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South Africa, Pretoria
1 Level
732 Review
46 Karma

Review on Experience Natural Footwear Comfort With WHITIN Women'S Barefoot Trail Runner Shoes by Aaron Clayton

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Lightweight hiking shoes

Took these up to Acadia National park in Maine for a week of hiking, including pavement, trails, ocean water, boating, rock scrabbles, and vertical rock climbing. I loved them. I thought I would try to summarize some key points:- They are very lightweight, flexible, and form-fitting. My brother referred to them as ninja shoes. The bottom of the shoe is slightly divided between the big toe and the other toes. This gives you a more flexible toe box area. I would say these are one step away from true toe shoes (or bare shoes, or whatever they are called).- Really grippy tread on the bottoms and back of heels. I took these shoes over rocks and up vertical rock faces and boulders. They gripped better than my brother's expensive salmon hiking boots. Never slipped, or felt like I was unstable. Even on wet and smooth boulders.- You can feel the surface you're walking on. What I mean by that is you can feel the rocks under your feet or the gravel - whatever surface you are walking on, you will feel in detail. Not like a regular sneaker where your foot is completely buffered. I don't mean this as a negative - nothing hurts your feet or anything like that. You just feel the texture of the surface almost like you are barefoot - but protected. I really liked this.- Something you will want to consider before buying these is that they lack the support a regular sneaker does. They ARE comfortable, but if you are someone who really needs that very cushioned bottom or gel inserts these will not be the shoes for you. That being said, I wore these shoes for 8-10 hours straight multiple days in a row across a lot of hard terrains. They didn't need to be broken in and I didn't experience any foot or knee pain.- When they got wet they took a loooong time to dry - which was surprising. I had to pop them in the drier to be able to use them the next day. The good news is they didn't shrink.I hate hiking sneakers, boots, and anything like them. I don't like wearing clunky sneakers and have always gravitated to running shoes or other lightweight options. These were perfect for what I needed and the level of activity I needed them to endure.

Pros
  • Reduces leg and foot fatigue
Cons
  • The shoe may be too heavy for some individuals