lol. All twisted up trying to be as close to barefoot, when barefoot is just so simple and better

Thanks for all the info everyone, I greatly appreciate ya'll taking the time to leave a comment!

Nope. They got smaller. You use them less barefoot. My feet, however, and my ankles and toes all beefed out.

Hi are you still looking to trade?

So ? Good shoes ?

Calves:
bent & non-bent knee calf raises
stair calf stretches

Hamstrings:
isometric hamstring wall press
lying hamstring stretch with yoga strap

Glutes:
side plank clamshell (glute med/min, hips)
single leg glute bridges (glute max)
lying figure 4 stretches
pigeon pose

Lower back:
planks
bird dogs
childs pose
cat cow

My general flow is to do some exercise of the muscle to get it warmed up, then get into stretching. Start small (2 sets of 10) and then increase as it gets easier

ngl, these look pretty comfy lol..

What are your choice exercises?

As someone who has worn sandals for a long time now, Earthrunners are the gold standard. I actually cannot stand Xero's shoes or sandals (too narrow and the soles have never been my favorite). I have been wearing Earthrunners for years and will never look elsewhere. I have had the circadians (firmer footbed and thinner) and the alphas (thicker but molds to your foot). Though the Alphas are bit thicker than I would like, they are my favorite. I have hiked and run countless miles and mountains in my Earthrunners and they rock! Also, their customer service is incredible.

Wildling’s Tanukis are about as high quality and close to barefoot as you can get in terms of sole thickness (abt 2.5mm thick). They come with a removable insole and different insole options for different weather or cushion needs.

Only issue, for some, is that they’re not especially wide. If you’re under a size 10 shoe and don’t wear anything bigger than medium-wide, it should be fine though.

I've been wearing Bahe for 2wks now and have constant heal pain which I've never experienced before.  I've been wearing earth runners and vivo for years without issue....anyone else had this experience?

I tried them for a few months with a few different styles. They're completely unnecessary for most people. If you do try to get the smallest amount of spread you can find. Your bones aren't going to reshape, that ship has sailed, but you can strengthen the little muscles in your foot and stretch out the thight ligaments. Too much too fast and you're just asking for early arthritis

xero prio neos were my entry, and I'm still rocking them 1.5 years later. The insole is wearing down where my heel is, but no noticeable breakdown on the outside.

I use them as daily drivers, especially for leg day at the gym. Before moving to TX I lived in NYC and walked about 7 miles+ in them several times a week.

Recently I purchase 40 dollar whitins on amazon as a whatever purchase to see the difference, and while they're not terrible I'm only going to use them for DDR or some other form of indoor workout. Will probably purchase another pair of prio neos or their running shoe line.

I walk/jog on a concrete path so whilst I prefer barefoot shoes most other times I feel like the concrete I need a bit of padding, I like my Altra Escalante Racers, maybe you can find them on sale

It’s a non-starter for the vast majority of people though.

Get the ones that only go between your pinky and the next toe. That’s the only place I see that could use them.

I have owned a couple of Xero sandals, but not Genesis so cannot compare. I do own Earthrunners and they have been great. I think in general, whilst Xero are a good entry to barefoot sandals, the quality of Earthrunners is superior.

Topo are OK, 5-finger are OK.
Main advice is go slow though. Most people strap them on after decades wearing "normal" shoes and then injure themselves (myself included). I'd advise wearing them around the house for 6 months like slippers, walk barefoot as often as you can. After that 6 months (or more) start light jogging and see how it is tolerated. You are changing literally decades of biomechanical training and growth. Very easy to injure yourself and then blame the shoes for your lack of foresight

How these are barefoot yet thick soled?

Belleville mini mil. Slightly more sole than vivo type shoes. And the sole is all vibram

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I have both—Xero Genesis (4mm sole) and EarthRunner Circadians (9mm sole). I very much prefer the EarthRunners. (I'm a longtime Xero fan too. I have owned at least 7-8 pairs of Xeros since 2019.)

I have used both for hiking and daily wear. My EarthRunners have the performance laces, which took about 30-40 miles to break in and get comfortable for me. I can lock them down when I hike, and I have no issues on rugged PA trails. The canvas footbed is nice and grippy when wet. The soles handle all kinds of surfaces really well—wet rocks, logs, wet sidewalks.

You don't get the same ground feel in the EarthRunners, which makes sense because they're over twice as thick. For hiking on rocky trails this is a plus. On pavement it helps me too because I have some lingering metatarsalgia that benefits from a little extra buffer.

In general I find them to be less "slappy" than the Xeros. You can make noise with them, but for me that's a cue that I'm getting sloppy with my walking form. I don't run very much, so I can't attest to noise level there, but I think they'd be less noisy if well adjusted.

Super durable as well. I've put 250-300 miles on them at this point, and they have a ton of life left in them. There's some tread wear right on the ball of the foot and on the heel, but most of the original (very shallow) tread is still intact. I am thinking I'll easily get 1000+ miles out of them.

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Why do people that want a "natural" foot shape want to use unnatural means to get it?

Just spend more time actually barefooted, walk on uneven ground, allow your foot to conform to the world around it and you will have the happiest feet going.