minimalist shoes?

[origami_itto]

I got the Merrel Trail Glove 7 and I am dissappoint.

I started with the 4 and they were amazing. Like a sock sort of upper, barefoot sole, straps on the side with a little slip-fastener lace to pull them shut, fell in love.

WIth 5 they started tying laces and adding padding to the upper and with the 7 now it's practically a new balance. HISSSSSSS.

I just want something to protect my foot without getting in the way or falling apart after a month.

[everything]

I kind of like Vivo, but the big toe space area is too roomy for me ("Greek"/"mountain" foot). If you have a "slanted" foot, it might work well.

[Bhassler]

Softstar are the best I've found for both comfort and performance. I'm pretty hard on shoes, though, and seem to blow them apart (same a every other brand). If someone else is less of a maniac, they may work. I've never found sandals that worked, but someone turned me on to Huarache style sandals, so I've got a pair of Luna sandals on the way to try out.

[Giles]

I kind of like Vivo, but the big toe space area is too roomy for me ("Greek"/"mountain" foot). If you have a "slanted" foot, it might work well.

If you haven't got a really serious case of hallux valgus then you may find, as you continue to wear such 'roomy' shoes for training and for everyday life, that gradually your forefeet will expand laterally to take up this space. Meaning your toes splay further apart. It could take 6 months or a year, but it might well happen.
If you have shoes you can lace or otherwise adjust to give a secure, non-slippy fit around the instep and heel, then your toes can pretty much 'go their own way'. Give them a spacious romper room to play around in!

[Dmitri]

I've never found sandals that worked, but someone turned me on to Huarache style sandals, so I've got a pair of Luna sandals on the way to try out.

Have you tried the Keen Clearwater CNX? It's a freakin' miracle sandal IMO.

I've tried some fancy "custom" Luna-type stuff before but kept half-tripping due to the front occasionally "catching" on the road, because when the foot and toes curl back/up during your run, the sandal (sole) remains straight... (Also they're not great for trails because of open toes. I run into a stick of some sort only about once a year, but the painful consequences are enough to try and avoid repeating that experience ever again.)

[everything]

I kind of like Vivo, but the big toe space area is too roomy for me ("Greek"/"mountain" foot). If you have a "slanted" foot, it might work well.

If you haven't got a really serious case of hallux valgus then you may find, as you continue to wear such 'roomy' shoes for training and for everyday life, that gradually your forefeet will expand laterally to take up this space. Meaning your toes splay further apart. It could take 6 months or a year, but it might well happen.
If you have shoes you can lace or otherwise adjust to give a secure, non-slippy fit around the instep and heel, then your toes can pretty much 'go their own way'. Give them a spacious romper room to play around in!

it's already started happening, but i def don't need the extra vertical space (second toe is longer). it's only a mild annoyance. mainly if I use them for indoor futbol. any extra material feels like a clown shoe for that use case. i actually slightly prefer "traditional" overly-tight shoes for that. but these could be a good replacement candidate for the Merrills for origami.

[Finny]

https://www.lemsshoes.com/collections/a ... 7304763450

[Taste of Death]

Feiyue, now renamed Warrior, kung fu shoes cost less than $25 online. They are what the Shaolin monks wear and are popular with the parkour crowd. I use them for, well, kung fu and running on trails and roads and wherever. A pair will last a year or so unless you do mocabu friction stepping on any rough surface. But at such a low low price they are well worth it.

[Giles]

I used to wear Feiyue a lot for training in younger years. They are all you say they are. But in terms of this thread, they are real toe squeezers.
Just saying

[everything]

nice baby's feet, pre-toes-crammed-together-in-bad-shoes:


adult feet w/ toes spread out vs. adult feet toes crammed:


screwed up adult foot "formed" into shoe shape, sort of like foot binding really:

[Taste of Death]

I used to wear Feiyue a lot for training in younger years. They are all you say they are. But in terms of this thread, they are real toe squeezers.
Just saying

I haven't found that to be the case. I have wide feet. I tried Lems and they were wide enough but when they got dirty from running on dirt trails and I hosed them down, they shrunk. I ended up throwing them away before I wore them out. My little toes eventually try to escape from the confines of whatever shoes I wear but the Feiyues have been wide enough for me. I wear Chuck Taylors for walking around and Feiyues have a wider toe box. So not exactly toe squeezers from my perspective. I run 4-10 hours a week and they have been my shoe of choice for years. After shelling out close to $150 for Hoka One One and Newton, the $20-25 price tag can't be beat and they are on sale every holiday for less than $20. If I had narrower feet I would wear Inov8 or Salomon. The Salomon lacing system is the envy of all other shoe companies.

[Giles]

Hey, cool that these shoes work for you. I can certainly imagine they are a good option for running. And maybe the basic dimensions have grown a little wider over the years? (My surviving specimens are all 15-20 years old). It seems that the actual contracted manufacturers for many products/brands change from time to time and especially in the case of Chinese factories the size nuances can vary significantly (if it's not a top brand with stricter controls). Or so my wife tells me, who - surprise - buys clothing and shoes more frequently than I do.
For me, the plastic sheathing at the front of these shoes, also around the toes, remains the problematic issue because even over months of wear this has almost no 'give'. But if your feet are already happy with the original fit, then all good.

[everything]

what seems "wide" won't seem "wide" in the "barefoot" realm:

feiyue will seem wide compared to chucks but are still not so wide:


sort of like a "wide" "normal" shoe vs. a "barefoot shoe" is actually wide (and "foot shaped"):


but if your foot is very narrow even if toes are spread, it could be perfect. also, i need "slightly crammed" for futbol, so those might work for me.

[yeniseri]

I am not too keen on the concept though making shoes to match the contour of the feet should be as "efficient"(function, stability, allowing the feet to breathe, etc) as possible!
Minimalist suggest a "less than approach" for its own sake and I have seen a few models where one does not need to bend, stretch, tie, etc to position the shoes and that seems like a mistake pointing to
laziness and not allowing the body to go through its normal stages of motion meaning muscle would be greatetly impact as there is no challenge to the body.

[everything]

not really sure what those models are about. the overall idea some people seem to claim is the foot is already well "designed", but then we scrunched/deformed our toes, and over-corrected in other areas (too much cushion, arch support, high heel, toe area curved upward) for things like "running" to sell more shoes with better "features" and "value propositions". but returning to bare feet takes a lot of work so you have to slowly get stronger and "re-form" your toe articulation, your plantar fascia/arch area, etc. etc. from the toes up. Being lazy would be detrimental.

personally I use some mild arch support insoles, and still like a little bit of cushioning. I wore my old Adidas Boost (super plush cushioning, fairly elevated heel, but nice and wide) for walking at a theme park one day and my feet got far more tired in them. something in the middle of these two extremes would probably suit me well at the moment.