Are barefoot hiking boots a meme?

I'm quite interested in trying them, as the sole looks to me to be quite similar to climbing shoes. I've been bouldering lately and also I have to do a little climbing to look at rocks while hiking as I study geology.

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I've worn altras lone peaks for a few seasons, they pretty good. Also worn some Xero day hikers and they are not very comfortable, hurt my arch area.
    But I did it for flat foot reasons. If your feet are fine, and you like your boots, don't bother. All the marketing and science isn't real, some people like the shoes some don't.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      My feet are normal, a bit wide maybe if I remember rightly what some shop assistant said years ago, but I hate my current boots. They were cheap and they toebash like motherfrickers going down slopes

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        with a properly fitted set of barefoot shoes with a thin sole (read: not altras), that simply isn't a problem. heavy, thick soled, and rigid boots are rough on your feet because they don't cooperate with the inherent flexibility of your feet to absorb and distribute loads

        If you wear barefoots regularly you should be fine. If you get a good pair you’ll feel godlike if you hit any scrambling. The only place they might be uncomfortable is loose sharp gravel, but that’s rarely natural. The biggest memes are heeled shoes. The only reason I even own hard soles is for mtb pedals

        >If you get a good pair you’ll feel godlike if you hit any scrambling
        nothing compares to crossing a scree field in a pair of mini-mils. honestly the most fun i've ever had /out

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          If you wear barefoots regularly you should be fine. If you get a good pair you’ll feel godlike if you hit any scrambling. The only place they might be uncomfortable is loose sharp gravel, but that’s rarely natural. The biggest memes are heeled shoes. The only reason I even own hard soles is for mtb pedals

          Sounds fun, I come across a lot of scree in the kind of places I go, a lot of stops in quarries. Can you recommend the pair in the OP image, or any others available in the UK? They are tracker forest escape , which I hear compares favourably with the tracker ii fg's for all year use (drains water, dries faster, cooler in summer )

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            anything other than the belleville mini mil makes no sense to me. they're the only minimalist boot that is actually built to last and hold up to real abuse. currently the only pair of shoes i own and they're still going strong after daily wear working manual labor for 6 months. the materials are good for the price and the simple construction makes them staggeringly durable.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      fellow flatbro, would you recommend the lone peaks even for wet / snow conditions?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Naw not for snow. They are lightweight running shoes so they get wet fast.

        I bought a pair of their waterproof boots and they're pretty dogshit, not as comfy as the peaks and the waterproofing is mediocre. I mainly bought them for around town since I live in upstate NY

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Are barefoot hiking boots a meme?
    yes and no, take the moc-pill anon

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      im actually really curious about this from a materials perspective. how does the leather sole hold up? how often do you have to resole? can you slap any old piece of leather on there or do you have to do something with them to resole (like remove the old sole or buff the leather or w/e)? how do they hold up to rocks and spikes and shit? do you ever hurt your feet with them? how do they handle water? any surfaces that are no-go?

      and of course, consoomer stuff: how much and where?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        You make outdoor moccasins yourself. Its easy to learn. And you throw them away if they are worn through. They wear fast. One every summer probably you cant wear them on pavement because of durability.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        it really depends on what your doing ive had this pair for a few months and they are doing pretty good but i walk a lot on gravel, rocks, and harder surfaces if i didnt walk on such hard surfaces i would most likely take off the sole for better ground feel or even just go barefoot . i have been looking into making my own shoes recently like

        You make outdoor moccasins yourself. Its easy to learn. And you throw them away if they are worn through. They wear fast. One every summer probably you cant wear them on pavement because of durability.

        talked about specially turnshoe type designs as i don't like how the moc toe looks and gets caught on rocks and stuff id like to sort of invert it. if you are really worried about durability buy some tire shavings and barge cement and make rubber soles to your own personal specifications and then repair them when they wear out (see sodhoppers). the "ground feel" you get from all leather under your foot is amazing though i never going back to boots for outdoor activities unless im carrying a lot of weight.

        just read thru my post and would like to clarify im not a hippie i would never go barefoot where ppl could see my feet and i only do it to be quiet in the woods

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          im actually really curious about this from a materials perspective. how does the leather sole hold up? how often do you have to resole? can you slap any old piece of leather on there or do you have to do something with them to resole (like remove the old sole or buff the leather or w/e)? how do they hold up to rocks and spikes and shit? do you ever hurt your feet with them? how do they handle water? any surfaces that are no-go?

