What the Barefoot Shoe Community Doesn’t Want To Talk About

In this video I look at barefoot shoes. I switched to barefoot shoes about 6 years ago and haven't looked back. Interestingly though the science around using them is rather sparse and often confusing and contradictory.

I've tried to find a good chunk of the science and explore the pros and cons of using barefoot shoes for day to day walking.

There are some fascinating discoveries to be made!

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Good video on avoiding injury when switching to barefoot shoes:

Great channel for learning more about barefoot walking:

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Contents:
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0:00 Intro
0:17 What Are Barefoot Shoes?
1:06 The Problem with Pointed Shoes
1:57 The Problem with Cushioned Soles
3:09 The Problem With the Toe Spring
3:53 Heel Striking and Efficiency
4:24 What is the Natural Way?
5:43 What About Hard Surfaces?
9:06 Posture and More
9:23 The Crucial Feature in Vivobarefoot Shoes
10:46 Avoiding Injury When Switching

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Sources:
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[mastaw]

Just a warning for everyone: Take the last part of this video seriously. Don't run in them when you start out. Even if you're about to miss a train and be late for work. I didn't listen and managed to get a stress fracture in my left midfoot. It took about 3 months for the fracture to heal, and another 9 months for the pain to go away. It's only been about two months now that I can walk without pain again.

[EvilestGem]

For me the reason shoes/trainers are more cushioned is because the world we traverse (now) is now largely concrete. I'd happily run around barefoot, no shoes, if we walked on grass/jungle/mud etc, like we used to but we don't. Anytime I wear shoes with a very thin heel (Converse All Star for example) my knees take the brunt and I'm in agony for a while after but when I wear my Nike Pegasus around town I have no such problems and, so far, no issue with my feet becoming pointed either. To be honest I don't like that there is a debate about this because to me it always feels like one or the other is trying to push a product or sell something and at this point (no pun intended) it's mostly the barefoot community. Wear what is comfortable and affordable to you, end of story.

[zwingler]

What i dont understand : "Why are minimalist shoes being sold for maximalist prices?" As you sort of said, no padding, no exotic materials, just the bare minimals. If prices were more reasonable id reckon more people would switch.

[kyleethekelt]

Being flat of foot and having tried all sorts of shoes with arch supports, even bespoke orthotics, I absolutely love my barefoot shoes. I started in Vibrams with the separated toes for the gym and I just splashed out on Vivobarefoot Balerinas which make me feel as if I want to fly. I'll have to chuck all my other shoes because I just know they're now going to feel like concrete by comparison. Of course, foot exercises also help with this. I can walk far longer and with no blisters and less stress and effort. I even think my arches feel more pronounced. I'll never go back.
Just a technical comment, though. As a former radio broadcaster, your edits are ridiculously tight: with truncated word endings, sentences running unnaturally into one another and no time for listeners to keep up with your dialogue because your natural pauses have been cut. Large editing gaps not only mimic natural conversation, they give the brain time to keep up with the myriad changes in topic. I also think that a slightly slower pace would make the important information you are imparting easier to digest.

[oHiddeno]

I as a water park lifeguard for two years I worked barefoot or had minimalist shoes on concrete and in water. In the military I wore boots, both steel toe and ordinary, and I’ve used both thin soled shoes and thick custom sole expensive running shoes. The way I walk wearing any of these is entirely different. I think people need to understand that there isn’t a singular option for all situations and that knowing what you’ll expect out of the day should change how you chose to go into it. Different kinds of foot wear exist for to fill a different roll and to cater to a different need or foot shape, or to accommodate for an issue someone might be having. People that insist that they have the one solution for all problems are just jackasses.

[gautiergary]

I appreciate how concise and straight to the point you are, while remaining comprehensive and explaining things clearly

[omidmashreghzamini]

idk what's with your videos. One moment I am watching a man use a treadmill desk and two button keyboards, the next moment I am interested in how I actually walk. Your content is always great, and your point of view on all things ergo and practical is phenomenal. Keep up the great work!

[marliadouglas]

When I first started wearing barefoot shoes, I did a lot of research into the pros and cons. I eventually decided I didn't care though because the way barefoot shoes made me feel was reason enough. It's like going from having cinder blocks on your feet to nothingness. I also love being able to feel the ground beneath my feet.
The transition was difficult when it came to the calf soreness but never once could i imagine going back to traditional shoes and I still can't.
I understand everyone is going to have different experiences but for me, personally, barefoot shoes are a total no-brainer!

[carrieonly]

I didn't even know there was a barefoot movement until I accidentally transformed my feet. I was laid off during the pandemic, and became a stay at home partner after, and started going barefoot all day every day. It wasn't until I realized regular shoes didn't fit anymore and I started researching it that I figured out what was going on.

[TocoaPuffs]

I swapped to barefoot shoes for a few years and my feet are a lot stronger and better. The problem is that I needed to switch back after a couple of years because I had some knee pain. As you said a toe strike walk is awkward and sub-optimal so as much as I would try, I always switched back to having a heel strike walk. I always toe strike when I run and now I have my barefoot shoes for running, snow, hiking, and play, but for work I'll wear some shoes with a cushion because I don't want to damage myself because I walk on those ultra hard surfaces for about 8 hours a day. I work on my feet, so I'm standing on it that long. Although I'm pro-barefoot shoes, they will always be bad if you're standing on tile and concrete for 8 hours a day.
I would like just wide toe box shoes with a little padding so I can use them at work.

[The_Pickle]

So i'm one of the wierdos that played barefoot outside as a kid almost exclusively except for sport, and continue to do so today. Heel striking is totally normal. I never had barefoot shoes until I got a corporate job and my feet started to ache in heeled pointy boots. Traded them out after 6 months and I'm so happy. I think the surface you are on is the biggest issue. You walk naturally how you should barefoot. Watch kids who are 1 year in to walk, it's fascinating how well they move.
Great video!

