Lems ZENSPEED+ Review: The Baby Step Toward Barefoot Running

The Lems ZENSPEED+ is not a barefoot shoe.

That is not really a criticism. In fact, I think it is the reason this shoe makes sense.

After wearing both ZENSPEED models over the last couple of weeks, with roughly 25-26 miles across the pair, I have ended up seeing them less as two versions of the same shoe and more as two different-sized steps away from a conventional running trainer.

Conventional cushioned trainer → ZENSPEED+ → ZENSPEED Lite → genuinely minimalist / barefoot shoe

The Plus is the smaller step. The ZENSPEED Lite is the bigger one.

I would personally take the bigger step. But if you are coming from normal running shoes and want to move toward a more natural, foot-shaped, lower-drop setup without changing everything at once, I think the Plus is a very good place to start.

Quick verdict

The ZENSPEED+ is a roomy, well-made, low-drop road trainer with enough cushioning to feel familiar to a conventional runner.

It has a 31 mm heel, 26 mm forefoot and 5 mm drop. Lems calls the cushioning medium, and that description feels about right. It is more protective and forgiving than the Lite, but it still gives you a noticeably more natural shape and lower-drop platform than a conventional running shoe.

For me, the extra cushioning is actually the reason I would not choose it. I am used to lighter, lower, more barefoot footwear now, and the Plus feels a little strange underfoot. It also lets me get away with overstriding in a way that thinner, flatter shoes tend to discourage.

That does not make the cushioning bad. It just tells you who this shoe is for.

If you want to move toward minimalist footwear slowly, this is the ZENSPEED I would start with.

What the ZENSPEED+ actually feels like

The Plus immediately feels like the more conventional of the two ZENSPEEDs.

There is noticeably more shoe under you than with the Lite, but it still feels lower, roomier and less restrictive than a typical road trainer. On paper that comes from a 31 mm heel, 26 mm forefoot and 5 mm drop, versus 24/22 mm and 2 mm in the Lite. In practice, the important bit is simpler: the Plus keeps enough cushioning to feel familiar if you are coming from conventional running shoes.

Lems uses its ZENCELL EVA/PEBA-blend foam here, but there is simply more of it underfoot. For me that makes easy running more forgiving, while also taking away some of the feedback I now prefer from lower shoes.

The fit still feels recognisably Lems to me. The forefoot is roomy, the shoe locks down well through the middle, and it never feels like a narrow conventional trainer.

I also like that Lems offers both Medium and Wide versions. A lot of brands talk about "wide toe boxes" as though there is one universal foot shape. Giving people two genuinely different width options makes more sense.

And Lems is not really pretending this is barefoot. The whole point of the Plus is that it sits in the middle: lower-drop and more foot-shaped than a conventional trainer, but still cushioned enough to make the change feel manageable.

The toe box is still roomy, just slightly less so than the Lite

Compared directly with the Lite, the Plus does feel a little less open through the forefoot.

But only a little.

If I had not deliberately stopped to compare the two, I am not sure I would have thought much about it. The Plus is still roomy. It is not suddenly a conventional narrow running shoe.

But side by side, the Lite gives me a little more of that open, relaxed forefoot feeling.

That distinction matters more for an established Lems or barefoot-shoe wearer than it probably does for someone arriving from a standard running shoe.

The cushioning helps — and that is also the trade-off

This is where the Plus makes the most sense.

The extra stack makes longer, easier running feel more forgiving. There is simply more material between you and the ground, and if your feet are not used to minimalist footwear that can make the whole transition less abrupt.

But for me, it comes with a cost.

I am used to shoes that make sloppy form fairly obvious. If I reach too far forward and overstride in thinner footwear, I feel it quickly and naturally shorten my stride.

The Plus lets me get away with more.

I am not saying a 5 mm-drop cushioned shoe causes bad running form. That would be a much bigger biomechanical claim than my testing can support. I am saying that for me, the extra cushioning removes some of the feedback that normally keeps my stride tidy.

And because I have adapted to lower, less cushioned shoes, that cushioning now feels slightly odd rather than comforting.

For a conventional runner, the exact same trait may be the selling point.

ZENSPEED+ vs ZENSPEED Lite: small step vs bigger step

I think this is the cleanest way to choose between them.

ZENSPEED+ = smaller transition step.

ZENSPEED Lite = bigger transition step.

Neither is automatically better.

