Best Shoes and Sandals for Walking, Hiking, Running, Barefoot, Strolling and FUN!
This post is NOT what you think.
But then again, it kinda is. 😉
Check out this video and let me know if you’re a SMART runner.
One has to do with natural movement. The other has to do with your brain.
Whether you wear traditional running shoes or minimalist or barefoot shoes, I think you’ll get a kick out of this and I’d love to hear your comments, below.
Hello Xero Family!
This holiday season we’ll be working hard to keep up with more shipments than ever! With the recent success of our Anniversary Sale combined with general Covid-19 related shipping delays, we’re expecting shipments to take a bit longer than usual. We’re encouraging customers to place orders early to help ensure they arrive on time.
Flat Rate: Order before 12/2
Priority Mail: Order before 12/8
Fedex Ground: Order before 12/8
Fedex 2-day: Order before 12/10
12/7/2020 Update: We are hearing many reports that all shipping carriers are experiencing substantial delays. We appreciate your patience as USPS and FedEx move through their overwhelming backlog of packages.
The video below shows you how to make your own Tyvek® wallet envelope in just a few minutes. Or download these FREE PLANS for The ULTIMATE DIY Minimalist Tyvek Envelope Wallet
We can’t wait to see your creation. A minimalist wallet to match your minimalist Xero Shoes 😉
I have a small number of fantasies.
One that I’ve had since 1993 is to be in Wired magazine.
I’ve been a subscriber since issue #1 and, back in the 90s I was more actively involved in the tech world, which was Wired’s domain.
But as technology became more ubiquitous, Wired expanded its reach into more lifestyle-oriented content.
So, given the “non-technology technology” of Xero Shoes, I hoped that, one day, they’d write about the value of natural movement.
Well, that day is upon us!
Scott Gilbertson just published a WONDERFUL article about his experiences in Xero Shoes titled “The Best Shoes I’ve Ever Worn Are Hardly Shoes at All“
Click on that link and check it out. Add your comments here and on Wired.com.
And if you want to see the shoes Scott raves about, click here for the Z-Trail sandal, and here for the HFS running shoe.
Physics. It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law.
Want to improve your running technique?
I have three suggestions:
The gang at Boston Dynamics are creating robots that do AMAZING things. For one, check out this one:
Look at where the foot lands in relation to the body.
Is it reaching out in front of the body (“overstriding”)? Nope.
It’s landing, basically, with the foot under the center of mass.
This is the most important thing to emulate.
You may also notice that this robot contacts the ground with its forefoot first. It doesn’t land heel-first. It doesn’t land flat footed.
Research from Harvard’s Dr. Irene Davis suggests that this is the optimal way for humans to land also. Why? Because you’re putting the foot and ankle in the optimal position to give you strength, structure, and shock absorption.
You know who else runs like this?
KIDS!
Especially kids who haven’t spent much (or any) time in shoes.
Take a look at this video. Especially the youngest, littlest kids at the back.
Forefoot first. Foot under their center of mass.
And, perhaps more importantly, it looks like they’re having FUN!
I also love when the littlest one stops for a few moments because he’s “done,” then starts again when he’s ready to go.
I’m often asked how to run/walk/hike without slipping.
Actually, what I’m asked is “Can you make a shoe or sandal that’s totally slip resistant?”
In short, No.
Like I said at the start of this post: Physics is the law.
There is no material that can prevent slipping under all conditions.
Even the materials that help have limitations and trade-offs. For example, typically, the grippier the sole, the faster it wears out.
But you can prevent slipping almost regardless of the sole’s composition, or even the surface you’re on.
How?
By doing the same thing that robots and little kids do: Land with your foot UNDER your center of mass (or as close as you can get).
One demonstration of this is running on ice.
Check out these two videos:
This works because landing with your foot under your body reduces horizontal forces enough to eliminate slipping.
A word about slipping in sandals
Sometimes people will tell me that their sandal doesn’t slip, but their foot slips across the sandal.
