Best Shoes and Sandals for Walking, Hiking, Running, Barefoot, Strolling and FUN!
Have you seen bigfoot?
If you were in Las Vegas on March 2nd at the Stratosphere hotel, you probably did.
In fact, you may have seen this mysterious barefoot beast climb the Strat!
While most people who claim to see bigfoot have grainy, fuzzy pictures or video, we have high-resolution proof of his existence. And, even more, we have proof that Bigfoot wears barefoot running shoes. Xero Shoes, to be exact! Continue reading Bigfoot wears barefoot shoes? Yup.
On Jan 15th, I was part of a GREAT conversation (podcast) about the state of footwear and barefootware, with 1980 Olympic marathoner, Benji Durden, Michael Sandler from Runbare, RL Smith from In-Step shoes and, of course… ME!
George Thomas from Over The Top Radio moderated and, well, not surprisingly, nobody pulled any punches when we gave our thoughts about the truth behind running shoes, barefoot running, minimalism, and “Big Shoe.”
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/overthetop1/2014/01/16/over-the-top-radio–trends-in-running
Dr. Mark Cucuzzella and the Natural Running Center have put out a great ebook about the benefits of being barefoot and natural movement.
According to the NRC site, the premise: Healthy Feet = Healthy Running.
I’d add healthy walking, hiking, strolling, yoga, working out… and everything else you do on your feet.
The free ebook looks at a study done in 1905 by Dr. Phil Hoffman, where he compared the feet of barefooted and shoe-wearing (shod) people, and includes commentary on the study by Mark, Dr. Casey Kerrigan, and Dr. Phil Maffetone.
It’s stellar.
And did I mention: free
Click the image below to pick up your copy.
The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.
After over a year of work, we are VERY proud and excited to announce the new Xero Shoes Venture, a ready-to-wear barefoot-style sandal that lets you go everywhere, do everything, naturally.
Go to https://ctdev.guruslabs.com//shop/ to find out more!
Which of the shoes, below, have you worn?
I’ll never forget my first pair of Nike Waffle Trainers. I can’t recall exactly how old I was, 10-12?, but I remember putting the red nylon shoes on my feet, walking out of the shoe store (wow, remember when you used to go to ONE shoe store for all your shoes and there was someone there who KNEW you and your feet!?), leaning forward as I was about to run…
… and before I even took off, I loved them.
Why?
Toe spring.
That’s the upward angle that most running shoes put your toes in so that when you roll forward, you rock onto your toes.
As a sprinter, I just run ON my toes. And when I leaned forward in these Waffles, they instantly put me in the position I ran in. I was elated. I remember thinking, “It’s like they made these shoes for how I run!”
The irony, of course, is now that I run barefoot, I HATE toe spring. Toe spring makes my foot move unnaturally, no matter how gentle the arc of it is (in the Waffles it was a sharp bend).
Toe spring doesn’t let my toes actually push, or bend, or flex.
Ah, memories.
And speaking of memories, which of these sneakers do you remember, or did you have in your closet at some time? Share it with friends and see if we can get a BINGO 😉
(click to enlarge)
I got a call today from someone asking:
I’m a triathlete, and I love the idea of barefoot running, or using your sandals… but how quickly can I put these on and then run with them? The time to transition between biking and running is important to me. And once they’re on, will they fall off?
Good questions. Continue reading Barefoot Sandals, Triathalons, and Speed
What if the smartest man in the world told you to go barefoot?
Well, all-time Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings is doing just that in his new book, Because I Said So!
Ken’s book tackles over 100 time-honored parental cliches, searching for the truth (or lack thereof) in everything from “Don’t run with scissors!” to “Wait an hour after eating before going swimming!”
One of the other bits of hand-me-down advice that he looks at: Don’t run around barefoot, you’ll get worms! Continue reading Ken Jennings says “Remove the shoes!”
After months of development we’re proud to introduce new laces for our barefoot sandals.
These 100% polyester laces come in 22 colors, including 3 reflective:
Black, Silver-Gray, Royal Blue, Navy Blue, Maroon, Brown, Tan, Royal Purple, Violet Red, Orange, Gold, Sky Blue, Hot Lime, White, Hot Pink, Hot Orange, Hot Lemon, Reflective Black, Reflective Blue, Reflective Red.
We’re shipping these laces with all both our FeelTrue and Vibram DIY Sandal Kits, or you can order extra laces for only $2.48 (reflective laces are $1.00 extra). Mix and match for a color combination that’s all yours!
Compared to our original laces, these 100% polyester laces are:
Why polyester?
Compared to leather, polyester laces offer a number of advantages:
Xero Shoes wins Best Huaraches Running Sandal 2011Christian Peterson, better known as The Maple Grove Barefoot Guy, just announced his first ever Grovie awards for excellence in minimalist footwear.
And we are thrilled to announce that Xero Shoes (formerly Invisible Shoes) won the Best Huarache category.
Here’s what Christian had to say:
2011 was really the year of the huarache. We saw tons of new sandal companies crop up, all with great new innovative designs. The big two companies (Invisible Shoes and Luna) also put out some great updates to their original models. But Xero Shoes took that innovation to the next level. They went out and got a former Nike shoe designer to make the FeelTrue sole of their Connect and Contact huaraches. The result is a powerhouse of a sandal that has no real apparent weaknesses.
Christian recently reviewed the Connect and Contact version of our FeelTrue DIY Sandal Kit, so we’re especially honored to have 2 mentions in such a short period of time.
That said, while we’re happy to have won Best Huaraches running sandals, we have LOTS of plans for even more improvements and additional products for 2012. I hope that in next year’s Grovie Awards we win at least two categories, maybe even three! 😉
2011 has been a big year for us: Releasing the only outsoles made specifically for barefoot running (some like to say “bear foot running”) sandals that were designed with the help of former lead designers from Nike and Reebok, our 2nd Anniversary, and a HUGE upsurge in business.
Between you and me, every time I see Chris McDougall, I practically kiss his feet. If it weren’t for him and the success of “Born To Run,” this whole barefoot running trend may never have taken off.
So, thank you again to MGBG, and to everyone else who has helped us and supported us in 2011.
I can’t wait to hear the comments when we launch all our new barefoot running sandal products in the next year.
We were invited to show our previously named Invisible Shoes running sandals (well, walking, hiking, working out, hanging out, too) on television. So we asked some of our customers who liked the idea of being on TV if they would submit a short “Why I like Invisible Shoes” video that we could use.
Kate sent in this video, and I think she sums it up pretty good at the end 😉
Here’s to the all the 50+ white (or other colored) haired people who are cooler than their college aged cohorts when they’re in their “Invisible Shoes”. Cheers! 😉
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