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Reddit Reviews
My vivo trail freaks lasted 1100km 😨. The new pairs are shiet after 200km. Can not a simgle company make a durable shoe anyone, no one cares about reusing plastic or shit adheasive that is good for the enviroment, but fails in 6 months. My New balance minimus 10v1s from 2006 are better then every single shoe i've tried, they're bomb proof.
I have these, and for me, they're perfect. They have like a 4mm drop from heel to toe so they're not technically barefoot as many of the barefoot purists on here will point out 😅. I have tried Vivobarefoot and inov8 which are both foot shaped, and the New Balances are definitely the widest. They appear less wide as they have a narrow heel and an athletic fit, but for me that's perfect as I am quite slender. I've found other barefoot shoes to just be wide the whole way and too wide around the ankle, but these are actually foot shaped. I went half a size up, and they're probs half a size too big, but idm the extra room in the toe box to account for the quite sharp pinky toe area round off. They also have very flexible vibram soles that easily can be folded in half.
I always loved the MT10 when I was first starting barefoot running. I didn't know they are still made!
Are you sure this isn’t a case of 'Don't blame the Ferrari cause your ass can't drive'? If you have been doing road running and just switched back to trails and are trying to do the same distance and intensity, that's a recipe for a rolled ankle. Your stabilizer muscles aren't used to that workload anymore, you need to ease into it, give them time to build back up. The heel stack may not be the issue. Buy if you don't want a higher stack shoe, their are plenty of other options. Merrell Trail Glove, Xero Scrambler, New Balance Mt10, ect. For slightly less minimal, Topo Pursuit and La Sportiva Prodigio provide lots of trail feel.
New Balance MT10 are absolutely great
I just get these in Japan (brown). They're surprisingly good, but they're not 100% barefoot. There's a tiny amount of support - an amount of support where if you've worn true barefoot shoes, you'll notice it, but if you're used to shoes with support, it might as well not even be there. Toebox could also be a bit wider, but it works well enough for me. I've tried real barefoot shoes that had smaller toebox tbh They're super comfortable and ultra light, and they're better than most other shoes, so I'm happy. I won't be using them for a while, as it's snowing in my country lol
I know it’s the most barefoot style but I like the vibram sole. I have pretty narrow feet so these are fine for me. They do have a 4mm drop so this sub is not really the most ideal place to post about this model. I think they’re a good choice for those looking to get into the barefoot style without jumping in the deep end right away or for people with some injuries where having the heel toe drop is helpful.
These are a blast from the past. They were one of my first barefoot shoes back in around 2010. Since I save a lot of shoes to experiment on with modifications, I still have an intact but worn out pair so I had to try one on. As others have said, the taper is not foot shaped. The sides of all my lesser toes at the end were resting against it. Although I would not want these shoes now, they were better than any conversation shoe out there, and a great shoe to start my barefoot journey with. https://preview.redd.it/09i9gtsg9xdg1.jpeg?width=1840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=26c7f3bd08fa8b83bae1bb99f53c9b04ff4a72cb
me, too! but the 4 mm drop affected my body mechanics and eventually i switched back to conventional shoes after a podiatrist told me barefoot shoes were not for me bc of my fallen arches. years later, when i encountered my second gateway shoe, vivos, i didn’t have the same foot pain as i eventually got with the NB’s 4 mm drop. my arches are a lot stronger now. i loved those shoes, though.
Rankings by Use Case
Top recommendations from others in the same boat
Best for Deep mud and soft ground

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Salomon - Speedcross Series
Best for Quick draining and drying for wet trails

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Hoka - Speedgoat Series
Best for Road-to-trail transitions

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Nike - Pegasus Trail Series
Best for Steep technical descents

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Salomon - Genesis Series
Best for Technical rocky terrain

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La Sportiva - Prodigio Series
Best for Ultra-marathon racing

Top pick
La Sportiva - Prodigio Series





