Shoes

The Best Barefoot Shoes for Walking or Running

Revolutionize the way your feet – and body! – move and feel. 

Feet are your foundation, and what you put on them impacts your balance, agility, mobility, posture, and much more.

“Normal” shoes keep your feet from doing what they’re made to do, with toe boxes that squeeze your toes together, and stiff, bulky soles that disconnect you from the ground.

Instead, when you slip on Xero Shoes’ barefoot-inspired shoes, boots, or sandals, you feel the freedom of natural comfort. You’ll also enjoy performance and health benefits that help you function at your best.

Discover your perfect barefoot shoe with our Shoe Finder Quiz and start living life feet first!

Or choose from our top-sellers… or dive into the world of minimalist footwear by clicking the “read more” link to discover the “how” and “why” of  running and walking in minimalist shoes.

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Zero Shoes Lets You Enjoy:

 

Plus, Xero Shoes are backed with our 5,000 mile sole warranty. (IMAGE)

Tired of achy feet by the end of the day? It's not your fault. Modern shoes hinder your body's natural movement, but barefoot shoes allow your feet to do what they're meant to do.

This is why so many of our customers call Xero Shoes “Life Changing” (sample reviews)

7 Ways Our Shoes Help You Feel What You’ve Been Missing

When you compare what most people think of as “normal” shoes, to a true barefoot shoe (more about “un-true” barefoot shoes in a moment), your eyes may open to the common sense benefits you’ve been missing.

 

By embodying the minimalist footwear principles above, Xero Shoes help your feet – and the rest of your body -- function naturally, giving you an unparalleled level of comfort that also supports healthy foot function.

Running, walking, hiking, working out, court sports, or casual wear… Xero Shoes gives you a wide range of styles for whatever you do on your feet.

CLICK HERE to try our Shoe Finder Quiz, or see the whole selection of our shoes here.

Beware of “Fake” Barefoot or Minimalist Shoes

As the benefits of natural, barefoot movement become more well-known 

, some shoe companies are calling their products “barefoot” or “minimalist” when they’re simply not.

If a shoe advertised as “barefoot” or “minimalist” doesn’t have ALL of those elements in the chart above (except the 5,000-mile warranty, which is unique to Xero Shoes), you won’t be getting the benefits of a truly barefoot shoe.

For example, a zero-drop shoe with a foot-shaped, wider toe box will feel better than one that squeezes your toes and messes with your center of gravity. But if it has a thick midsole, the stiffness and lack of ground feel will practically eliminate the important benefits you get when your feet can move and feel naturally.

The Science 

To be clear, optimal human performance and health is not about shoes themselves but how shoes can either negatively impact or naturally support you when you walk, run, hike, and play.

And remember, what we think of as “normal” shoes are only about 50 years old. Humans have been wearing footwear we’d call “barefoot” for 99.9975% of human history!

In the last few years, more and more research shows the benefits of natural movement, either in bare feet, or minimalist, barefoot-inspired shoes.

• Dr. Ridge’s study showed how merely walking in a minimalist shoe for 8 weeks builds foot strength as much as doing a foot exercise program.
• Dr. Sacco’s study showed how knee osteoarthritis was improved or eliminated by wearing a minimalist shoe.

And other research shows how wearing “normal” shoes affects you negatively  by weakening your feet, removing the feedback you need for proper balance, putting excessive force into your joints, and altering your posture in ways that can cause pain in your ankles, knees, hips, back, and neck.

• Katrina Protopapas and others showed that putting arch support in the shoes of healthy people reduced foot muscle strength by as much as 17% in just 12 weeks.
• Dr. Pollard’s study demonstrated that cushioning doesn’t reduce the forces that can cause knee problems.

You don’t need to wear minimalist shoes all the time.

While most people, once they get used to Xero Shoes, do wear them all the time, you don’t have to.

In fact, sometimes you can’t.

For example,, there are no Xero Shoes ice skates, so our Olympian skaters and hockey players wear their Xero Shoes off the ice, for active recovery and strength training. 

