A third generation of the VivoBarefoot boots, the VivoBarefoot Scott III men’s minimalist boots are a winter staple; with their ultimately comfortable design, and the convenience which they provide to the wearer, they’re an absolute necessity for the winter season, and I’ll tell you just why. If you’re looking for comfortable shoes for walking in the chilly weather, read on ahead to get an in depth insight or review of these barefoot boots.
The Makers
The minds behind this shoe design, are the geniuses at VivoBarefoot. The company was founded in 2012 by two multi-generation cobblers, who based their company around one simple vision; human health directly correlates to and can be positively affected by barefoot style shoes.
Their ethos or the guiding beliefs behind the creation of this brand and the barefoot shoes with significantly lesser padding was to revitalize and maintain human connection to nature; to bring the humans closer to the earth as they’re walking even while wearing footwear. This will not only bring nature and humans closer, but also instill in us a passion to protect nature in all its beauty.
The sustainability claims of the company also hold up in practice, as the company uses less padding in their barefoot sandals manufacture, significantly reducing their environmental footprint. The shoes are also made to be as breathable as possible, to reduce the restriction of movement a human foot would normally face while wearing a shoe.
Overall thoughts
These minimalist boots are about as flexible and lightweight as they come, allowing for a lot of human movement and freedom while walking or running. Since the Scott III's zero drop, these boots further allows you to get a feel of the ground more than you would in a padded shoe, giving you that natural ground feel.
The minimalist boots are very true to size. The shoes are substantially wide to allow for movement, and doesn’t take away from the actual size. However, I would advise that if your size is x, y, z and a half, go up a size when you’re purchasing your barefoot Scotts, as the added space would make your shoes fit better and fill the space taken by the thermal padding and if you’re wearing thick winter socks.
An alternative to making them fit better would be to wear thinner socks, and remove the thermal footwear padding from inside the shoe, although most people reported that the shoe fit more snugly with the padding inside. For people with good toe splay, this boot is perfect since it has a light volume and is flexible enough to adapt to any and all foot shapes.
The boot is claimed to be water resistant, not waterproof and my experience is that this boot holds up well in wet urban envirnments. I propbably wouldn't take them hiking in the rain.
Oddities
One of the most unique features about the Scott III's would definitely be the removable thermal padding or the thermal insole inside the foot, which allows for the wearer’s convenience should the foot size increase. The insole also keeps the feet warm in harsh temperatures.
Pricing
The shoes cost about $200, and they can be bought from the official VivoBarefoot website.
The bottom line
The Scott III's are a worthy addition to the barefoot boot line up. I would definitely spend money of buying a new pair of these, because they’re as durable a purchase as they come. So yes, I would spend the money on buying the same pair again.