Not that I mind, but… wearing shoes has a purpose… and the most important one IMO is to make sure our feet stay harms way from broken bottles, nails, stuff like that.
I’m not even gonna get into how cold it must be not wearing them in the winter… or how hot the asfalt might get during the summer. The asfalt can go up to 80, 90°C where I live during the summer, people have fried eggs on it for kicks.
I have a couple pairs now of Vibram Five Fingers and they’re the most comfortable shoes I own. My feet are pretty wide, so my choices tend to be “squash the fuck out of my little toe” or “wide but heavy as hell”. I went barefoot places I could regularly (and still do camping when putting on shoes is too much for a short trip or whatever), but these let me do similar everywhere. I find hiking a lot easier when I can feel the ground and use my toes scrambling over rocks and in streams, etc.
Just cutting off the bottom of your shoes is dumb as hell.
I’ve got a pair of Lem primal zens and I love them but they’re not that great for hiking due to the lack of trees but everything else is so great I just do it anyways
I’m thinking about getting some toe shoes though as I think that they’d be better for hiking
I’ve been on the fence about it for awhile but I think I’ll do it once my tax return rolls in
They’re not for everyone, but I love them. When it’s warm enough, I really like the V-Aqua, because they have nice grip on wet rocks and I can comfortably climb in and out of the water without getting water logged (I think the movement of water is fascinating and like playing with the camera with it).
The other ones are nice, too, but do have to be washed more regularly because they absorb sweat and start to stink if you don’t.
I don’t know where mine are anymore, I’ve been tempted to get another pair, but my feet are slightly different sizes, so I want to talk to them about buying singles.