I bought a pair of barefoot shoes recently. If you haven't heard about this type of shoe, it's kind of a loosely-defined category, but generally means:
- It's wider than a typical shoe. Your feet should not be constrained by the "walls" of the shoe.
- The materials are thin and flexible. It should not be very rigid or provide much support.
- The sole should be flat, with no elevated heel.
Barefoot shoes have gained an almost religious following. I'm not a full convert, but I have enjoyed wearing mine at the gym -- for the most part.
I don't really need many features in a shoe; I do a pretty basic strength training workout. Like, the kind of workout that many people wear Converse for. And for that, they're great. Actually, really great. The sole is very thin and flat, which feels good for squats. And when doing things like lunges, I feel like they have forced me to improve my balance and stability, since the shoe itself is not helping you at all in that department.
I've also started running recently, after not doing that for many years. I have also enjoyed wearing these while running, but with the caveat that I'm running on a soft, rubber surface track. I think if I was running on pavement, I couldn't wear these. By design, they have very little cushion, and I think that would be painful if I wasn't running on a soft surface. In fact, even just walking down the street with them was a little jarring the first day, although I've gotten used to it now (and might have softened my stride a little, too).
The pair I bought are the Xero Dillon Canvas. I don't buy into all of the health benefits that the barefoot crowd often claims you get from this type of footwear, but I have definitely liked them for the gym. I'd buy them for the same reason that you'd buy a pair of Converse: they're thin and flat, but these are even thinner and flatter. I also like that they're easy to carry around. They take up very little space in the gym bag.
Aesthetically, at first they look strange because of their wider toe box, but that's just because they're wider than what you're used to seeing on your feet. That feeling soon wore off, and I think they look like just plain old sneakers now, especially when viewed from the side. I doubt other people would even notice anything different about them.
Specific to the pair I bought: I got the white ones, and the canvas material gets dirty very easily. But I found that they're easy to clean with soap and water. (See a before/after photo here.)
Has anyone else tried a pair of barefoot shoes before? What did you think?