WILDLINGS! I love my wildling Nebulas. Merino wool lined upper makes them comfortable and breathable. They have many styles and are very environmentally friendly! They make some shoes out of “Washi paper” it’s 75% paper and 25% polyester. They are a family run company out of Germany but they’re shoes are super awesome. Please give them a look! Shipping only took 3 days as well. I’m a US based buyer (San Francisco) and also own the Lems Waterproof boulder boots. Great boot I recommend. I just wish they could be resoled. I’m looking at getting some Davinci Barefoot boots in the future as they can be resoled and the quality is top notch, a little pricey though.
So happy to see ya explaining this! I wear moccasins every chance I get. I’m 76, raised barefoot at home and have nice healthy feet that never hurt or bother in anyway and walk 5 miles NP. Worked for years on my feet in 2.75 inch heels and went home to my moccasins. Be healthy and that goes for your feet:)
I had the exact same problem with the primus lites. Not enough volume in the toe box, wide enough, but not high enough. After returning two pairs due to quality issues (sole separated from the upper) I got the stealths. WAY better, softer on the top of my feet and definitely more volume in the toe box. Love them! Hopefully they will not have the same quality issues.
Wildlings shoes everyone! They’re super comfortable. I own lems water proof boulder boot for when the weather is wet, but pretty much wear my Wildling Nebulas daily.
I've been wearing minimalist shoes for 10 years now and it still bugs me that a minimal shoe costs the same as these high tech, ultra support, super cushioned, extra grip shoes. Also, are New balance still made in the US?
They might have to be expensive in order to break even. It's a very niche market with low sales, and selling cheaper won't mean they sell more, so they have to sell few shoes at higher prices to recoup costs. Scales of economy too,
Omgosh. First off, this review was incredibly useful. Having said that, even if it was total crap the fact that he says, “I don’t live in the Pacific Northwest, even though I am wearing a Patagonia jacket and it looks like I’m about to go on a hike” made my day. He read my thoughts exactly. Gold. And again, thank you for the review!!
I've been researching barefoot shoes for half a year now and discovered about 6 or 7 makers. I now own several Xero shoes and 1 Vivobarefoot in which I like. I only heard of Softstar yesterday. I gotta a feeling I'll be owning a pair of these in my near future.
I'd been wanting to try barefoot shoes for a long time, but none of the local shoe stores in Iowa carry them. Then a couple months back I was visiting my friend in Oregon. We went around to shoe stores there and I still couldn't find much of anything. Later, she remembered that Softstar has their workshop-store near her house. So we stopped in and I tried on multiple styles and sizes. Their shoes are super comfortable, roomy, and form-fitting --- the widest and lightest shoes I've ever tried on. I've never felt anything like them in my life. I decided on the Primal RunAmoc and customized them for neutral colors (dark brown and black). They more or less look like normal shoes, except for the wide toe box, which is unusual, but certainly nothing like bowling shoes in the slightest. Nothing about them screams Pacific Northwest either. I feel fine wearing them around in the urban Midwest without worries of drawing attention and commentary. I doubt anyone even notices I have barefoot shoes on. Yet it's the next best thing to not wearing any footwear at all.
I have a similar experiences with you. Xero and many other are not wide enough for me. Even some Lems and Vivos are not wide enough. Runamoc wide looks clownish but allows for some toe splay. Belenka are pretty awesome too - plenty of toe space.
Great job. Wonder why minimalist companies continue to design shoes with a traditionally pointed toe (where the shoe gets narrower toward the front, whereas the human foot continues to widen)? Only Lems, Altra (some models) and Xero (some models) leave enough room for the toes to splay out unconstructed by the upper.
Like you I have wide high volume feet. I had to send a pair of Vivo Decon Trackers back. They were tighter than a vice - even without the insole. I'm not going to waste my time with more of them. That said, they were nice about returns. I just can't bring myself to buy Softstars. They probably look great at a Renaissance festival, but not around town. I'm just not into the potato sack look. I settled on Freets after doing a lot of research. I'm currently wearing Feldoms and LOVE them! I ordered several other pairs and Ibex boots. They seem to be a great much-overlooked barefoot shoe company.
So xero and sofstar aren't as wide as the other two? The primal runamoc is marketed as being very wide and that's why I was considering going with those but the vivo primus got my attention too. I like my lems boulder boots but the toe box could be a bit wider. What would you recommend for someone with wide feet?
@@exothermic8525 I can't really comment on a "Wide" foot, per se. I have regular feet with a wide and natual toe splay and ball of foot area from years of wearing minimalist shoes and sandals. But, I can say Lems beat all the brands I've tried for the widest toe box area from the toes's knuckes/balls of the feet to the end of toes. Vivobare follows Lems as a close second. Other brands toe boxes sweep down from the big toe to the pinky at a pretty steep angle to. If Lems' tow box are too narrow for you, especially the Boulders with moc toe box that easily spreads, I think you may, unfortunately, be out of luck. You could always try many brands and 'size up'. I have to size up on Xeros because the tox box is narrow for me. But, then, the insole is a little big and the length is really big.
"I don't live in a bowling alley or in the pacific northwest, so this style doesn't work..." 🤣🤣🤣 Clicked on the video because I'd never heard of the Softstar. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Will definitely be watching more of your videos!
Definitely going to have to check out more of your reviews. I have extremely wide feet as well. Also short and high arch. I find that most shoes with good reviews don't fit.
