Minimalist Shoes and Sneakers

– 20 April , 2011Posted in: Minimalism

I did a post on a Minimalist Shoe Wardrobe, but I thought it’d be fun to do a round-up of all the Minimalist Shoes that are available out there.

Needless to say, these wouldn’t fly in colder temperatures, especially in winter.

Minimalist Shoe #1: Vibram Five-Fingers ($75)

I know people who swear by these ugly things. I’ve even considered getting a pair just to see how they feel, but I just haven’t gotten around to even trying them on.

I don’t actually enjoy wearing socks at all, so the idea of individual socks for each of my toes sounds good but would take some getting used to, I’m sure.

Minimalist Shoe #2: Foot Stickers (Concept)

It’s a concept developed by Frieke Severs.

The Footsticker is a flexible plastic membrane that sticks to your skin like a second skin. There are three designs, each conceived for a different activity. The cream-colored yoga skins, for example, offer high-grip protection for the heel, big-toe and the pad immediately behind the big toe. (Source)

Minimalist Shoe #3: Make your own Huaraches ($5 – $50)

Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run talks about the Mexican Tarahumaras who run a lot with no modern day injuries from your average runner. They typically run barefoot or in huaraches, thin sandals often made from discarded tires.

You can buy custom made ones for $50 from Invisible shoes or forget buying a pair, make your own Huaraches with a rubber car mat and parachute cord.

Minimalist Shoe #4: Go barefoot but wear a string

If you don’t care about protection for your soles, go barefoot but wear a string so people don’t think twice.

When they take a look, they’ll realize something is wrong but just tying a string around your ankle and toe will deflect 99% of them from getting too curious.

Minimalist Shoe #5: TerraPlana Vivo Barefoot ($160)

The ladies Evo is designed to be the ultimate minimalist running shoe. The Evo is like running barefoot, but a little bit better.

Collar/Panel & Lining: Eco Nylon Mesh & Microfiber
Insoles: Poliyou – 100% Recycled Memory Foam
Sole: Performance Sole – Latex rubber and TPU abrasion resistant sole.
Sole Thickness: 4 mm
Vegan: 100% Vegan

Minimalist Shoe #6: Feelmax Tieva (€39.90)

Minimalist Shoe #7: Sockwa Naked Dojo ($30)

An indoor shoe.

Ideal for Pilates, Yoga and Martial Arts.

A true indoor second skin.

A low-cut, breathable upper fuses with 0.5mm of silicone rubber printed on the bottom of a neoprene sole. The scoop-top design allows for increased flexibility.

Less is truly more with the Sockwa Dojo. Neoprene provides the stretch, fleece provides the sock-like feel, sandwich mesh provides the breathability, and the suede-like amarra provides a fashionable, stylistic flare.

Have you tried any one of these minimalist shoes?

Tags: Men, Minimalism, Minimalist, Minimalist Sandals, Minimalist Shoe Wardrobe, Minimalist Shoes, Women

About everydayminimalist

I'm a 20-something year old girl who lived out of a single suitcase in 2007, and now I'm living with less, but only with the best. You don't have to get rid of everything to become a minimalist! Minimalism can help simplify and organize your life, career, & physical surroundings. You can read more about me as a minimalist. Or come and visit my other blog Fabulously Broke in the City where I got out of $60,000 of debt in 18 months, earning $65,000 gross/year.

Losclintos

The foot stickers would never work. They won’t stay on because your foot sweats.
di

Try one pair of dress shoes, sneakers and boots – or go barefoot.
chrissy

I like the tipsy toes here: http://tipsytoes.com.au/ very minimalist, but not that comfy for walking long distance!
Agmtb

I have the New Balance Minimalist and they’re great. Fit me perfect and sooo light. Tried them jogging, at gym, will be buying more. Always did run bare foot till it became illegal to walk into a store.
No Chem Clean Rs

My boyfriend and I have the Vibram FiveFingers and we LOVE them! People laugh but they make so much sence
IsMyTinFoilHatOnStraight?

When I think of minimalist I always think back to Fight Club.

