state of the market minimalist trail shoes

I’d throw Altra Lone Peak’s into the mix.

True, they have a much thicker sole than some of the others, but they’re wicked comfortable with a huge toe-box and not that heavy. I was put off by the thick sole at first but got used to it quickly, and they seem to wear much better than either Merrell (for me, they rip out where the fabric meets the sole on the outside of the foot; shoe goo seems to help) and Vivo (I wear their fancy Ra shoes to work every day and they’re not half as good as they were 3-4 years ago!).

Just my 2¢…

I don’t think I would call anything Altra makes “minimalist”.

Kigo makes some decent, super minimal shoes. I have the Leons but I don’t know how well they would hold up on the trail. They do have a few other styles that might be better suited to granite and water.

BeReal is another one to look at. I tried a pair of there only model and it seemed pretty decent. Kind of a weird heel but it never really bothered me. Unfortunately, their biggest size is too small for me so I only got 20 or so miles in them before I gave them away. If they came in bigger sizes I would buy them again, though.

Lem’s has some good shoes. I wear the Boulder Boots to work every day and I love them. Haven’t yet tried their other shoes but I would expect them to be pretty decent.

I have been using cross country racing flats for 8 years. Lots of brands available. Lighter than shoes marketed as minimalist trail running shoes. My preference is the Mizuno Wave Universe 4. I hear the Wave 5 is even lighter, but I still have several new pairs of the Wave 4’s in my gear closet.

I know you stated that you weren’t counting sandals, or at least you didn’t list them, but Xero just released a trail sandal (so at least there is a new option popping up if shoes vanish).

http://xeroshoes.com/shop/ready-to-wear-barefoot-sandals/ztrail-men/

I bought a pair and they are pretty comfortable. They are pretty affordable, too. They’ve yet proven themselves to me, but they seem absurdly durable. The sole feels like it’s made out of car tire rubber.

I can feel all the rocks under my feet in my Altras (Superior) enough that I have to watch where I’m going. I’d consider them minimalist.

Don’t forget Luna sandals.

I hike in Lunas all the time. Second hike I did was White Mountain Peak near the Bristlecones, a 15 mile round trip mostly dirt road hike. I brought my Altras just in case I couldn’t stand it but never needed them. I’m bringing them for the PCT. I wear them with stretch nylon tabi socks I found on Cooleast market.

Piper: This might perhaps be getting a bit off topic, but how are the durability of Luna sandals? I wanted to get a pair, but my feet are abnormally narrow, and I’d have to resort to getting custom made ones. It’s not a huge up-charge, but considering their sandals aren’t exactly cheap, I’ve been apprehensive.

Nick-

Thanks for the idea about the XC flats… but how do they wear? If they’re really made for speed and relatively mild XC curses, I wonder whether they’d stand up to the abuse of rugged trails and higher mileage…

Thanks again!

N=1, of course, but I have worn my Luna sandals all spring-summer-fall for the past 3 years, and they show no signs of wearing out… (no winter wear — we get real winter here)

Depends upon what you mean by “minimalist.”  Most people would consider the Vasque Mindbender to be minimalist and it’s a great shoe, but they certainly aren’t equivalent to most Inov8 shoes.

Kim: Thanks! I might consider getting a pair once my Xero sandals burn out (which truthfully might be never). They warranty the soles for 5,000 miles, which in practice is pretty much forever. If they wear out, they give you 60% discount on a new pair. Even so, I might pick up some Lunas. I think I might prefer the toe-post style.

Just popping in to check this discussion myself and can share my own experience. I stock up on the Vivobarefoot Breatho (now Trail Freak) when I can find a pair in my size for $60 or under (theclymb, amazon, 6pm.com). They absolutely fit amazingly, to the point where I remove the lacing system no problem. Although in general I don’t have a problem fitting minimalist shoes so  long as the toebox is fairly wide and there’s no really constrictive upper issues.

The durability of the sole of the Vivobarefoot Trail shoes are a major issue for me and I cannot justify paying anything over half price. I also do my best to only wear them on-trail. Hate that they really only come in highlighter colors right now :(

I’m now shopping for a zero drop, zero support *lightly* cushioned road-running shoe for those times when pavement/asphalt is my only real option. Funny enough I kept my very first pair of New Balance minimal trail shoes around and found that they have just enough cushioning to keep me happy on the non-natural city surfaces. The tread on those was fairly awful for my local terrain (Four Corners Rockies and desert) and wore down quickly anyway, but the sole is now totally fine for city use. However, the mesh in the upper is shredding :(. I think they’re from 2010 or so?

I also recently acquired a pair of Bedrock Sandals which are fine so far. The last of the sole is super curved and my foot is not. I do find myself tripping on them some, hopefully once they soften up a bit and conform to my foot more the sloppiness will abate.

