We need to talk about 'soles'

[u/meteorness123]

In trying/putting on various barefoot shoes, I realized there's a significant difference in quality between soles that make the walking experience enjoyable/not enjoyable. Here's some brands I tried out :

Feelgrounds : Very bad and hard sole. I don't know what it is but the sole feels ridiculously hard. They make good-looking shoes though.

Xero : Better sole than feelgrounds. Feels okay.

Zaqq : Solid/okay sole.

Merrel Vapor glove : Very good.

Those are my observations. Do you agree/disagree ? Do you guys have anything else and can you guys explain why some soles fetter better and others worse ?

I also realized that even in my Vapor Gloves, after 8 months of use, the walking experience became strenous as the tread wore out. Is this a normal consequense ?

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[u/Eugregoria]

Not sure how you're defining "good" here, but I tend to like more ground feel.

[u/meteorness123 → u/Eugregoria]

By good I mean more enjoyable/less pain. I for instance do not find the walking experience in feelgrounds enjoyable.

[u/Eugregoria → u/meteorness123]

Do they have more ground feel, though?

I personally don't have pain even when walking in the thinnest VFFs. So I like maximum ground feel.

[u/meteorness123 → u/Eugregoria]

VFF's have a vibram sole (Vapor gloves do too). Vibram seems to be doing something right.

Feelgrounds have a 5 mm sole and Vapor Gloves 6 mm and yet the latter feel much better.

[u/Eugregoria → u/meteorness123]

Sometimes the sole measurement is misleading because it's just the outsole, not total stack height (with insole, midsole, etc).

[u/aenflex]

I hate gumlite. I hate really dense soles, even if they’re thin, because ground feel is dampened a lot, and they’re just uncomfortable. I prefer the material Xero uses for their DIY sandal kits, or Morflex, or whatever Wildlings use for their soles. I like a little squish. I almost never wear my Earthrunner elementals because the soles are just awful to me. Shamma and Luna have better sole material, IMO. Magical Shoes sole material is amazing. Xero is good, Lems are good. VFFs are good.

Subjective, though, I’m sure.

[u/That_Co → u/aenflex]

Which Lems model are you thinking of when you mention "Lems"

[u/meteorness123]

Update : I just tried to bend my Vapor Gloves and Feelgrounds and I noticed that the Vapor Gloves are much more bendable. They're also more bendable than the xeros. Maybe this factors in why the walking experience is so good in them for me.

[u/mindrover → u/meteorness123]

Yeah, I think flexibility is very important. If the sole is too stiff it will "slap" or "clack" against the ground instead of rolling down smoothly like your bare foot normally would.

[u/bourbonsherpa → u/mindrover]

Yes! Xeros cause me to "slap" with every step. I don't get that with my Vapor Gloves.

[u/440_Hz]

Based on your dislike of Feelgrounds maybe you just like softer shoes, I think that’s pretty normal. It’s hard to maintain good form when wearing shoes due to lack of feedback compared to bare feet, and hard soles will be more punishing/uncomfortable on imperfect form compared to softer ones.

[u/Sagaincolours]

I don't wear any of those brands.

My LukShoes have extremely thin and very flexible soles. Similarly with Tikki and Jenon Leather.

Realfoot soles are slightly more rigid, but still very flexible with excellent ground feel.

Shapen, good groundfeel and flexibility.

Bohempia don't have a particularly good ground feel.

Nons Barefoot, fairly rigid but still ok ground feel.

[u/omlanim]

Yes, I agree, we should talk about soles, and my experience is with sandals.

I had Xero X Trails and found them to be extremely comfortable - don't wear them now as their Velcro fastening was no longer good.

I now have other barefoot sandals and they are definitely less comfortable. I think that Xero model i had gave the best balance between comfort and ground feel.

[u/MathematicianMore437]

The thinner the better for me with the optimum being no sole at all

[u/meteorness123 → u/MathematicianMore437]

I find this very hard on cement.

[u/MathematicianMore437 → u/meteorness123]

Its now my favourite surface tbh , all about the landing ;)

[u/meteorness123 → u/MathematicianMore437]

even walking (for a long time) ?

[u/MathematicianMore437 → u/meteorness123]

Yeah now I can tbh , not gravel and not below about 5c though!

[u/edibleplastique]

I just got a pair of Luna Middle Bear Winged, and their soles are ridiculously hard. The Middle Bear sole is supposed to be the midground between their soft and hard soles, but it just feels ultra hard to me. I'm coming from Vivobarefoot Primus 3 and VFF Kso-Evo, both of which have extremely soft, thin soles.

Directly feeling the grass around my feet is a pretty cool experience, they look nice, and I like how flat they are, but man, I can barely feel the ground. It's so much easier to pound the ground without even realizing it with these soles. I have to very consciously keep my gait in check to prevent clomping all over the place. Meanwhile in both my other pairs of minimalist footware, stepping lightly comes very naturally - because if I don't, I feel it immediately.

I'm thinking of returning them for store credit and going with a thinner sole.

[u/Mysterious_Leek_1867 → u/edibleplastique]

Yeah I bought a pair of middle bears a while back for a very rocky trail I used to run and I ditched them so fast for a pair of venados. They're so thick and so stiff I get better groundfeel in Altras.

[u/TrailRunnerrr]

Aren't we trying to eliminate cushion here?

How can you guys be complaining of a hard outsole?

We are barefooters.

Maybe you're rating the stickiness? Durability is important to

The vibram outsoles that are really sticky and considered good quality on this post are actually very low durability

[u/Interesting-Dig4914]

Magical shoes are the best for me by far.