“In the world I see – you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You’ll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You’ll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you’ll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.”

If that’s not the definition of minimalist I don’t know what is.

My minimalism is not disposable and is not recycled.
- Anonymous
  
  Fight Club is the epitome of minimalism. It really struck a chord in a lot
  of people, myself included.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3XG27HF2HY56OGDDVGCNE5ZB3E Michael

Huaraches is great for me. You find information on how to make this kind of sandals in invisibleshoe.com.
http://www.cmgalvin.com/blog/ Charlie Galvin

I love my Vibram Bikilas. Been running in them for almost a year now. I remembered a lot of toe socks came out when I was in high school and thinking they were really weird. Now I am all about the shoes.

I am starting the process of going fully barefoot. At least as far as it applies to running. Until I get out of an office I am still stuck in some sort of shoe.
http://www.irs-hitman.com/ Van

Flip flops are as minimalist as my footwear goes… I don’t like them “toe shoes”, as I call them! Ha! I just don’t see the point…
- Anonymous
  
  Ditto. Flip flops are pretty minimalist for me… or sandals, but what I
  need is for them to STAY ON MY FEET, which is why I tend to not wear loose
  mules or sandals that slip off.
http://www.wakingupinwaco.blogspot.com Ronda

HAHAHA i love walking around barefoot, but going to and from class like that gets a few looks. gunna totally try the string idea and see how that works out. love this post btw.
- Anonymous
  
  I think the string is a brilliant idea It tricks people into thinking you
  have something on.
Toadchick

I absolutely LOVE my VFF’s KSO’s. I have used them for running, walking around all day and even work (I just got off a 7 hour shift for a farmer’s market). The KSO’s are a good deal for an all around shoe. The feeling, is a bit off, you have to get used to something that is (until you take them off) always surrounding/in between your toes. So the muscles and tendons for the toes get a real work out the first few weeks, being stretched and worked so much, a lot of people (myself included) make the mistake of going all out. You absolutely fly when you are running in them, but don’t do it the first time or your calves will scream bloody murder for days afterwards

For the attention department, I got mine in black so they blend in, people don’t look twice half the time, especially in the rare occasion I wear them with pants (Florida is HOT). I did wear them throughout my weekend trip to D.C. and they were comfy. I would rate them into the 40′s F for comfort, even for a Floridian, anything lower and my feet would feel cold.
- Anonymous
  
  Oh in black. I never thought about wearing them in a colour like black so it
  kind of blends in.
Susan McCosker

Those Vibram five fingers retail for $159 in Australia! (And our dollar is at record highs against the US dollar. Ha!) I’d be very interested to try them, however.
At home I don’t ever wear shoes, and was quite surprised (um, as an adult) to learn that some people wear shoes all the time.
- Anonymous
  
  Like you, I never wear shoes in the home. It’s my thing to take them off the
  minute I get to the door, but some people wear them up until going to
  BED!!!!
  - IsMyTinFoilHatOnStraight?
    
    That’s the American thing to do as far as I know. I have never seen that practised anywhere else in the world.
    - Anonymous
      
      Even growing up however, we never wore shoes in the house.
      
      BF is not American (grew up in Europe) and he wore shoes in the house until
      we started living together and I said: I’m sorry… can you please take your
      shoes off before coming in? I am too used to NOT wearing dirty outdoor shoes
      inside.
      
      Or maybe it was just him, as his mother has guest slippers to wear in the
      home
Rachel

I’m such a fan of being barefoot. If it were up to me, I’d never wear shoes (except in public restrooms). But other than that, I could do without them (which may explain why I choose to wear flats 99% of the time).