If you love some other shoe, that isn’t minimalist, that’s fine. You’ll still get benefits by wearing Xero Shoes as often as possible and practical for you.

Making the Switch to Barefoot and Minimalist Shoes: A Step-by-Step Guide

Many people know that Xero Shoes began after Co-Founder and Co-CEO Steven Sashen got back into sprinting at age 45 after a 30-year break. For the next 2 years, he suffered one running injury after another. When he made the transition to running barefoot, his injuries went away, and he became faster. In fact, he’s been a Masters All-American sprinter – one of the fastest men in his age group in America – for the last 16 years.

He and his wife Lena Phoenix started Xero Shoes so others could discover the benefits of natural comfort, performance, and health. And Steven has helped tens of thousands of people safely transition to, and enjoy, barefoot-friendly footwear.

Here's how you can too:

1. Keep in mind that when you switch to Xero shoes, you’ll be using muscles and moving in ways you haven’t in years… maybe ever! So think of it like going to the gym after a long break. You don’t pick up where you left off. You start slow, with lighter weights and fewer reps. Same idea here. You want to start with a small amount of time in Xero Shoes and build up slowly as your body tells you, “Oh, I handled that just fine. Let’s try a LITTLE more next time.”
2. If you spend most of your time standing, try using minimalist shoesit for an hour at first. Then, again, add more time as you feel more and more comfortable. If you’ve been wearing a shoe with a big heel lift, you may feel like you’re leaning backwards at first, but you’ll see that you’re actually standing straight.
3. If you're a walker, start with maybe 10 or 20 minutes a day in your barefoot-style shoes.
4. Runners, start even smaller – 20 or 30 SECONDS. Really.
5. Keep in mind that, for most people, the transition isn’t just about switching shoes, but learning to move in a way that’s more natural, easier, and enjoyable. It takes time!
6. The feedback you get from the ground is what helps you discover that new walking gait or running form.
7. It takes a different amount of time for each person to adjust to natural movement, but however long it takes you, you'll enjoy the benefits for the rest of your life.
8. Remember that learning something new can feel "frustrating," but that’s just the feeling that comes from your brain developing new neural pathways… it’s part of the learning process. So if you feel awkward at first, that can be a great sign!

Perhaps the most useful tip I can give you is this:

If you’re not having fun, experiment with moving differently until you are. Let FUN be your guide.

If you think you need more help, the Xero Shoes Customer Happiness Team is here to help, click here to reach them.

Speaking of help, use our Shoe Finder Quiz to find the Xero Shoe that’s right for whatever you want to do.

FAQs

Can I wear orthotics with your shoes?

Yes…, but maybe you don’t need to.

Let’s talk about the “Yes” first.

Xero Shoes give you the best platform for an orthotic for 3 reasons:

1. The flat, zero-drop platform means the orthotic fits better than in “normal” shoes.
2. "Normal" shoes have built-in arches, which interfere with the geometry of the orthotic.
3. The foam midsole in a “normal shoe” (something you don’t have in Xero Shoes) wears down unevenly, which changes how the orthotic impacts your alignment.

The “maybe” is simply that as you wear Xero Shoes, and let your feet move naturally, you might discover that your feet are getting stronger and can support you without an orthotic.

You may want to experiment with slowly getting out of the orthotic by spending a SMALL amount of time in Xero Shoes without it. And then, as that feels comfortable, SLOWLY add more non-orthotic time in your day.

Can you wear Xero Shoes if you have flat feet?

Arch height is mostly genetic. What’s more important than whether your arches are flat is whether they’re strong.

Strong feet give you support and power for whatever you do.

Research shows that merely walking in a minimalist shoe can build strength as much as doing an exercise program.

Are Xero Shoes vegan-friendly?

Most of our shoes are vegan-friendly. We make vegan-friendly options whenever we can. But for some use cases that’s not yet possible. We’re constantly looking for leather alternatives that provide the durability and comfort you need.