Xero Shoes - TerraFlex II

Second for xeros, especially terraflex 2 and ridgeway mesh low (my choices).

If barefoot trailrunners are an option for you, I have the Xero Terraflex and Mesatrail. The first Terraflex held up about 1500km of hiking and 3000km cycling. Now they look very rugged and the outsole is pretty flat, but they are still in one piece and I still wear them occasionally in the garden or on construction yards.

I wear Xero TerraFlex and like them: snug on my heels but enough space to spread my toes out. I might try Vivobarefoot next though. 

My Terraflex 2 literally fell apart after 200 miles :/

I do everything in my minimalist sole shoes (Suavs) even running. The guy at the running shoe store laughed at me, I bought a pair of Altras, and returned them the next week. They might be zero drop and a wide toe box, but they’re still very cushiony. I like to feel what I’m walking/running on. The Suavs I’ve been wearing for 4 years have zero drop, minimalist sole, and knitted upper. They don’t have the wide toe box but they’re still very knitted upper let my feet flex and splay enough. I bought 1.5 sizes up from my regular size I should say. I’m on my 4th pair. Wear them every single day. I bought a pair of Xeros, and they’re fine, but honestly super stiff compared to the sole and uppers of the Suavs. And my Suavs don’t need tied every time.

Depending on how badly you hate yourself, you could look at some xeros. The toe boxes are really wide since they’re barefoot shoes, and after your feet strengthen up, I greatly prefer them to regular shoes. They’re easily 0/10 for comfort at first though unless you regularly go barefoot. I just recently picked up their trail runners for hiking, but haven’t had a chance to get out yet though.

I do xero shoes for everything but backpacking. I've done trips in them for shorter times and have done okay but I'm also a fan of altras. JMT is longer so I wouldn't do xeros the whole time personally.

My xero trail runner shoes have amazing grip and I've used them on a bunch of loose scree/scramble approaches with no issue, and prefer it over stiffer shoes basically always

My wife and kids got me something very similar for Fathers Day 2014. Same color scheme and all. I’ve tried them all. If you like those, you’ll like the Xeros. I think I have four different styles and any of them would be decent for trails, but two pair have a little extra in the knobby department and they are fantastic for trails and everything else.

Lems and xero

Just to post an update... I got the Xero shoes today but they do not have as wide of a toe box at the toes as my Lone Peaks. And interestingly, I came across a post in the r/RunningShoeGeeks community where u/guilmon999 posted a comparison table that shows the taper ratio of the toe box from ball to toe. You can find that table here [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQnRgxJU\_LoYAyl4uAf2QtCZNNXDWJrewXMtTwnnPPeKYLqyqCABxO5ITtKOAeiKS5p91Dh-m83rNe3/pubhtml](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQnRgxJU_LoYAyl4uAf2QtCZNNXDWJrewXMtTwnnPPeKYLqyqCABxO5ITtKOAeiKS5p91Dh-m83rNe3/pubhtml) Though it doesn't a lot of trail shoes, it does give a basis for comparison when looking for wide toe box shoes. Happy feet make for happy trails.

I wear Danner Mountain Light II boots when it's cold or the weather sucks. When it's hot I wear zero drop trail shoes, Xero or Lems. Pros and cons to all of them. Sometimes I wear Jim Green boots as well if I don't need waterproof or lots of traction (Ranger boots). IMO, there is no 'one size fits all' shoe for hiking.