All jokes aside, modern shoe design is terrible.
Not just modern. This problem existed for a few centuries and originated from a horrible, poor understanding of anatomy!
I mostly wear Crocs now and it is crazy how much better my feet feel.
No more ingrown nails or toe cramps.
Yeah I don’t understand the hate around crocs.
Their only weakness is thistles :p
It is so hard to find a good shoe.
Plenty of barefoot options, though I haven’t bought any.
Just cut your feet off and replace it with prosthethics. No more feet problems. I hear the curved ones used in paralympics can make you go even faster. So it might even be an upgrade.
Running shoes are awesome. You just need to go through the fitting process to know what type of shoe you need. All other shoes are useless garbage.
Running shoes have the same narrow toe box, slightly elevated heel, and add a cushioned heel which promotes heel strike.
No. Go take a fitting.
Yes. Go look at it.
Fitting will be around the ball of your foot, not the toe box. And you still have an elevated heel. And you still have a cushioned heel which promotes heel strike.
You’re imagining things.
This is the entire impetus behind barefoot shoes. Go look it up. Which started with running and running shoes.
Do people not walk barefoot in their homes?
At home? But that’s where I keep all my rusty nails.
If it’s a post made from the states, for some reason there are places in the states where it is normal to wear shoes in the house. I’m gonna assume it probably somewhat correlates to a similar region as the ones where house scorpions are a possible pest.
No house scorpions where I grew up, and I’ve always been a shoes off immediately inside person, but mental illness always dictated that my mother wear shoes all day every day in the deep south. She had the fungal toenails to prove it >_>
Unfortunately my mom has it as well, without the shoes on in the house as a trigger/assist. But she did work on her feet in shoes, so probably same deal ultimately. It was apparently exacerbated by something being off about her stride. I think she puts too much pressure on the inward side of her feet, or something like that.
Every 5 years or so she has to go in and get it cleaned up, it sounds incredibly painful. I think she had the fungus before she worked too though, it runs in her family. So far none of my siblings got it though. But my sisters have the same stride problem, so hopefully they can otherwise stave it off.
I’m in the U.S. Nobody wears shoes on my carpet. Nobody.
I wear sandals or slippers indoors because I hate the texture of my carpet and can’t afford to replace it. I hate how socks feel as well, so those don’t get worn unless I’m going somewhere.
People in the US generally wear shoes in their homes. When they come home, they might take off their shoes if the shoes are uncomfortable, in the same way they might remove a bra or a tie, but it’s more for reasons of comfort rather than hygiene or preserving flooring. Guests are usually allowed to keep their shoes on.
In households of people who have recently immigrated, it’s different. It can also be a thing with people whose homes have a high aesthetic value. In general though, in the US it’s expected that the host requests that the guests remove their shoes, rather than it being a presumption.
Basically society at large has deemed certain shoe shapes to be aesthetically pleasing. A lot of these designs put pressure on your toes leading to problems like bunions.
Big Shoe is lying to you.
Bunions sounds fun i want it (i dont know what it means)
I know it is not, but for some reason my mind turned that into bunny unions. Bunnies the world over getting together for better living conditions for all buns!
Again, I know it’s not.
A bunion is a bony bump that forms on the joint at the base of your big toe. It occurs when some of the bones in the front part of your foot move out of place. This causes the tip of your big toe to get pulled toward the smaller toes and forces the joint at the base of your big toe to stick out.
Fun fact. Places in the world where they wear sandals or no footwear at all basically never have this problem.
Thank you!
I have very wide feet, so women’s shoes do terrible things to me. Even extra wide women’s shoes aren’t wide enough without going up a full size.
It’s amazing the difference properly roomy men’s shoes make for me, tho I still strongly prefer being barefoot or wearing flip-flops because it’s hard to find a good pair, and I don’t want to wear them out. Size 7 2/4EW that don’t obviously look like men’s shoes are super hard to come by - those horrific mis-matched neon colors nearly ubiquitous in smaller size men’s athletic shoes (I assume because they would mostly be worn by kids and teens) are a non-starter for daily wear.
I stepped on a rusty nail recently, shoe unfortunately did not protect my foot
Hope you got your tetanus shot
Sure didn’t
Ouch, that’s a fear of mine
You wore the wrong shoes! Work boots ftw! 😀
Luckily i was working on a home bar in one of my friends houses, so we were using old pallets and definitely not in a safe way ;)
Barefoot is dangerous, but barefoot shoes have been a game changer for my knees and back.
If you need a nice pair of minimalist dress shoes for events or the office, try the Lems Ninetofive.
I see reviews talking about the shoes falling apart after a month or two. If you have them, how did they hold up?
Why’s barefoot dangerous?
Sharp things, ringworm, stinging insects, hot pavement, all the reasons cultures all over the world developed a protective layer between skin and ground.
Fair, especially the ringworm :c
Possible shards and other hazardously sharp things laying on the ground unnoticed.
I do believe going barefoot is beneficial for both your body and mind, however I don’t think everybody should start going barefoot out in public, grocery stores, sidewalks, etc. Too many rocks from our rocky infrastructure. Next time you go on a hike, however, take your shoes off and feel the earth.
This depends, too, because soils in many areas aren’t safe to walk around just anywhere barefoot in due to parasites. This issue sounds more simple than it is, and that’s the danger.
I have walked several hundred miles barefoot over the past two years.
Only thing ive stepped on was a tiny poiny rock. Easy to pull out.
A wild trick i use: my eyes. And look where i place my feet.