This is caused by the same issue — landing with your foot too far away from your body.
In that case, the sandal hits the ground and stops while your foot is continuing to move.
Landing with your foot under your body, like our kids, robots, and ice-runners, will take care of this, too.
Let me know what you discover as you become a child-like robot on ice!
I got a call a couple months ago:
“Hey, is Darin Olien wearing Xero Shoes on the Netflix show ‘Down to Earth with Zac Efron?”
WHAT?!
I rushed to log in to Netflix, found the show and, HEY! Look what I saw:
I know it’s hard to tell, but I’m wired to spot Xero Shoes in the wild. And there are a bunch of scenes in the series where you get a close-up of Darin’s feet.
He’s usually wearing the Hana — our casual canvas shoe (we now have a leather version, too).
So, I emailed Darin.
He replied almost immediately.
We chatted for about an hour… and then we talked again for an episode of his podcast, The Darin Olien Show, which was just released today.
Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments, below.
Why do experts say that if you want to learn to run naturally, or barefoot, you should start on a smooth, hard surface?
(Hear Harvard’s Dr. Irene Davis talk about this on the podcast she did with Dr. Peter Attia here)
The answer: Because that’s how you get the most feedback about your form… and feedback leads to change.
In short, doing it wrong hurts and your brain figures out how to move your body differently to stop the pain.
It just so happens, those gait changes that get rid of running pain lead you to using your muscles, ligaments and tendons as the natural shock absorbers and springs — better than any cushioned running shoe.
Those gait changes lead to what we think of an Natural Movement.
But what if you’re not a runner?
What if you don’t want to be barefoot?
Well, Xero Shoes wearer and auto technician, Scott Hogan (@greasemonkeyfitness), accidentally discovered a SUPER elegant solution for giving you the feedback your brain needs to adjust to a more natural — and comfortable — way of moving.
Check it out here:
It’s time for another episode of “stupid research.”
Not that the research itself is stupid.
But that those of us who understand the value and benefits of natural movement, and how most “normal” shoes get in the way of letting your feet do what’s natural, are stunned that people need research to prove something obvious:
Using your body naturally is better than restricting it.
In this episode, Harvard’s Dr. Daniel Lieberman, whose research showing about how barefoot runners put less force through their joints than runners in shoes kicked off the barefoot running boom in 2009, just published a new study about footwear.
And the results are not good for “normal” shoes.
In this study published in Nature and described on the Harvard website and Lieberman and others examined the effect of “toe spring.”
Toe spring is the upward curve in a shoe, from the ball of the foot to the tip, that’s built into modern athletic shoes and many dress shoes as well.
Shoe designers add toe spring to stiff-soled shoes to accommodate the fact that the sole prevents your toes from bending towards your knee as your foot is about to push off the ground.
So, what did they discover?
In short:
By limiting the amount of movement in the foot, the foot gets weaker:
“It stands to reason that if the foot muscles have to do less work, then they’re probably going to have less endurance given that many thousands of times a day you push off on your toes,” said Lieberman, the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Science and senior author on the paper. The work on toe springs is described in Scientific Reports.
The researchers say this potential weakness could make people more susceptible to medical conditions like plantar fasciitis — a common, hard to repair, and painful inflammation of the thick, web-like band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes.
And this limitation could lead to injuries and medical problems:
The researchers say this potential weakness could make people more susceptible to medical conditions like plantar fasciitis — a common, hard to repair, and painful inflammation of the thick, web-like band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes.
“One of the biggest problems in the world today of people’s feet is plantar fasciitis,” Lieberman said. “We think that what happens is that people are relying on their plantar fascia to do what muscles normally do. When you get weak muscles and the plantar fascia has to do more work, it’s not really evolved for that and so it gets inflamed.”
I’m asked this question often when I explain the benefits (and FUN) of natural movement, truly minimalist shoes and, whenever possible, barefoot living.
Ironically, I never hear people asking that about footwear from “Big Shoe” even though the “modern” athletic shoe is the new kid on the block.