Great review. Question: for the run amoc you said you didn’t like the thicker 5mm sole and recommended the 2mm street sole. Why is that? I live in nyc and walk on sidewalks all day so was thinking the thicker sole may be better but now I’m thinking I should just get the 2mm street sole. Would love your thoughts. Thank you!
Those are Softstar Dash RunAmocs, not Primal RunAmocs. The Primal RunAmocs would be wider in the toe box, and have a somewhat different style (I do work at Softstar).
I bought the 5-fingers because you said so - long ago. Seldom wore them. They are kind of thin for a person walking on concrete. Now I wear the (zero drop?) Converse low-tops which have been great. => Now I will listen. Tongue pads? What a great idea. I think I could use triple pads. Hmm I certainly don't have toe flexibility in the Chuck Taylor's.
@@Daithi_mk you are so right; the heel is higher.. *tl;dr; sole half inch, heel 3/4 inch.* Story: I searched and phoned but the info was not flowing so I went for observation. I used the finger method and realized the two levels were echoed by the black line and between that and the rubber groove above it on the outside of the sole. *tl;dr; sole half inch, heel 3/4 inch.*
@@marknawrocki5323 right. I blame the typo demon. Or that I left it to the reader to do the subtraction. Or both. (I cannot find the edit or the delete button on the errant post. Apologies.)
All i'll wear anymore is soft star! own 2 pairs of primal sawyers, a pair of dash and have tried but returned a pair primal run amoc's. I also have a wide feet and difficulty finding shoes that work long tern for me. I'm ordering a pair of hawthorne chukkas next week. Try out the primal sawyers, your wide feet will thank you!
Tnx for this video. I have the vivos, 5 months now, almost the only shoes i were. However, when i wake up, my feet are very stiff while walking the first steps. And the hips feel very tight. Can u advise on how to feel better, and why is that? Tnx in advance Xxx
I'm not sure if it is considered minimalist, but the vibram five finger shoes reduced my foot pain by 80%. No other shoe, barefoot or otherwise, has ever been able to do that (48 years of trying).
You don't talk much about xero much anymore. I loved mine but durability of sole to the upper and stitching wasn't nearly as tough as vivo. I also prefer the way xero shoes look. I think I'm going to try some Lems next I think.
I am new to barefoot shoes. I am a 72 year old woman who is having trouble with my toes and a neuroma developing. My doctor told me to wear wider shoes. . My massage therapist told me to get correct toes to stretch my toes and get some barefoot shoes. It is very difficult to decide without trying them on. I have been wearing Brooks ghost with orthotics so my feet are tender, so I cannot have real thin soles. I walk daily 30-60 minutes on the cement or pavement. I also workout in the gym. I found Lems Primal 2 but they are out if stock in my size. Do you have a recommendation for me. I am close to giving up and buying a new pair of traditional shoes in a wider size. Thanks for your help. Carolyn
Good comparison. Thanks for the video. Really helps a lot. I will check out softstar. What vivo size did you buy? How long is your feet in cm? I recommend to check out Zaqq from Germany.
Last 2 times I purchased same style of vivobarefoot shoes leather quality was different. My first pairs had excellent leather quality. Whereas second pair started peeling off and developed deep scars even though I waxed them and all...
Vivo dosent use farmed lether they usually try to use lether from invasive species that are having there populations reduced. So the lether was probably from a completely different type of animal. Mine are camel lol
Do you ever find that zero drop minimalist shoes sometimes feel almost like they have a "minus" drop - that the heel feels lower than the forefoot, especially over time as the heel compresses? This has really been bugging me as I've tried a lot of barefoot shoes at this stage. It seems like the vivobarefoot is the best in that regard though.
Ouch. That's a big disappointment. Are you regularly pulling hard to lace and relace? I find that I don't often relace and pull and tigthen so that may be why I don't have that much of an issue.
Check out vivo’s outdoor lineups. They have an “FG” version (I think of the primus lites) which stands for firm ground, then they also have the “SG” version which stands for soft ground. Both of these have a lug style sole which should offer more traction.
If you don't have particularly wide feet, a cheap pair of water shoes might work out well. If you have a super wide foot, the dash runamocs (the softstars with laces in this video) will work well. I think there are also deadlifitng slippers out in the world but have never tried them.
Why minimalist? I have worn orthotics x15+ yrs... (flat feet and metatarsalgia) can people whom wear orthotics even consider this kind of footwear? Are there foot exercises to allow to try and wear shoes such as this?
Basically, everyone is different, but generally speaking we should be walking on the balls of our feet, only using the heel to gently touch the ground rather than landing on the heel first. Just walking in place lifting your knees high while trying to keep toes spread and heel touch minimal will strengthen the proper muscles. Definitely go slow if you have been used to arch support.
What minimalist shoes do you recommend if you wanted to wear them in social settings but have enough breathability to wear without socks and won’t get all nasty?
It may not be as minimalist as the shoes mentioned in this video but a shoe that I love that is very breathable, versatile and even comfortable walking on hard surfaces all day is Astral Loyak. Astral puts a lot of emphasis on their shoes being usable for water activities like kayaking so they breath very well and are designed to be worn with or without socks, but they look like traditional sneakers.
A German company called "Wildlings" primarily makes barefoot zero-drop kids' shoes and offers "re-wild" adult sizes as a secondary. They are also made of more natural materials, which I appreciate. I have two pairs for adults and do like them a lot. Many models are bright colors because they are meant for kids, but they have a few that don't look too crazy for adults. They have an English version of their website and customer service is responsive to English emails, so it's easy to purchase from the U.S.