[Myrtana]

I am over 60 years old with a lot of pain in my joints due to Osteoarthritis. I have it in my feet as well so with Hallux rigidus in my feet I couldn' fit in any normal shoes anymore.
I started to wear barefoot shoes which was a relief. About a year after the operation on my feet I could've used normal shoes again but it felt awful.
That was 4 years ago and I haven't been wearing normal shoes ever since.
Often people ask me about my barefoot shoes and I can only praise them. For me (and this is a personal opinion) they changed so much to the better. My pain is reduced all over (even my back is better), I am more agile and I am able to walk for hours with my dog again.
I always used to have cold feet. Not any more even if I wear my thinnest barefoot shoes in winter because the feet are not confined to a small space and since they move around in the shoes they are warm.
The shape of my feet has changed. They look wider and the toes aren't pressed against each other anymore. And the soles of my feet are very resilient against gravel, stones etc.
For me barefoot shoes are a live changer.
PS: My soles are mainly worn out under my forefoot so I guess I am a "forefoot striker" 🦶🏻 •‿•

[maudessen]

Excellent video. I am elderly and obese. Barefoot walking has significantly helped improve my balance: I can now go up and down steps sequentially instead of one at a time. When I walk, I focus on lifting my rib cage to improve my posture, and on powering each stride from my glutes and hamstrings. I try to glide my foot into contact with the terrain like I’m landing an airplane, so the strike, though affecting the entire sole, is more centered in the midsole region. Where I live, we have very uneven sidewalks, and my feet are now not only stronger but also more sensitive to these defects so they don’t trip me up.

[dakedres]

I've never worn barefoot shoes but I grew up wearing converse and other skate shoes because anything that wasn't a flat sole felt really weird to me. I didn't really know anything about the difference between heel striking and walking normally until this video, but it totally aligns with my experience. When I had to get some more supportive shoes for work recently I had to basically learn to heel strike more often.

Edit: I was never claiming that shoes with flatter soles are like barefoot shoes, or that Converse are in any way inherently more ergonomic (they've killed my feet before too, their build quality sucks since the Nike acquistion, and they've killed my feet before too). I'm simply sharing my experience.

[thebob]

I loved this little break down but in fact a lot of the pointy shoe design did not necessarily come from rich people simply hating on poor people, but since many of the ruling class rode horses pointed shoes were MUCH easier to allow you to slip your foot shoe and all into the stirrup so you could ride the horse without falling off the most popular example of this is in cowboy shoes often seen in the midwest the point toe allows ease of slipping into the stirrup its also why they often have flat slippery leather soles to allow them to even more easily slip into the stirrup.

[billb.]

As an engineer, I can say this video is the finest, most accurate one I've ever seen about minimalist footwear. In layman's terms it's this simple: When your feet land, the force upon contact with the ground MUST go somewhere. The biggest misconception out there is that shoe padding will somehow magically absorb and make this force disappear. This is completely WRONG. When that foam is compressed, it simply sends the force back up through your legs, with the hips, lower back, and even your neck paying the price. If you're obese, like most of us are to some degree, the best thing you can do for your feet and joints is lose weight and thereby reducing the landing force. Again, this is an EXCELLENT video.

[pensivecircles]

A few years ago my husband and I started running but I had the hardest time with it- half a mile in I'd have terrible knee pain and shin splints. I bought fancy high cushioned running shoes, but that just made it worse. Then my husband started talking about barefoot shoes- I thought he was crazy 😂 But eventually I tried them and loved them! Since switching to barefoot shoes my pain went away completely and I can actually run! It was a slow transition/process but it was definitely worth it!
*Edit- A lot of people have suggested that it was my overall level of fitness and not the shoes that make the difference. Recently I've tried cushioned running shoes of the regular variety and with a wider toe box. The knee and shin pain came back pretty quickly. And no, I didn't go into wearing the cushioned shoes hoping they'd fail. I had high hopes particularly for the wide toe box shoes- I thought they could be good for longer runs. But they weren't and I just can't wear them. If cushioned, running shoes work for you then great! But barefoot running shoes genuinely do work best for me. Just because I greatly abridged my barefoot journey for the YouTube comments section doesn't mean it wasn't a careful, well thought out, well researched opinion. Best of luck picking your own running shoes!

[jimatsydney]

I’m a runner who transitioned to barefoot shoes (the old five fingers). Thank you for stressing the need to slowly transition, many tried to swap over without an adjustment period, only to end up injured. I have now settled on a brand called Altra which is zero drop with a wide toe box. They have padding, it’s hard running ultra bush marathons without some padding. I have no problems with knees or hips, it just seems very natural now.

[ShawnFumo]

One thing not mentioned here, is I found I really appreciate the tactile feeling of using a minimalist shoe. We have a lot of feeling in our feet, but regular shoes is as if you had thick mittens on your hands all the time. There is a portion of sidewalk near my house that has brick for a while on either end of a bus stop, and I usually veer over to it because I can feel the individual bricks under my feet. If tree roots push up ridges in sidewalk, you feel that and your feet also mold around it vs just see-sawing over the pivot. I feel much more connected and less likely to twist my ankle.

I appreciate the comments about heel striking when walking. If I'm doing a ton of fast walking on concrete, I do find it easier to use slightly thicker soles and be looser with the heel striking, but still feel like I can easily adjust the gait for comfort. Or if I'm suddenly walking over bumpy grass, it makes sense to go a bit more forefoot at that point.

[timothygailey]

Also 6 years into barefoot shoes, cheers. Has been a change for the better in almost every way (the expense and style rarity being the few cons). Worth it for me.