It’s only been about 50 years since the invention of the padded, motion-controlled, heel-elevated running shoe and there’s no evidence that it’s helped people reduce injury or even run faster.
Well, if you want the proof about both points — the problems that “normal” shoes have not solved and have probably caused, as well as the value of getting out of those shoes and into something like Xero Shoes, you’ll love what I’m about to point you to.
And if you know any skeptics — people who INSIST that humans are better in whatever new form of cushioned shoe that’s catching attention, pass this onto them.
It’s an interview by Dr. Peter Attia and the preeminent minimalist footwear researcher and clinician, Harvard’s Dr. Irene Davis.
Peter’s been a big Xero Shoes fan for quite a while. I introduced him to Irene recently and here’s the wonderful result:
Click Here to listen to the podcast
And, once you’ve listened, let me know what you think in the comments, below.
I’ll admit it.
I love being right.
What am I right about this time?
The importance — or lack thereof — of shoes in Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-2-hour marathon performance.
I’ve talked about how shoes were NOT the delimiting factor in Kipchoge’s amazing run here, and in my podcast here, pointing out that the difference between his world record time of 2:01:38 in the Berlin marathon is only 4.58 seconds/mile slower than the sub-2, which was run with pacers, on a flat course (a.k.a. perfect conditions).
Well, guess who agrees with me? KIPCHOGE!
At Firstpost.com, sub-2-hour marathoner Eliud Kipchoge weighs in on how much of his success came from the Nike shoes he (and his pacers) wore for that event.
The answer?
Not as much as Nike or most commentators said.
More specifically:
“It is my legs that are still doing the running,” the Kenyan marathon runner told Firstpost in an email interaction when asked about the impact of his shoes in the eventual timing of 1:59:40 secs.
Agreed.
Running ~13 miles per hour for almost 2 hours is an AMAZING feat (pun intended).
But the way his accomplishment has been reported is mostly about how the shoes allowed him to do this.
And Kipchoge further downplays the role of shoes in his success:
“Innovations are part of sport and always have been. With running, the effect of technology will always be minimal especially if you compare it to other sports.”
Distance running coach, Dr. Phil Maffetone, thinks shoes DO matter, but not for the reason most people believe.
In his book, “1:59 – The Sub-Two-Hour Marathon is Within Reach,” Maffetone thinks the first person to run a sub-2 in a normal race will do so barefoot (I think his 2nd choice would be something like our Speed Force).
Some day, I hope we have the resources to pick the world’s best marathoner, support him (or her!) to train barefoot or in Xero Shoes, and show that lightweight (you can’t get lighter than bare feet) and natural (hard to get more natural than Xero Shoes) will “let your legs do the running” to a sub-2.
I'm an international ultramarathon athlete and I wear Xero Shoes for races. No blisters. No smelly feet. But I also use them as my everyday sandals (they look way cool!) and I recommend Xeros to everyone.Melissa Gosse
As a barefoot runner I’ve heard lots about huaraches but it wasn’t until Steven made me my first pair (I have two) that I understood how much fun they are to run distances in!Scott McLean
Thank you for making these amazing huaraches. I love how they feel. I forget they are there so much so I have worn them to bed a few times!Tasha Riggs
If you somehow manage to wear through the outsole on your Xero Shoes, we will replace them for a nominal cost. 
Fostering honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers.
If you somehow manage to wear through the outsole on your Xero Shoes, we will replace them for a nominal shipping & handling fee.Fostering honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers.
I'm an international ultramarathon athlete and I wear Xero Shoes for races. No blisters. No smelly feet. But I also use them as my everyday sandals (they look way cool!) and I recommend Xeros to everyone.Melissa Gosse
As a barefoot runner I’ve heard lots about huaraches but it wasn’t until Steven made me my first pair (I have two) that I understood how much fun they are to run distances in!Scott McLean
Thank you for making these amazing huaraches. I love how they feel. I forget they are there so much so I have worn them to bed a few times!Tasha Riggs