I’ve tried on the Vibram Five Fingers shoes. They were… weird. Especially since they wrap around each individual toe — a feeling that is especially strange! — but they were interesting. I have yet to order them because of the cost. But it’s definitely my next shoe purchase!
- Anonymous
  
  I’d love for you to try them out and blog about it LOL I’m not brave
  enough yet.
http://almostbohemian.com David

what a post! i’ve been entertaining the idea of barefoot running lately. i need to just do it. okay. tonight! im doing it.

also, i want to buy my gf a pair of those vibrams. i agree they look goofy, but im curious how good they are. i think i’ll let her be the test dummy
- Anonymous
  
  Don’t you have to work up to running barefoot? I wonder what it would do
  if your feet aren’t used to it.. I hear you have to toughen the soles and
  get used to it.
  
  *laugh* @ “test dummy” poor guinea pig. She doesn’t even know it’s
  coming.
  - Meg @ www.onelovemeg.com
    
    Oh she knows it’s coming. He took me to REI to try them on. I had a really hard time getting them on and then when they were finally on I felt like my toes were suffocated. I am going to try the next size up and see if there is any luck. I wonder if they are designed for a certain type of foot?
    - Anonymous
      
      *laughing*
      
      Or maybe you just have to get used to it?
      
      I hear it’s a strange sensation at first.. Like wearing Birkenstocks (I
      had to get used to the hard sole by wearing them around for 2 weeks).
http://happytohelpcomputers.com/ Joe ‘lnxr0x’

My minimalist shoe of choice is definitely a pair of Sanuks. Like walking on clouds !! (and I walk A LOT) I’ve got a pair of these bad boys http://www.sanuk.com/hemp .. NOT sneakers so they fit my “corporate casual” dress for work.. casual enough to go with jeans or shorts. I would like to try a pair of the five fingers at some point ..
- Anonymous
  
  They look like Tom’s! http://www.toms.com/
Michael Nelson

Colder temperatures? Bah! I wore my Vibram Classics every single day for the six months. Everywhere from from the snow drifts of Flagstaff, Arizona to the windy streets of Paris, France. I love em

http://readyfireaimblog.com/roadtrip/#snowvibrams

It’s the rain I had to worry about lol. They took some time to dry.
- Anonymous
  
  Do you ever get strange looks? I always wonder how much attention people
  pay to what others wear on their feet.
  - Michael Nelson
    
    Haha strange looks all the time. Call me vain but that’s half the fun of wearing them!
    - Anonymous
      
      Haha!! Head turner.
    - IsMyTinFoilHatOnStraight?
      
      I love that the cartoon of you that you have on your blog appears to be wearing the foot gloves too.
http://walnuttheory.wordpress.com/ Walnut

My vibrams are fantastic. I have the KSO’s which are perfect for general running, biking and kayaking. They actually kept my feet fairly warm during an arctic kayak trip. Also, they make socks for them, but I’ve never worn them. It seems like they would get in the way of feet sweating properly?
- Anonymous
  
  Oh so the Vibrams have their own sweat wicking mechanism?
  
  For some reason I thought they were neoprene or something similar..
Wayneburg

There are rubber farmers in South American countries that dip the soles of their feet in the raw rubber sap of the trees they farm and it acts like a stick-on sole. At night they peel off the rubber, but it destroys the “shoe.” I suppose if they dip their feet in the rubber and then attach a thin sole to the rubber they would have a longer lasting “shoe.”

Wayneburg
- Anonymous
  
  What a smart idea! If they didn’t peel off the shoes each night, I wonder
  how long they’d stay on.

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In a Nutshell

other blog: fabulously broke in the city
minimalist since: 2007 -- why minimalism?
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current location: canada/usa
home: hotel room
owns: 3 suitcases 2 carryons of stuff
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practices: rebel yoga and de-cluttering
loves: minimalism, $$ management, traveling
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Most Recent Posts

Minimalist Shoes and Sneakers

Minimalist Shoe #1: Vibram Five-Fingers ($75)

Minimalist Shoe #2: Foot Stickers (Concept)

Minimalist Shoe #3: Make your own Huaraches ($5 – $50)

Minimalist Shoe #4: Go barefoot but wear a string

Minimalist Shoe #5: TerraPlana Vivo Barefoot ($160)

Minimalist Shoe #7: Sockwa Naked Dojo ($30)

Have you tried any one of these minimalist shoes?

About everydayminimalist

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