WHITIN Males’s Cross-Coach | Barefoot & Minimalist Shoe | Zero Drop Sole | Vast Toe Field

Most wonderful shoes I’ve owned since boyhood moccassins
This is my first foray into the world of minimalist shoes as an adult, but these shoes remind me of the complete joy I used to feel at age 10 on Saturday mornings walking alongside my dad, fishing pole in hand, loping along silently down a lakeside trail in 100% leather moccassins.I’m no longer that boy. I’m 52, with flat feet and 40 pounds too heavy. I’ve had two knee surguries, the last of which ended with my doctor saying “It’s not if you need a knee replacement, but when. Tell me when you’re ready.” The inside surface of my right kneecap — the part that rubs against the rest of the joint — was scoped to reveal that it looks like its cartilage, which is supposed to be smooth, looks like it has been through a cheese grater. I wore hard “cookie” orthotics in my shoes as a kid, have bought hefty arch supporting insoles for all my shoes all my life, and work 12 hour days outside on Saturdays in boots that have $400 Good Feet Store hard orthotics in them.I say all this not to exhaust the reader or make this product review about me, but instead to say that although I was a cross country runner in my early teens, I am clearly no athlete anymore. If minimalist shoes should hurt anyone, they should hurt me.And some did. I also ordered a couple other brands when I ordered these. They were not comfortable. These are. They fit my feet nicely, and that’s saying something for me. I have narrow feet, but have always worn B to D widths because my feet get extremely hot, so I like the extra air space. The sole padding on these shoes is just enough. The tread is good, even in mud. The flexibility is outstanding. And even though the arch supports are nowhere near as high as the orthotics I am accustomed to wearing, I find that they work fine. I walk three miles a day in these. I hope to lose some weight so I can try jogging in them — something I haven’t done in 20 years.Another thing I like about these shoes is the attention to detail in making the heel and tongue substantial, unlike other brands I ordered and returned at the same time I was testing these. The heel rises high enough and is cupped enough to prevent my heel from rubbing. This is actually amazing to me, and unprecedented as far as I can remember. My narrow feet and low arches have always caused my shoes to have no purchase on anything to hold them back from rubbing on the heel. As a result, the inside of the heel of every pair of shoes I’ve ever owned has had its inner padding rubbed off within months. That’s not going to happen with these.Another point of quality in these shoes is the tongue. Other brands I ordered seemed to sacrifice so much to reduce shoe weight that they relegated the tongue to a limp flap of material that would wrinkle every time I laced up the shoe, which translates to rubbing on the instep and also allowing the laces to blow through and rub directly on my sock. Not so with the tongue on these shoes. They have just enough height and padding to prevent wrinkling and rubbing.I’m surprised to find that after an initial few days when I had to adjust my three-mile walks to the new gait that minimalist shoes promote, my body acclimated nicely. I found myself with muscles growing in my calves, arches, and ankles, and my normal aches from a bad knee and arthritic big toe disappeared.An unexpected bonus is that these shoes also make great slippers for padding around the house, which I usually do in bare feet in summer but doesn’t work in winter. I normally hate slippers of any kind even in winter because again, my feet get very hot very easily, and I am prone to get sores between my toes when my feet get too hot for too long. Heat isn’t much of a problem in these shoes, though, even in summer, so I’m looking forward to December.I am astounded, actually, that I could get a pair of shoes this comfortable for the price. Twice before in my life I’ve bought a second identical pair of shoes when I found a pair that I really, really liked. That’s how hard I am to fit. I shop for shoes for weeks, sometimes months, before buying. But I think I’m going to buy a second or maybe even a third pair of these. Your mileage may vary, but for me, they are perfect.

Left food had issues with blisters but it went a way after on its own after the feet got used to it. The go to shoes for biking. Very comfortable.

it is a real barefoot shoe. I run wirh it to improve my running form and it works well.