jim green about this and asked them to make a solid rubber and custom shop won't even do it even though the baobab design can technically accommodate a flat solid rubber outsole.
Furthermore I don't think a welted shoe lens well to a bearfoot shoe because it makes landing on the balls of your feet or mid strike even harder since you typically have a thicker midsole insole outsole and the outsole tends to extend farther back behind the heel.
Like people thinking they should buy the pacific Northwest firefighter boots that weigh 5 pounds to hike the Himalayas or fight zombies in the end of times people look at the Jim green bearfoot boots as the end all be all but they will both fail in durability test compared to solid rubber sole options even plastic rubber like nitrile as well as fail in their goal to act like a bearfoot shoe or booth aside from having a wide toe and not having a heel taller than the forefoot or no drop.
I like Jim Greens other offerings especially their value but for bearfoot shoes this is the reddit midwit option because it looks good on paper but falls short in execution

>>2729038
So the thing about barefoot vs. traditional soles with raised heels is the way that they affect your bodies own bio-mechanics. This may sound kinda cringe but for all intents and purposes most people spend their whole lives literally walking wrong, as crazy as that concept may seem.

If you've lived your whole life wearing conventional shoes almost all of the time, then you likely walk with a heel to toe movement in which you strike the ground with your heel and roll it forward. This happens simply because of the way shoes are shaped and generally its fine because of the padding there.

When moving around barefoot, or in minimalist shoes with a 'no-drop' heel, if you walk the same way you would in normal shoes your body is going to be absorbing that impact straight on, it'll kill your feet, legs, back, and may even cause headaches. So if you are going to make the transition to walking barefoot or in minimal footwear, you will have to walk with a form in which you land with the balls of your feet, and drop the heel down second. When done correctly, this form will cause your feet, legs, and butt to act like a spring so to speak, absorbing that impact. Think of the way a dogs hind leg is shaped and how it moves. A word of warning, however, that using the correct barefoot form will probably suck since your body isnt used to it, and you're using muscles you aren't used to using.

TL;DR
I highly recommend walking, running, and all manner of other physical activity in bare feet or wearing minimalist shoes, its my opinion that the form is simply better for your long term health and wellness, but transition into it progressively and pay attention to your body. This isn't even considering the other benefits of barefoot or minimal shoes, so I think there's a lot to gain from making the change.

>>2733423
Also just a note that there is a good entry level brand of minimalist shoes you can buy on Amazon called Whitin that are fairly cheap but also good quality. A good brand to look at later on if you decide you enjoy barefoot shoes and want something nice is 'Vivo Barefoot'. Vivo has a large selection of good quality minimalist shoes.


Anonymous

>early May
>96° F already

Are y’all really going out in this?

>t. Floridian

>>2729721
>200% humidity for months on end
>can barely breathe outside
i'm glad i left that hellhole

>>2729721
10;00clock,,sunny,,temp 58,,humidity negative 8,,sssssip coffee.,
,,last month waswarmer.

>>2729721
What a surprise, Florida is a shithole.

>>2729721
Brother I just unloaded an entire semi truck worth of metal bedframes into a powerless, waterless Quincy warehouse.
You bet your ass I'm gonna take a leisurely stroll through the flatwoods come Saturday.

>>2729721
Who would wanna live in a place like smelly old Florida?

>>2729721
It's been a weirdly long, cool spring in southern Arizona. My windows are still open all day except a couple hours in the afternoon.

>>2729721
I had frosts until 3rd May. It was the wettest winter ever, on record, ever.

I have never needed my heating on this late before (by about 2 months difference).

It was warm for the last week, and then will return to the seasonal average.

>>2729721
>forecast rain all week averaging in low 60s
It's fucking May why do we still have April weather. Fuck this global warming shit why is it taking so long.

>>2729721
Louisiananon here. It fucking sucks. It’s usually warm but the last two weeks have been a solid 10° above average. It cooled off last night and looks like it’s back to normal.