If you currently run in conventional cushioned trainers and want to explore a more natural setup slowly, the Plus keeps more of what you already know: more cushioning, more stack and a 5 mm drop.

The Lite removes more of that safety blanket. It drops to 24/22 mm and 2 mm, feels more connected to the ground and does more to push me toward the shorter, quicker stride I associate with minimalist running.

I prefer the Lite. Someone else may quite reasonably prefer the Plus precisely because they do not want to make such a large change.

There is no prize for transitioning faster.

If you are cautious, have had trouble when changing footwear too quickly in the past, or simply like to alter one variable at a time, the Plus is the easier move.

Where Altra and Topo fit

The obvious market comparison is Altra and Topo.

I think both ZENSPEED models compete with those brands in the broad sense: foot-shaped road shoes for runners who care about toe room and lower-drop geometry.

But the specific geometry is interesting.

The current Altra Escalante 4 is 24 mm and zero drop. The Topo Magnifly 6 is 26 mm and zero drop.

That puts both of them much closer to the ZENSPEED Lite than the Plus if you look purely at stack and drop.

So I would describe it this way:

ZENSPEED+ competes with Altra and Topo as a category. ZENSPEED Lite is the closer geometric match to shoes such as the Escalante 4 and Magnifly 6.

I would not try to rank all of them on one neat minimalist scale from specs alone. Foam feel, flexibility, rocker, outsole and last shape all change how a shoe actually behaves.

But as a rough map, the Plus sits nearer the conventional side and the Lite nearer the minimalist side.

Is the ZENSPEED+ a barefoot shoe?

No.

Not even particularly close.

At 31/26 mm and 5 mm drop, it has far more underfoot than what I would call a genuinely barefoot shoe.

If your goal is maximum ground feel, unrestricted foot movement and a genuinely minimal sole, I would look elsewhere.

That does not make the Plus confused. I think its position is actually fairly coherent: it is a transition shoe, not a barefoot shoe.

That is an important distinction because it changes the question from "Is this minimalist enough?" to "Is this the right-sized step for me?"

Who I think should buy it

The person I have in mind is running in a fairly normal trainer today.

They like the idea of a wider, more foot-shaped shoe. They want to reduce drop. They are interested in more natural movement. But they do not necessarily want to jump straight into something thin, flat and demanding.

That is where the Plus is strongest.

It keeps enough cushioning and familiarity to make the move feel manageable while introducing the parts of the minimalist philosophy that probably matter most at the beginning: more toe room, lower drop and less interference with natural foot shape.

If you already spend most of your time in barefoot shoes, I think there is a good chance you will feel the way I do and simply want less shoe.

In that case, start with the ZENSPEED Lite instead.

What does this say about Lems?

The ZENSPEED range is interesting because it pushes Lems further into mainstream running territory.

Some longtime minimalist users will probably see that as the brand moving away from its roots.

I am not sure I see it that way yet.

Lems still makes much more minimal footwear. What the Plus does is give the brand a product for people who are not ready for that end of the catalogue.

I am interested to see whether this becomes a bigger part of where Lems goes next, or whether ZENSPEED remains a bridge sitting alongside the more barefoot-oriented range.

Either way, I think the Plus makes more sense when you see it as an expansion of the ladder rather than a replacement for the bottom rung.

Price and early durability

The ZENSPEED+ is $175.

That is premium-running-shoe money, but Lems feels like a premium brand to me. The construction on both ZENSPEED models feels good, the materials feel considered and I have no immediate quality concerns.

So far, I think the price is justified.

What I cannot tell you yet is how the outsole and upper look after several hundred miles. Lems talks about long road durability, but this is still early testing for me.

I would rather update that later than pretend a couple of weeks tells us everything.

Bottom line

I do not think the ZENSPEED+ is the shoe I would buy for myself.

That is also why I think it is a good product.

It does not try to make someone who has spent years in conventional running shoes suddenly behave like a barefoot runner overnight.

It gives them a smaller step.

More room. Less drop. A more natural shape. But still enough cushioning and familiarity that the whole thing does not feel like starting again.

If that sounds too conservative, get the Lite.

If that sounds reassuring, get the Plus.

See the ZENSPEED+ at Lems

Lems sent me both ZENSPEED models free while running a separate paid Product Spotlight with Minimal-list. That paid campaign bought distribution, not this review or its conclusion. Minimal-list may earn a commission from some links.