Men's Wide Minimalist Barefoot Sneakers | Zero Drop | Midfoot Stability

After going deep learning and looking into barefoot style running, I ordered a bunch of barefoot type shoes, including this one. In short, this shoe is hands-down the best option for transitioning into barefoot-style running in my opinion. Size - I usually wear a size 10. For reference, the Altra Original shoe fit fits me perfectly at size 10, with ~1 cm above my big toe. For this shoe, I ordered both a 9 and a 10 to see. The Size 9 in this shoe leaves ~1cm above my big toe. In my opinion, this shoe runs a little long compared to others. Fit - This shoe almost has a slipper-like feel to it when you put it on with socks...I mean that in a good way. It immediately comfortable on the foot. I have a medium-high arch, and a medium-high instep girth/volume (height of the foot, distance from heel to top of the foot in front of the shin). Both are more pronounced in my right foot vs me left foot. The vertical volume of the shoe (often an important aspect of a shoe fit that annoyingly is excluded from almost every shoe specification or description out there), subjectively feels like a medium = perfection on my left foot, a little snug on my right foot. No real need for lacing up on my right shoe. I suspect will give a little with time. Sole / Ground Feel - feels like a perfect balance between enough ground-feel feedback and forgiveness. I could feel creeses in the sidewalk, but it not uncomfortable, with socks on. Heel - Heel had a little movement when moving into the toe-off of a stride. Not as tight of a hold on the outsides of the heel as an Altra, but not the best comparison as Altra is known for that secure-heel. Other Notes - Despite this shoe probably using super cheap materials, it feels pretty durable. The upper is stretchy but durable, a few mm thick I'd guess. I also bought a pair of vivo primo's which were 4x expensive. Those were almost 2 sizes too long by the way. Sweet shoes, more minimalis clearly. This is more of a "shoe". For just getting into barefoot style, I'd opt for this whitin one over the primo, and I did. Compared to Xero - much softer of a sole with this whitin shoe. Softere all around actually. This is more flexible, narrower middfit area than Xero. And I'll stop there cus I could keep going. Great shoe. Unbeatable as the price, truly.

BOTTOM LINE: I highly recommend these! Comfortable, functional, ergonomic, and fashionable. I have had these shoes for over a year now and can say that they are fantastic! They are a great way to checkout minimalist footwear without breaking the bank. I am a teacher and am on my feet most of the day. These shoes allow your feet and body to work the way they were designed and have helped with my foot and back pain. You definitely need to transition into wearing these if you are not a regular user of barefoot shoes. It took me about 2-3 weeks or rotating them in with my regular shoes, but now I wear the 90% of the time. I also use these as my gym shoes for weightlifting and love them for that as well. The wide toe box and flat sole are great for lifting. I wouldn’t wear them for running, but they are good for just about everything else! I normally wear a size 10.5 Mens and ordered a 10 in these. Perfect fit. To clean, I remove the soles and laces and was in the washing machine and hang dry. Have had 0 issues!

So far I have gotten two pairs of these shoes. The first was canvas and overall fits great, except it is very tight and rubs right at the throat where the eye stay meets the vamp. So for the second pair, I decided to get one of the stretchy athletic material ones. The first couple of days I had immense pain on the side of my foot while wearing that I could not explain. However, after undoing the laces and re-lacing them, that completely fixed it. Now they are probably the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever warn. So, ignore the reviews that say if your foot hurts it is because your foot needs to get used to the shoe. If it hurts, try redoing the laces and seeing if it was binding your foot anywhere. Also, traction is great.

These shoes are wonderful. I am a big dude at 250lbs with 9.5W feet. I've always had support issues with other shoes. I decided to give zero drop soles a try and WHITIN was the first brand from Amazon that came up in my search. What sold me was the price. After wearing these for a few months I can report that the usual knee and ankle pain from walking and standing is noticeably less on any given day compared to regular shoes like Skechers. I noticed my posture improved slightly too (I sit at a desk all day with a shrimp hunch). Can't speak much to their durability since I don't run or walk off the beaten path with them. They have great traction, even on polished linoleum. If you're stuck on a 0.5 size like me, go UP the nearest size as they run a little small. As a bonus, they're stretchy enough to just slip on without having to tie the laces every time. Definitely getting another pair when I run the tread off of these.

