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.
People just do stupid shit for internet attention
Yes
They should cut off their feet next so they can really be closer to the fucking earth or some shit. What a bunch of fucking morons.
I doubt that there’s any real benefit to walking barefoot. There seems to be very little science to support it that I can find, but I’d be interested to see if anyone can find some.
I question the benefits mostly because it’s well known by historians that before the invention of modern shoes, most people walked very differently than we do now. Heel-to-toe walking basically didn’t exist until modern thick-soled shoes became commonplace, and instead toe-to-heel or rather ball-of-the-foot-to-heel was the norm.
If you’re going to walk barefoot, make sure you learn how to walk barefoot safely. Here’s a pretty good video about how to do it correctly: https://pi.ggtyler.dev/watch?v=3iLJ0frWE9E
Don’t most people already do a substantial amount of barefoot walking in their homes? I’m somewhat sedentary and work from home so my % might be different, but I image at least half of my walking is inside barefoot already.
At home is a different beast, because the terrain is known, managed and mostly flat or stairs
Yes, but as @Chee_Koala already pointed out it’s flat terrain and for the most part it’s relatively soft. If you were to extended walking in your home it would probably be wise to wear shoes or change your gait. Walking on hard cement or stone for extended periods of time while landing primarily on your heel would definitely be bad for you.
I love walking barefoot and I cannot stand those two people who I have never seen or heard from before but now I don’t like them.
It must be because there is video proof of 2 idiots doing it.
As you said this seems like a good way to fuck your feet up with random trash on the ground, temp difference between winter and summer months.
Why would they not just buy some cheap shoes to destroy.
They did. And then they lied about the value.
good question, but how they will get views if they dont destroy their 20k shoes?
By spending $100 at Goodwill.
Looks like a YouTube stunt. I like going barefoot, but I just go barefoot (and carry a set of flip-flops for when I need to enter a business).
I mean, the whole destorying your shoes thing is stupid. And I give you winter.
But in the summer I walk around barefoot all the time.
Yes, asphalt can get quite hot, but it’s usually managable if you walk fast or occationally step on some gras or surface in the shadow. It’s also not that hard to avoid stepping into things. Also once you build up some callus you can actually step on some suprisingly sharp objects without really hurting yourself.
Adding to avoiding things, when the consequence of stepping on is a lot of pain, you get good at watching where you’re going and adjusting mid-stride to avoid stepping on things that even appear sharp.
One of the nice side effects of shoes with soles is that you don’t have to concentrate on exactly where you are stepping all the time.
Edited for clarity
Shoes are prisons for the feets.
Still i think this is dumb tho.Exactly.
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 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.
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.
They talk about the benefits of being barefoot as if the grass required to give those health benefits is anywhere in sight. The city environment has as many chemicals as a natural environment has bacteria and vitamins. It really won’t help them, and I’m surprised nobody noticed, since shoes aren’t like skirts where the exposed part is always facing down, unless they were taking baby steps the whole way.
I totally think it is not a thing. Just two random ignorant fools doing it (maybe, and maybe not).
Barefoot shoes are a thing though, with a very thin sole and a very direkt Response to ground texture. I have a small collection of these and i am a big fan of them. However, if i want to go completely barefoot (or simply forget my shoes again), i just don’t Wasser shoes.
What is the appeal to you of feeling the surface you walk on more directly? In my experience, having bulky soles enables your feet to take rough terrain for longer ( I did some multiday hikes in the Alps )
Also the soles (of B or A/B class hiking shoes) can have a very comfortable bedding, so it feels like a luxury item to me. I guess that’s why if feels strange to me to that some would rather forgo them all together :-)
You have thin soles so you can tell where you are in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
It might sound silly, but different terrains tend to be „interesting“. I also feel it has an impact on how i walk and how i stand - so actually back problems and (minor) aches are either easier or gone.
I, too, travel the alps, nock mountains, katschberg mountain, Dachstein etc. I totally wear bulky hiking shoes in the mountains, though, as you definitely want the protection for your foot and ankles. However, i more often than not even hike easy trails in those barefoot shoes. I guess i just am used to it so much that those protective shoes feel too heavy and bulky, even if the bedding is comfortable.
But fir the day to day footwear you have to wear necessarily I almost always choose barefoot shoes over the few remaining normal ones. I will keep one set business shoes, one pair of winter boots and my mountain equipment, everything else will be gone quite soon.
Thanks a lot for elaborating. I can definitely imagine different terrains being interesting. Your explanation of when you would (and wouldn’t) use them is very useful for understanding the appeal. If I ever find a nicely priced pair that fit me well, I might give it a whirl!
I’d also recommend something like my “Splay” shoes if you’re going to try it. They’re barefoot shoes that also have a wide toebox so that your shoes fit your toes instead of your toes fitting your shoes!
Before I switched to the wide toebox I also used boating shoes if you find some of those cheaper.
Things like converse are of course more mainstream, but at least have the “zero drop” aspect, so you’re closer to the ground but don’t quite feel the ground.
Everyone will say barefoot is bad for your knees, but that’s really only true if you’re running or jogging on concrete without letting your body adjust.
My feet used to ACHE at the end of the day, now they can still hurt sure, but it feels much more like a tired muscle instead of incorrect exercise if that makes sense.
I hike a lot in my barefoot shoes
I’d say the biggest benefit of feeling the surfaces you walk on more clearly is that my balance is a lot better
But the biggest benefit IMO is that the shoes being super flat improves my posture relieving some shoulder and back pain. And the shoes being super wide in the toe box also improves my balance and means I can walk longer with fewer breaks.
The last hike I went on with my barefoot shoes was 18 miles and I felt better than before I started
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Lucky for me, both balance and posture during hiking have not been a source of discomfort or pain for me before. Although I can imagine clambering over rocks might be faster with less bulky footwear because it’s easier to balance.
I hike a lot completely barefoot, and let me tell you, it’s amazing. Highly recommend. I’ve also hiked in barefoot shoes and minimalist sandals, but regular ol’ not wearing shoes on a hike is like a spiritual experience.
Poe’s Law. But for TikTok morons/“influencers”.
Is it a moron? Is it someone “pretending” to be a moron for attention?
They’re the same picture.
A rare island of certainty in an otherwise bayesian nightmare
