• Dharma Curious (he/him)English
    1•2 months ago

    Okay, cool! I thought you meant those toe shoes at first. What makes them “barefoot” shoes? Is it just the wide toe box?

    For me, I actually go up a full shoe size when I stand vs when sitting. I got my feet sized all through childhood and my 20s and always had horrible pain in shoes, and ended up learning this when I went to a podiatrist. My feet squish out like playdoh when I stand up. Lol. I’ve been treating my podiatrist shoes with kid gloves for years now because I lost the food insurance lol

    • ProdigalFrogEnglish
      2•2 months ago

      Toe shoes would qualify as barefoot too, but I they’re just a more extreme version I think.

      Barefoot shoes usually have 3 traits:

      • Zero Drop - The shoe is the same height from the back to the front, so your heel isn’t higher up than your toes
      • Flexable, thin soles with no arch support - Allows you to feel the ground and build up strength in your feet and arches
      • Wide toe box, to allow for your feet to retain their natural shape for comfort and stability.

      This video does a good job of explaining why those other two traits are desirable.