Do you worry about picking anything up? Like hookworms or athletes foot, or anything?
going barefoot will make fungal infections all but impossible since they want a warm moist enclosed space to grow in.
Maybe consider writing an article about how to do it safely, otherwise if the best Ive got is an idiot at Forbes and some brilliant but crazy ultrarunner, and there’s no middle ground? Yeah I’m never trying it.
At this point my soles are so thick that i can’t even pierce them with a sewing needle, i’m vastly more worried about stepping hard on a pebble and getting a blister than any sort of puncturing.
I bet I could pierce them with a sewing needle
Theory: You can pierce anything with a needle if you push hard enough. I say we test it out on their foot.
You probably don’t walk around barefoot in a major population center I’m guessing?
I’m also plenty comfy walking around my suburban neighborhoods and nature trails barefoot but you better believe I’m putting shoes on in the city areas. Even if you don’t step on something dangerous those streets are extra filthy
I can’t see anywhere near that well. Can everyone? I might need new glasses
With glasses correcting vision to the degree they are intended to, you should be able to see individual leaves on a tree 1km away. That’s generally my test for if I need to go in and get my prescription updated.
That’s just never going to happen, lol. I will talk to my doctor though, thanks
When they are doing the “which looks better?” part, take your time, don’t let them make you feel rushed. When I was younger we didn’t have much money, so we had to go to the eye care place inside the local wal-mart. They always made you feel like you were wasting their time, cuz they book too many people. My prescription was never great as a kid.
When I finally got my own money and went to a decent eye place with up to date equipment and no rush, the prescription I got then, and ever since have been literally miles ahead of the wal-mart crap.
My vision was worth the extra 10 dollars and additional 5 minutes. It’s a pretty important sense. (Sorry to those who lack the option of sight, but I imagine even you guys have to feel bad for someone that could see perfectly, but has just never gotten the opportunity to).
Thank you. I really appreciate the advice and the level of empathy 🤍
Yes you do
I have exclusively worn barefoot, minimalist shoes for ~5 years now. I have never had a foot injury. If anything, I experience significantly less back and knee pain since making the change. I have an old martial arts injury in my right knee. As long as I wear primarily barefoot shoes, it never passively hurts anymore. As long as I don’t make a habit of it and go right back to my Merrells, I can wear heels all day without any joint pain because my joints are stronger and healthier than they used to be. I don’t have trouble with sharp things, in part because I look where I’m stepping, but also in part because I can feel what I’m stepping on before I put my weight down. I don’t often go barefoot outside the house because I live in a dirty city, but I am a full time barefoot shoes convert. It’s the obnoxious thing I tell people the benefits of all the time because I know so many people in constant pain who wear big old bulky sneakers and boots.
What barefoot shoes do you normally wear? I’ve tried a few, but nothing fits quite right.
I’m a serious Merrell enthusiast. I love their trail glove line, especially anything with the Trail Glove 3 soles. I’m wearing my Power Gloves right now, which are weird rare high tops. I also have a pair of Trail Glove 5s. They’re not quite as comfortable as the 3 sole style, but they are so high performance it’s ridiculous. No matter how or where my foot lands, I have both grip and mobility. My dream shoes are Wildlings, with the split soles. But there aren’t a bunch of those on ebay like there are Merrells, so I can’t just keep and beat up multiple pairs.
What sort of shoe do you usually find comfortable? Do you have wide or narrow feet? Is your arch deep or shallow?
I have fairly narrow feet. I tend to strike with the heel of my foot when I walk. I’ll take a look at the ones you have listed.
Yeah, I have narrow feet as well. There are barefoot brands with wider fits, but I like the snug fit I can get with Merrells. And heel striking has to go when you switch to barefoot. Mid to forefoot stride is the way! Heel striking puts stress on your ankles and knees. Changing your stride will strengthen your feet and protect your joints.
Thanks for all the info! I’ll have to work on my stride then.
Feels like something Zoidberg would say.
“It’s good for you probably! Your carapace will protect you fine. … what do you mean humans don’t have a carapace?”
Rusty iron is good for the blood, why not?
That fucker would go through most regular shoes, too.
Every article ever.
It feels like you can’t even make 3 clicks on the web without someone trying to gaslight you into doing or buying whatever the want
I was going to say it’s every Forbes article ever.
There’s an ocean of journalism that’s still legitimate, and pretending that there isn’t only plays into the hands of bad actors.
Yeah, there’s a ton of great journalism out there; you just gotta know who’s doing it. One of the classic propaganda techniques isn’t actually for a bad actor to convince you to trust them; rather, it’s to make you distrust everyone else just as much, which now puts their propaganda on a level playing field with the legit journalism.
Like many things in life, the solution is nuance and understanding, not sweeping generalizations.
“the solution is nuance and understanding, not sweeping generalizations.”
Idk that sounds like a swing generalization
There is still decent journalism out there, but you have to sift through a lot of fly shit to find the pepper. Even main news sources are publishing opinion pieces like it’s going out of style.
Give me vetted facts and let me make my own conclusions please.
Are you just talking in general or do you believe walking barefoot is harmful? At least I was born without shoes so I believe it would be beneficial, also the only times I’ve stepped on a nail it was attached to a plank and I was wearing shoes.
Reminds me, I need a tetanus shot
It’s much safer to step on a rusty nail without a shoe. In order to remove it, odds are they’ll want to cut through the shoe first, but while barefoot, it’ll be much easier.
I’ve gotten a lot of these barefoot vids in my YouTube lately. Wait, nonono not that way!
I love walking barefoot in my local park full to the brim with bottle caps, rusty nails and heroin needles 😍
