2026
Current edition
The third Golden Toe Awards
Ten categories covering everyday shoes, running, trail, kids, brands and retailers. Voting runs from 19 October to 15 November 2026.
Golden Toe Awards · Since 2021
Barefoot favourites.
Chosen by the people wearing them.
Golden Toe is the community vote for barefoot shoes, brands and retailers worth recommending. No judging panel and no paid route to a win: the results come from the people with the shoes on their feet.
What Golden Toe is for
Useful recommendations, with a trophy attached.
Barefoot footwear has grown from a small niche into a market with hundreds of shoes and a lot more choice. Golden Toe gives the community a simple place to say which pairs, makers and shops have actually earned a recommendation.
Voters choose from firsthand experience. Sponsors can support the awards and the voter giveaway, but they do not receive extra votes or a say in the results.
Current edition
Golden Toe 2026 is the one happening now.
The third edition has ten community-voted categories. You can vote in one, five or all ten: one genuine favourite is enough. Voting opens 19 October and closes 15 November 2026.
Go to Golden Toe 2026 →The Golden Toe archive
Every edition, from the first vote onwards.
Each edition keeps its own page or results story, while this page stays the permanent home for Golden Toe.
Go to Golden Toe 2026 →
2023
Previous winners
A bigger field of barefoot favourites
The second Golden Toe Awards expanded the community vote across more of the barefoot market. Revisit the shoes and brands that came out on top.
2021
First edition
Where Golden Toe began
The first awards asked barefoot shoe wearers to recommend the pairs they actually owned and used, creating the starting point for Golden Toe.