The emergence of the barefoot movement has been met with a lot of hesitance from people like…well, me. I am straight up old-fashioned. And have had years honed in athletics with the gooshy-supportive-shoe stuff thrown at me. Then last year, as I spent more and more time rock climbing (ie. minimal shoe) and doing yoga, I noticed the more time spent in minimalistic shoes, the stronger my feet, ankles and legs became. So, I decided to give the barefoot “thing” a try.

VIVOBAREFOOT

NEO TRAIL LADIES

• Duration: two months
• Conditions: rocky train, soft soil
• Best Use: Great for dirt or soil trails, lightweight, so great shoes to bring along backpacking or climbing multi-pitch

Yays!

• SOOO comfortable. A hardly any of the breaking in period. You feel like you are barefoot without any fear of what you step on.
• A barefoot experience without going to a shoe like the Five Fingers. I have stubby toes, and don’t like them separated. So having a “glove-like” fit without the toes separated is awesome!
• Super rugged sole. The bottoms are practically like cleats. Great for loose dirt or soil trails.
• Extremely lightweight, making them the perfect comfy shoe to tag along on backpacking trips or multi-pitch climbs where you walk off the top.
• Breath well and dry quickly.
• In cool weather, I’ve always heard people complain of cold feet in barefoot shoes. I like the extra sole to add warmth.
• I love not having to wear socks in the summer!

Nays

While the tread is PERFECT for any type of soil, it isn’t so great on rock. But then I like a stiffer sole when scrambling.

Breatho Trail Mens

• Duration: 2 months
• Conditions: soft trail, rocky scrambling
• Best uses: Hiking or running on non-rocky terrain

• Yays!

• Really good job allowing you to feel the ground but protecting the foot.
• Better armored than my Brooks trail runners, both in the sole and the upper.
• Awesome traction for any kind of dirt or soil.

Nays

On rocky terrain they are poor. The cleat like bottom keeps the shoe from gripping the rock.

Since it is hard for me to separate my review of this specific shoe from my overall learning experience trying out a barefoot shoe for running, I figured I would share some of these videos:
httpv://vimeo.com/20782160#at=0

*We’d like to thank VIVOBAREFOOT  who gave us these shoes at no cost for the purpose of review. As always, these are our honest opinions.