Barefoot / Minimal Shoes
Interested in joining the barefoot trail crowd? Check out How to Run or Hike Barefoot on the Trail for help getting started.
The best barefoot / minimal shoes, reviewed and curated by the Trailspace community. Stores' prices and availability are updated daily.

























In order to show you the most useful information, we have omitted some products.
Recent Barefoot / Minimal Shoe Reviews

Skinners Sock Shoes
These are for people who have been working at transitioning to minimalist and barefoot running. You can feel the ground, and sometimes even pain, but that's how you learn to move properly. A small insert can be used if you want extra cushion. If you're not sure if you can go barefoot or not, throw these on and don't look back. Imagine putting a temporary callus on your foot. That's it. Comfortable, easy to clean, and they stay in place very well. Full review

Barefoot Company Free Your Feet
To small Socks are much too small. Full review

Barefoot Company Free Your Feet
Best minimalist footwear available for a true barefoot experience. For a fabric they perform extraordinarily well in terms of minimalist footwear. I own a landscape/hardscape company and I work barefoot quite often, but in some circumstances the terrain does get a bit rough so these are my immediate go-to. On dirt, grass, stone, and other natural surfaces they do excellent. I jump on shovels all day too, so it is nice to not worry about slipping and slicing my foot on the sharp metal sections. On… Full review

Vibram FiveFingers Trek Ascent Insulated
They extend cold weather running. Added protection for the feet. And extremely lightweight and flexible. This is my third winter with my Insulated Trek Ascents. They definitely lengthen my minimalist running season (my first preference is barefoot) into the winter month. I bought a size up as suggested by the website. They fit good barefoot or with an extremely lightweight sock, but the next pair I order will be a size larger than that. Just so it’s clear, my regular Vibram FiveFingers are a size… Full review

Skinners Sock Shoes
Is it a sock? is it a shoe? Yes! Skinners sock shoes might be a new category in outdoor footwear. I recently acquired some Skinners Sock Shoes. What? They are basically a sock covered on the sole with a protective rubber polymer. I believe that this might be new category of outdoor footwear. I'd say they offer more protection that a sock and perhaps less protection than a minimalist shoe. I suppose the closest comparable footwear might be minimalist footwear like FiveFingers Shoes, Merrell Trail… Full review

Xero Shoes DIY 4mm Kit
It's a kit. You make it and then you have the skinniest sandals you can get. Simple really... Basically you get a thin sole unit 4mm in this case and a 6mm if you want the heavier version. You also get a set of cords and a hole punch. That's the kit. Following the instructions online or in the kit you measure your foot. Punch holes for the laces and assemble your own sandals, cutting off any excess sole rubber (they come in size bands and you cut to your specific fit). They are surprisingly good… Full review

Barefoot Company Free Your Feet
Don’t believe in advertising. I feel painful when I wear sock on the road that full of rock. Terrible product. Terrible. I feel I‘ve been ripped off. Full review

Barefoot Company Free Your Feet
Felt cheated, I must say. This is not a material as advertised. It did not take maybe 10-15 km of pure walking and both socks were damaged in the totally same spot actually hurting my feet as I did not expect them to go off that quickly so I did not notice that I actually walk barefoot. Do save your money. Full review

Barefoot Company Free Your Feet
Over-rated, over-sold, and bad customer service. These socks were a present and the gifter is extremely disappointed by the result. The toes sleeves are the exact same length which means none of the toes fit properly. The big toe sleeve is very narrow so it barely fits on the actual toe. The material is much weaker than advertised and visible damage ocurred after a single trail run. The grip dots fell off from just walking in a living room with floorboards. The company is trying to ride the minimal… Full review
Other Types of Footwear
Find more footwear reviewed in these related categories:

Mountaineering Boots

Backpacking Boots

Hiking Boots