I’ve been looking at the Z-trail and Z-trek for a while too. I accidentally discovered backpacking in my old Chaco’s about 15 years ago when I got frustrated with heavy, blister-y hiking boots. That was the last time I walked in anything that covered the ankle aside from snowboots. Sooooo glad we’re getting some minimalist sandals on the market. The light cushioning of the Z-trail is attractive as I’ll most likely be carrying around 30-lbs of extra weight this season :-/

Keen’s A86 TR seems to be missing from this discussion.  These held up okay for me and were pretty comfortable.  Some of the reviews I read before buying these shoes stated that the mesh uppers had a tendency to blow-out quickly, but this was not my experience.  I wore out the soles before anything else failed.

Shannon: I’ve been wearing my Z-trails for about a week now, covering maybe 30-40 miles (mostly on asphalt or concrete).

If you’re looking for something lightly padded, you might consider them, but I will qualify that they are quite lightly padded. In fact, I’d say less padded and more thick-soled and protective. They are still quite flexible, but also still quite firm. If one’s feet are conditioned to minimal shoes, as yours seem to be, I think they’d be fine for hiking, but I thought I’d mention it.

I bet I could crack a walnut under these sandals and it wouldn’t hurt me. I’m guessing they are plenty protective against rocks. They sort of feel like boots if there were no insoles. Just a firm piece of moderately thick rubber. They claim to have a foam midsole, and they do, but it’s a very, very firm foam.

I tried a few different pairs of minimalst shoes from vivobarefoot. I walk every day in NYC, many miles, and am an avid backpacker and hiker with regular trips out of the city, sometimes every weekend during the best times of the year. The reason I am starting with this background is because I want to make it clear that I’m a walker. I am not someone who has weak ankles or doesn’t spend time using my legs to get around…

I just find minimalist shoes to be a total pain in the ass in every way for the Northeast USA. Here’s the issue… first off, they are not waterproof. And while I love the idea that you can just not use waterproof shoes and let them dry out while you hike for the next 20 minutes, this is not reality in the mountains of the Northeast USA. You hike through miles of wet trail, constant mud, and cross a lot of flowing water. Additionally, we don’t have the altitude or the dry air to dry the shoes out overnight. It doesn’t happen.

Secondly, they hurt the soles of your feet while hiking. The lack of a rock guard makes it such that if you don’t watch every step, or don’t step around every obstacle or sharp rock, log, etc, then you are going to feel pain. This did not stop after a season of use. In fact it gets worse. Continually bruising the bottom of my feet was just not a good thing for me in any way.

Now the first thing is to say “well, just avoid the things that hurt and pay attention.” Do you know how much more time and effort that adds to an average 9 mile day of hiking in the White Mountains, NH, or the Adirondack High Peaks? Its just not feasible for the average human being.

I have found that hiking with some Altras is both way more comfortable, and still accomplishes the zero drop goal, which is the only benefit I found when using the actual barefoot shoes. And while they don’t solve the waterproofing issue, the comfort is second to none.

So I would consider that the state of the market being a “sad state of affairs” may represent the realities of use. Maybe there won’t be growing demand for these things because even a lot of the niche consumers who might see this product marketed to them or hear about don’t want it. Maybe people like to have some padding on their feet and feel that it doesn’t make them unable to balance, or remain un-injured, or be able to move really quickly without injuring or hurting the bottoms of their feet. People are going to vote with their dollars.

I guess maybe I sort of hate minimalist shoes after using them. I don’t find them to be a good idea for most people, and I don’t find it to be a good idea for people like me, who are regular walkers and hikers, either. Even after prolonged use on the pavement and in the mountains, there just was no magical muscular growth, and while my feet did “get used to” them and got tougher, they sure didn’t get tough enough to make me stop missing a rock guard or minimal amount of padding.

I guess more power to the people who can use them and be happy, but I like to be able to make good time and have dry feet in the mountains, and I find that there are a lot of options out there that work pretty well.

Adam: I don’t claim to be a huge proponent about many of the potential benefits barefoot shoes, but I do think they significantly aid one to improve their walking form. I still run in my Altras (because my knees can’t take running otherwise). However, I noticed an significant decrease in injuries after walking quite a bit in barefoot shoes; I, like you, walk quite a bit. There’s a website that some Harvard faculty members made that I’ve found, just anecdotally, to be true.

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/3RunningBeforeTheModernShoe.html

I mentioned them earlier, but you might look at the Z-Trails. They have more sole protection than my Altras and obviously water issues are minimized being that they are sandals. But I completely understand if you can’t manage sandals. They certainly aren’t for everyone.

One thing that I must say I despise about Altras is that they take on water like a sponge, and they tend to squeek for quite a bit after doing so. I think water gets in between the sole and the shank.

Jonathan, thanks for the recommendation. I actually own a pair of xero sandals, the original.

