Minshoes with BEST ground feel? :D

[Mayka]

The weather is finally warm enough that even sissy lil' me can tolerate being barefoot outside again, (I really don't like the cold... ) so I got to enjoy some barefoot time outside for the first time in months! It's clear though, that not being barefoot outside this winter has made me quite tender-footed again, so I think I'm going to start walking over the woodchips and gravel at the park again. Ouch those woochips hurt!

Anyway, the reason I'm posting in the GEAR section is, I never did find a pair of minshoes I actually really like, for when I do want to wear shoes for whatever reason. I found the 4mm Xero Shoes too thick for my liking (everything felt so muted), as were the Soft Star mocs with the suede sole (probably due to the non-removable sheepskin insole).

The only minshoe I've tried and liked enough to continue wearing is the Wokova Feather with 5mm sole and pink straps, due to it being comfortable and easy to put on, but that's in spite of the not-amazing ground feel. (I think sandal minshoes can't get too thin or they'd get floppy though!) I really like Unshoes though and I really appreciate they're working on a line of dress sandals for women, so if I ever need sandals again I'll definitely be buying from them!

But I'd still like one pair of minshoes with more ground feel. Does anyone have any suggestions for minshoes that have amazing ground feel but are still durable enough to use outside (Sockwa suggested, for instance, that the Playa Lo/Hi might not last long on pavement!)? I have a list on shoes that seem like likely candidates, but I haven't used any of them myself and was hoping for opinions of them here (keeping in mind that I consider 4mm Xero Shoes to NOT have amazing ground feel).

Shoes:
Feelmax - Aapa, Niesa 2, Panka
Kigo - Drive, Flit
Sockwa - X8, G4
Soft Star - Moc3*
Luongo - Luongo

Has anybody used any of these and can attest for which ones have the absolute best ground feel? Or does anyone have any suggestions for shoes I don't have listed here?

*I know Soft Star also offers the RunAmoc Dash/Original RunAmoc with a 2mm Vibram Street Sole, but I read that the Moc3 has better ground feel than the regular 2mm Soft Star sole, due to the cut-outs making the sole more flexible, so I only listed that one here.

Anyways, I'm just so grateful spring is finally here! Time to do some real barefooting again!

 

[Hobbit]

Hi Mayka,
The problem is, once you have become a real barefooter, any shoe out there will give you a muted feeling compared to skin to ground.
So far I've not used any shoes on your list but I share your opinion on the xero 4 mm!
What do you want the shoes for? Winter? Dress up occasions? Office work? Or just something like "I don't want to inflict the sight of my dirty feet upon my dentist who might not like it and could inflict pain in return" ?
There is also the changing form of your feet to consider: the more you're barefooting, the more you'll need a wide toe box in shoes - and some minshoes don't have wide enough toeboxes: Although I like the concept of the Kigos, their toe box is way too narrow for my feet.

 

[Bare Lee]

I have both the Sockwa G4 and the Soft Star Moc3. Sockwa G4 win. Here's my review and the ensuing discussion: http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/threads/finally-the-perfect-minimalist-shoe-sockwas-g4.15503/

 

[Mayka]

Hi Mayka,
The problem is, once you have become a real barefooter, any shoe out there will give you a muted feeling compared to skin to ground.
So far I've not used any shoes on your list but I share your opinion on the xero 4 mm!
What do you want the shoes for? Winter? Dress up occasions? Office work? Or just something like "I don't want to inflict the sight of my dirty feet upon my dentist who might not like it and could inflict pain in return" ?
There is also the changing form of your feet to consider: the more you're barefooting, the more you'll need a wide toe box in shoes - and some minshoes don't have wide enough toeboxes: Although I like the concept of the Kigos, their toe box is way too narrow for my feet.

That is true! I didn't think of the toebox; I do like a nice wide toebox! So maybe the Kigo's and the Feelmax's would be out then... hm... I also contacted Soft Star; apparently they can make the Roo without the sheepskin innersole, which may be acceptable to me. But it definitely wouldn't be as durable as the other shoes on this list!

The shoes would be mostly for situations where I don't feel like dealing with the social ramifications of being barefoot. Although I've entered a few shops unshod (thanks to Longboard's encouragement!) I still usually enter establishments shod and do most of my barefooting around my neighborhood or at the local nature trail. Baby steps, man, baby steps. If I am going to be in shoes, I'd just rather prefer to at least have something that gives a lot of ground feel, I guess.

I don't think any of the shoes on that list could pass for dressy occasions or office work, unless you had a really awesome office. As for winter, I'm thinking next year I might use my current pair of Unshoes and just get felted wool tabi socks off of Etsy like these (they look really warm ):

I have both the Sockwa G4 and the Soft Star Moc3. Sockwa G4 win. Here's my review and the ensuing discussion:http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/threads/finally-the-perfect-minimalist-shoe-sockwas-g4.15503/

So the Sockwa has better groundfeel than the Moc3? That's good to know! Once you include shipping the Moc3's are like twice the price, so it's always nice saving money when you can.

 

[Hobbit]

These felted wool tabi socks look interesting, although perhaps the big toe seems to be a bit short on this model. As Felt is much less elastic than non-felted fabric, there also is a possibility that these felted socks are a bit difficult to put on - they seem a bit narrow around the ankles, but this, as well as the short big toes, could be an optical illusion due to the angle of the photo. If you know how to knit, you could easily knit them yourself and felt them in the washing machine afterwards (Definitely I must try this out! ) Or knit and felt a pair of normal socks and add a sole with liquid latex (they last about one winter) or plasti dip (apparently more resistent than latex, but I didn't try it out yet) or a piece of leather or a piece of 2 mm vibram...
Kind of homemade sockwas but with the advantage of being less pricey and custom made.

 

[Nyah]

I use shoes strictly as reinforcement for my socks, in weather conditions that are too cold to be barefoot in. The best shoe I've found so far is the Altra Adam, sized up a full shoe size. Those allow me to vary the type/amount of sock. Their uppers stretch in various sections, which is a flexibility improvement over an upper that doesn't stretch.

From your last message in the thread, it sounds like you aren't looking for shoes so much for function as for social acceptance. What I do for those situations is keep a pair of dark-colored, treaded wool socks in my daypack.

 

[Tristan]

Mayka, I agree with Hobbit, once your very used to bare anything you put on your feet will nock the groundfeel down significantly. But once you have decent form I think its ok as long as barefoot is out of the question. I haven’t tried most of the ones you mention, but I have the Unshoes too and like the feathers, and have Soft Star Dash's. The Dash's despite the very thin sounding 2mm sole, have another leather layer midsole which cuts the groundfeel out a lot. In fact at first they felt very cushy which was ok by me - at least it was a perfectly flat sole and nice pliable upper, so very minimalistic. These are probably my favorite pair of casual shoes so far (I wear them to the office - they look dressy enough to me) and I actually run in them in the winter too. I think over time the soles have compressed a little leading to a bit more groundfeel.

For groundfeel, the best shoes I've had are my Vivobarefoot Ra's with the removable insole taken out. But those are casual shoes only for work - no running in them. They are slightly a formed shoe, but still fairly minimal. I'm not sure what all offerings they have in womens (they have a lot!) but I'd wager some of them will have good groundfeel like the Ra's.

When wearing shoes groundfeel is limited anyhow, so IMO the most important things to look for are elsewhere like a wide enough toe box, no arch support, etc. But a little groundfeel is nice. Good luck!

 

[garythenuke]

I was wondering the same thing as the OP wrote. Thank you for the information.