          and of course, consoomer stuff: how much and where?

          didnt read your whole post
          >how do they hold up to rocks and spikes and shit? do you ever hurt your feet with them?
          not well but its not generally and issue for me even tho i live in a rocky area as i can feel the rock and move my foot before any real damage is done
          >and of course, consoomer stuff: how much and where?
          i got my current pair from moccasins canada on clearance and cut the fringe off they are made by bastein industries they where about 130 iirc which is a lot and why im thinking about making my own
          >how do they handle water?
          very badly im in eastern woodlands and my feet are wet almost all the time no matter the shoes i wear but i don't care much as they dry really quick and are so light i can carry an extra pair. i dont wear socks with them if its above 60 out below that i wear darn tough or smart wool and a pair of puttees and ive never had an issue with cold feet when it gets really cold i switch to mukluks
          >any surfaces that are no-go?
          muddy slopes suck but thats not really just a moccasin thing even my panama soled jungle boots struggle in mud
          >picrel my pair of belgian short puttees and one of my swiss long puttees i couldn't be fricked to roll up they both provide excellent ankle support and warmth

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        You can buy sheets of vibram material if you want and sole them with that. I've also seen old conveyer belt material used, and various chipped rubber and goop type stuff.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Everything on this board is a meme if it differs even a little bit from what you personally do.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    If you wear barefoots regularly you should be fine. If you get a good pair you’ll feel godlike if you hit any scrambling. The only place they might be uncomfortable is loose sharp gravel, but that’s rarely natural. The biggest memes are heeled shoes. The only reason I even own hard soles is for mtb pedals

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    they'll make your feet stronger, stronger feet means living longer, and better performance in your amateur and pro mma competitions since you'll be barefoot and it will make you exponentially harder to topple. the shoes used in mongolian wrestling are also flat, so it will prepare you better and help you avoid looking like a wimp if a mongolian friend challenges you to a wrestle, the same for most other traditional types of wrestling like turkish mud wrestling. cannot tell you how many times I've saved face by having a strong and acclimated bare foot

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Picked up vivo barefoot tracker boots about two weeks ago. Best boots ive ever owned. Like walking in slippers and theyve cured a chronic issue ive had in the ball of my foot for about 5 months now. Definitely would recommend. Also completely waterproof which is nice

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Its a meme. Those shoes are casual only. Not for hiking, performance, sport or work. Get real boots for the outdoors.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Feetlet

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      you realize the people that actually live in forests and unworked ground are the ones that use flat soles or no shoes at all, right? that's literally what our foot evolved for, traversing wild ground, and all tribal footwear had a thin flat sole, the heel shit is relatively recent

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        You are free to entertain your go back to monke fantasies, cityslicker. I prefer to keep healthy knees and a healthy back while working and hiking.
        Try to do a year of manual labor in your barefoot shoes or a 500 mile hike and you'll understand why boots evolved the way they did.
        Its not the fault of relatively recent modern boots that your feet hurt in them (they have actually never been that comfortable and easy to break in), and the answer is not to switch to barefootshoes or ever softer trailrunners. Its because you have 21st century basic b***h feet. A problem that could easily be solved.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >cityslicker
          are you 70? you're larping just as hard as any urbanite when you use lingo your grandpa would have found cringe.
          don't give me that healthy knee and back, stronger feet is correlated to less hip injuries, knee injuries and back injuries, having a natural posture decreases mortality.
          places with flat soles being common have less flat feet by something like 21 times, with all other variables accounted for

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            >don't give me that healthy knee and back, stronger feet is correlated to less hip injuries, knee injuries and back injuries, having a natural posture decreases mortality.
            >places with flat soles being common have less flat feet by something like 21 times, with all other variables accounted for
            those are nice statistics. As I said try wearing barefoot shoes for work and hiking every day then you'll know why our boots are the way they are. Your heel is never going to be as thick, and your feet are never going to get as strong as they will need to be to withstand the serious work hours and backcountry travel mileages that we modern humans can put out on a regular daily basis.
            You can wear whatever you want including barefoot shoes to "build up" or "toughen up" your feet during your leisure time but nothing is going to take you as far as a good pair of fitting and padded boots will. Experience will teach you this.