I think what it comes down to for me is the lack of a rock guard, and therefore lack of protection from any small (or angled) bits of rock, root and whatever else on the bottom of your foot. Everything else I liked about them.

FYI, Altra has a new shoe out that is a different material and doesn’t absorb water. I bought them because of what you mentioned about the lone peaks that absorb a lot of water. I haven’t gotten them out on the trail yet as they are a very recent purchase, but so far, so good. They are a bit more minimalist than the lone peak, and come with a removable rock guard. I expect they’ll be great. But that doesn’t mean I still won’t prefer some kind of waterproof light weight boot. I guess the market for that must be equally as small as the market for minimalist shoes ;)

Oh, I’ll have to look those up!

My older Altras feel like a pair of soggy, expedition weight socks when wet, and I’d gladly welcome any improvement. And the squeaking. Ergh. The squeaking! :)

Thanks for the info!

I think it was the “superior 2.0” that I bought. They have a different material for the upper, have a tiny bit more sidewall protection, and the cushioning level is listed as “low” when compared to “moderate” for the lone peak 2.5, so I think they are a good compromise.

I hope the squeaking will not be an issue on these, we will see. Overall I’m still looking for a really great zero drop UL hiking boot that is a good fit for my feet, as well as having a good waterproofing that doesn’t fail after a couple of weekends out. I won’t be holding my breath, that’s for sure. LOL.

I got some keen clearwater cnx sandals in the mail today, basically the classic keen sandal style with a minimal sole. I like them a lot so far. It’s probably been about 10+ years since I’ve worn a pair of sandals so I don’t know what to expect.

Shannon, have you given the merrell trail gloves a try?

There are also the Lems primal shoes, the traction doesn’t look aggressive but they might be ok for dry conditions.

I’ve worn the NB mt10 shoes since the first year they were released. And in case anyone is curious, tried on a pair of the mt10v4 this weekend and they are horrible. Fit is completely different, weird rubbing spots, and stiff spots in annoying areas. May work for some people, but if you are used to the other mt10’s these will feel weird.

Oops. Someone already beat me to this post…

Altra Lone Peak Neoshell is waterproof. But I hear it gets super warm. And the tongue isn’t waterproof, so sloshing through rivers might not be great in these shoes.

These may not be minimalist enough for you but I’m loving the Inov-8 Roclite 286GTX.  Weighs just 10oz per shoe – feels like an ultralight trail runner.

Thanks for the idea about the XC flats… but how do they wear? If they’re really made for speed and relatively mild XC curses, I wonder whether they’d stand up to the abuse of rugged trails and higher mileage…

Reno,

Sorry it took so long to reply, but I have been out of town. I usually get around 400-500 miles out of a pair, and about 1/2 of that if I do a lot of hiking on volcanic rock, which is plentiful in some desert areas.

However, we need to keep in mind that foot strike, the hiker’s weight (heavier is more force on each step), terrain, and other variables impact how long a shoe will last. It seems that any shoe I own lasts longer than the average person.

First post on BPL – just joined.   I have been backpacking in minimalist shoes for about 5 years, in addition to wearing minimalist or no shoes when not hiking.  After years wearing hiking boots 24/7, my knees now demand the least amount of weight possible on my feet.

I actually started doing a few day hikes locally completely barefoot.  I used Kigo Drive’s for several years and was pretty happy with them – very light, great ground feel, no lugs, but good traction in anything but mud.  But I wanted a bit more rock protection for my big toes and balls of my feet.  Last year I settled on Merrill Trail Glove 3’s.  I tried various versions of 5 Fingers, which I just didn’t like the feel of, and NB Minimus felt too narrow.

I love the Trail Glove 3.  Pretty light, great ground feel, dries very fast, good traction, great open toe box.  After one year the out-sole shows very minimal wear.  Just the start of a very little bit of separation of the outsole from the top fabric in a couple spots.  The insole is not removable, and the fabric over the insole started to wear out very quickly with worn holes under the big toe and heel, but it’s just cosmetic – I don’t feel it and it doesn’t affect functionality.  This wear might partly be because I rarely wear socks, so my feet stick to and rub the bottom fabric more than normal.  One thing I did immediately after purchase was pull out the shoelaces, which were too short anyways for the amount of looseness I like, and replaced them with a very thin elastic cord and mini-clamp.  I used them all winter this year – the only time I minded was hiking in more than an inch or so of wet snow – then I wished I had some nice WPB socks.  I also like that they don’t look sporty (at least the black version), so I can wear them to work.

There are a lot of other minimalist/barefoot running shoes out there that are suitable for backpacking. One that I’ve been interested in trying are those from ZEM Gear, like the TerraTech.  I’ve considered going full minimalist with sandals, like the Umara Z-Trail, but I stub my toes too much to make these an attractive option.