Choosing The Best Barefoot Shoe Brand For You: A Beginners Guide

Whether you are new to wearing minimalist footwear or have been wearing barefoot shoes for a long time, choosing the right shoe for you can be daunting with all the options out there. Here are five key things to focus on to help you focus your search:

Barefoot Shoe Style

Take a look at your current collection of shoes. What style of shoe do you wear the most often? I would recommend starting there. There are great barefoot shoe versions of popular shoe styles like Vans, Converse etc. Consider the current or upcoming season. There is no point buying a sandal if it is 0 degrees outside (unless you are hardcore, crazy or financially prudent). Once you know, you can use our Barefoot Shoe List or Barefoot Brand List filters to see what fits your needs.

Based On Foot Measurements

Think that you know your shoe size is enough? Think again. Every brand makes minimalist shoes in slightly different shapes and volumes. A size 9 is not the same everywhere. I would highly recommend using our Complete Barefoot Shoe Sizing Guide to measure your feet and choose an appropriate brand for you.

Based On Cushioning

People tend to fall into two categories when they start using minimalist shoes; Jump in at the deep end with fully barefoot shoes, or; Transition slowly to barefoot shoes over time. There is no right or wrong way, but comfort does come into it. Going all out with barefoot shoes can be uncomfortable until your feet adjust. So, getting a shoe with a slightly thicker sole can help make transitioning a little easier.

Based On Cost

Barefoot shoes are becoming more and more popular. That is good news. It means there are more and more affordable barefoot shoe brands out there. Figure out your budget and head over to our Barefoot Shoe Brands List and use the ‘Cost Filter’ to find a brand within your budget.

Based On Returns Policy

If you are lucky, you might have a local retailer who stocks barefoot shoes that you can try on before buying. Sadly for most of us, that is not the case. As we will most likely be ordering online, always check the returns policy before buying. We put together the best hacks for getting free shipping, free returns and more to help minimize the risk to your wallet!