These are the best deal on shoes ever! Extremely comfortable and easy to slip on and off. I’ve had them for 5 or 6 months and wear them as often as I can. I tried to put on my old Sketchers after wearing these and the Sketchers were so uncomfortable in comparison I actually threw them out. I knew I would never willingly wear them after getting used to these Whitin shoes. I have worn these to work, somewhat against the dress code, because they are so much more comfortable than my dress shoes I could not bear to change. The tongue of the shoe is actually just one piece with the whole shoe body, which means it doesn’t get crumpled up and you can slide on a shoe with just one hand using the ample sized finger loop. This makes this particular model shoe even more convenient than others by Whitin with a separate tongue. Note that the laces are not just decorative: you can adjust them well, but because of the shoe stretch you never need to h tie them. These are great for walking or riding the bike. I personally would not use them for running; I’d worry they’d slide around a bit. But I guess I haven’t tried. Overall they look nice! But I find it’s hard to match the tan rubber color to things; I wish I’d got the black soles or grey. Next time!

The sneaker fit was great, the style is very nice, comfort was great for the first few days, then the insoles slipped and kept moving under my foot. They slip around, actually working they way into a folds that are extremely uncomfortable. Because I have worn them for several days I would not return them. I plan on replacing them with something else. Poor components, disappointing to say the least.

These shoes are basically the mullet of footwear: all business for your feet, zero style party up top. Wide toe box? Check. Super flexible? Check. Great for lifting, hiking, balancing on rocks like a mountain goat? Absolutely. I took them on a long hike expecting them to die halfway through—turns out they’re tougher than they look (and they look like potato sacks with laces). Perfect starter shoe if you want to dip a toe (literally) into the minimalist/barefoot world without breaking the bank. Just don’t expect compliments. Unless the compliment is, “Wow, you’re brave for wearing those in public.”

After approximately 360k+ steps I can say I love these shoes and will never return to normal shoes. Sizing: I wear a size 9.5 in most standard shoes (this gave me about 3/4 of an inch of toe room. My go to’s prior were ON clouds and Adidas ultraboosts. I initially bought these in 9’s and felt that they were a tad too roomy so I downsized only to find they felt a little tight for comfort. Then I realized in the product listing the insole is intentionally removable so I removed it and found I had the perfect fit. Comfort: They are extremely comfortable you can feel how much they flex with your foot and how much more grip you get on the ground. The extra grip they give is great. The soles are thin so be prepared to feel the ground below your feet. The material seems pretty durable so far and very airy. They initially give a borderline uncomfortable amount of width for your feet but your feet quickly adapt. Quality: Not much to say. All the stitching is good. All glue seems to hold well. The rubber is flexible and shows no signs of tearing. The material itself seems good quality and is somewhat similar to what is used in ultraboosts but a little thicker and a little less elastic, but still just as breathable. Other notes: I got some elastic laces. I canning recommend this enough, the nature of the shoe makes it REALLY easy to slip on. Add some quality elastic laces and it just makes life so easy. Additionally, after wearing them for a weak I did have some muscle aches and pains but I managed to work through it and they dissipated after a week or so. Don’t push your body too hard initially. I’m in the work of physical therapy so I was able to manage my muscles a bit better than the average person likely would. After week two I suddenly regained the ability to spread my toes on command which I’ve never been able to do. I also have chronic back pain. I DO NOT recommend these if you have back pain BUT in my case they did help which I attribute to the fact that a flat shoe is less likely to put your low back into excess lordosis. Disclaimers : These are worth every penny but you should definitely transition slowly if you don’t often walk barefoot. Biomechanically speaking they place much greater stretch and strength demand on your calves so you should assess your calf strength. I’m also about 135lbs so they might wear slower for me than someone who weighs more.