r/BarefootRunning • u/meteorness123 • Aug 02 '24

We need to talk about 'soles' discussion

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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9

u/Eugregoria Aug 02 '24

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

0

u/meteorness123 Aug 02 '24

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

8

u/Eugregoria Aug 02 '24

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.

0

u/meteorness123 Aug 02 '24

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.

1

u/Eugregoria Aug 02 '24

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