            A lot of people just didn't know what they needed to build good feet from the start. I personally just walked around barefoot or in socks all the time which gave me wide natural feet. Some people wore crappy shoes with horrible toe boxes inside and outside all their life and have fricked up feet because all their affordable options chose the "fashionable" bad design which was also likely cheaper to make as well. Wide natural feet have proper muscle/tendon development in your feet which is the start of proper knee, back, neck, and overall posture/muscle balance through your whole body.

            agreed

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              >Your heel is never going to be as thick, and Your feet are never going to get as strong as they will need to be to withstand the serious work hours and backcountry travel mileages that we modern humans can put out on a regular daily basis.
              PS: Lazy peoples' heel and feet are not even strong enough to bear and wear regular comfy modern boots anymore. They can't even work or hike all day in modern boots. All they can do is wear fashionable barefoot shoes and sandals around the house and trailrunners for work and hiking. If you would force them to wear "barefoot footwear" for everything like the "natives" they would crumble in pain and die.

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              >Nothing is going to take you as far as a good pair of fitting and padded boots will. Experience will teach you this.
              I can agree with this statement to the extent that if you're hunting or doing some off trail bullshitery you would want something beefier, but you're just delusional if you think trailrunners or even just straight up going barefoot on most trails isn't better than lugging around extra weight on your feet when it isn't needed.

              • 1 year ago
                Anonymous

                Sure, wear trailrunners or barefoot shoes some of the time. But if you wear them all the time you won't be able to wear boots anymore when it counts.
                And once you are able to wear normal boots on the daily you won't feel any need at all to switch for trailrunners unless you are planning to run.

                >You are free to entertain your go back to monke fantasies, cityslicker. I prefer to keep healthy knees and a healthy back while working and hiking.
                >Try to do a year of manual labor in your barefoot shoes or a 500 mile hike and you'll understand why boots evolved the way they did.
                >understand why boots evolved the way they did
                Don't you mean "Do some horseback riding" and you'll understand?
                The raised heel literally came about to keep your foot in the stirrups when on horseback. That's it.
                On foot there is absolutely no benefit and it's even damaging.

                The heel is absolutely vital for traction. It doesnt need to be very high.

              • 1 year ago
                Anonymous

                I think a small heel also adds to comfort. Should be 2-10 mm. I've also found the $4 freet insoles for your heel add all the comfort my foot needs and they aren't they dense and only a mm or 2 thick.
                the barefoot bs is supposed to have you land on the ball of your foot. the shoe needs a lot of function in order to make that possible and im sure more people injure themselves doing it wrong (minimalist with a strong heel strike) than relearning their ancestors

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              >You can wear whatever you want including barefoot shoes to "build up" or "toughen up" your feet during your leisure time but nothing is going to take you as far as a good pair of fitting and padded boots will. Experience will teach you this.
              and yet there are ultra runners and multi week hikers that use barefoot, so clearly it suffices or is even superior

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          A lot of people just didn't know what they needed to build good feet from the start. I personally just walked around barefoot or in socks all the time which gave me wide natural feet. Some people wore crappy shoes with horrible toe boxes inside and outside all their life and have fricked up feet because all their affordable options chose the "fashionable" bad design which was also likely cheaper to make as well. Wide natural feet have proper muscle/tendon development in your feet which is the start of proper knee, back, neck, and overall posture/muscle balance through your whole body.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >You are free to entertain your go back to monke fantasies, cityslicker. I prefer to keep healthy knees and a healthy back while working and hiking.
          >Try to do a year of manual labor in your barefoot shoes or a 500 mile hike and you'll understand why boots evolved the way they did.
          >understand why boots evolved the way they did
          Don't you mean "Do some horseback riding" and you'll understand?
          The raised heel literally came about to keep your foot in the stirrups when on horseback. That's it.
          On foot there is absolutely no benefit and it's even damaging.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          People hike the AT in barefoot shoes every year.

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Best shoe i've ever owned. You gain so much more balance and space. Never causes blisters. Only hard point is that you feel sharp stones much more - your feet will adjust though.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      How severe is the lack of toecap? I will be on broken terrain and mountains a lot so that's the only downside i've heard of

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    luckily I found some xeros to replace my traveling shoes while overseas, since they are so comfy and slick
    but they tore the first day
    those aren't real boots, they are made out of sissy materials

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    > blocks your path

  11. 1 year ago
    Anonymous
  12. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Thanks all itt, I decided to get them, and spend the next few months doing short walks acclimating my feet to the.

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