I wear these to the hospital as a nurse and am on my feet all day. I love how natural they are. For those that are switching to a barefoot shoe, you must adjust to them gradually. It takes days/weeks of strengthening the muscles in your feet if you want to run or stand around all day barefoot.
Do not let the big companies fool you, you don't need arch supports for your feet. The human foot is not designed for a big cushioned sole that the modern day shoe has become! Read about barefoot running, you will be a convert!
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great running shoes, the sole seems incredibly durable and the shoe is extremely flexible. I also appreciate the large toeboxBest Deals on Vivobarefoot Men's Neo Running Shoe
I hate shoes. Sneakers are claustrophobic. Sandals are heavy. Flip flops are annoying. Crocs are stupid. Dress shoes? They're mandatory. To be honest, there is a medical reason for this: I'm a type 1 Diabetic. Blood circulation to my feet is poor, so I don't feel as much as others do. When I wear thick sneakers (they're all thick), I hardly feel anything and that makes walking very uncomfortable. I've done some research on minimal shoes for a while, where I stumbled upon Vibram FiveFingers. They looked stupid. Diabetic shoes are expensive, and they look even worse!So here we have a simple concept, done incredibly well: a comfortable shoe that looks like a normal shoe, but with a thin, flexible sole and no extra padding. It can be folded in half like a wallet, but worn like a shoe! So I tried it. I've worn it for a month now, and since then I've taken it to college and my work in a bookstore. I've walked around the neighborhood, walked around downtown, and went to several grocery stores. I even mowed the lawn in them!
I'm a US size 10, EU size 42. The wide, roomy toe box was very comfortable, and the flexibility top notch. At work I was standing up and squatting down around the entire height and length of the bookshelves to change tags, and these shoes allowed my feet to bend more than any others! It was a great experience that would have been a pain in any other shoe. My boss loves them! Whenever I get inquiries, instead of sounding like a hippy or explaining my personal life, I just fold the shoe in half and they get the idea.
My first experience on a short walk taught me about ground feel. I could actually feel the small pebbles in the asphalt! The next day I took it to college, and it seemed strange walking around public in something that feels like a slipper. I started noticing the small shifts in the ground, the cracks in between tiles, and the different textures. I still remember walking out on a cold, rainy night, stepping into a puddle and instantly feeling the coolness. I got a new sense of the world, and I loved it!
However, this great product doesn't come without flaws. I bought the white/black color, which actually comes looking off-white. The shoe doesn't breathe well, so it requires socks, and none of my white socks match. Black socks work better, especially since the black on the shoe is essentially a fabric. In trying so much to make these shoes look simple, they wound up attracting MORE attention BECAUSE it wasn't decorated like a normal sneaker! The Neo Trails fixed this problem.
VivoBarefoot Neo Trail Hydro Phobic Mesh Running Shoes
Overall, These VivoBarefoot Neos are fantastic minimal shoes that have replaced my Nike's in all my casual wearing! The design is a bit unusual, but the function is undeniable. If they were more breathable they'd be comfortable in bare feet, but socks are fine if they match the color. If you're looking for a comfortable minimalist shoe (or just a comfortable shoe in general) to wear all the time, you can't go wrong with trying these (or the trail counterpart) for a first pair! Now all I need is a minimal dress shoe and sandal, and my collection will be complete!
Honest reviews on Vivobarefoot Men's Neo Running Shoe
I have been wearing only minimal footwear for more than two years. I also like to play tennis on weekends during the milder months. As soon as I went minimal, I realized that there were no adequate shoes available to me. I have tried, and worn out, many, many shoes. The Vibram FiveFingers felt great playing tennis. I knew they weren't made for tennis, but I was surprised, nonetheless, when they fell apart on the second weekend of tennis. I had read how people run 1,000 miles in them.My first pair of Vivobarefoots were Evos. To my eye, they looked better than the Neos. But the Evos' upper is made from a stiffer plastic material than the woven fabric of the Neos, and the high heel collar of the Evos dug painfully into my Achilles tendon. I used an industrial knife at my job to cut off the Evos' heels and things were better. The sole wore out faster than the sole of a normal tennis shoe's sole would have. But there weren't many other options out there for a minimalist tennisist.
So, I went back to the store and saw the Neos. I remove the insoles to get as much groundfeel as possible. Even so, they feel nothing like being barefoot. The sole is stiff and substantial. I accept that because there is a tradeoff between groundfeel and durability. I am willing to sacrifice some of the former for more of the latter. I only wear these for tennis. For everyday use, I wear soles that are much less substantial (Sockwas, Soft Stars, moccasins, Totes rubbers, Tingley rubbers, paperfeet, [and soon, I hope, unshoes]).
Supposedly the founder of the company was trying to make tennis shoes, but these, as the item name states, are marketed for running, not tennis. My conclusion is that these are the best minimal shoes extant for tennis. In a perfect world, there would be a minimal tennis shoe that had more groundfeel and more durability than these. Until then or, until something better comes along, I will continue to buy these.
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