I’ve got heart problems which means my feet are pretty swollen, so normal shoes aren’t really comfortable anymore. I’ve been wearing Alterras and I love them and the wide toe box, but the wide sizes are only in a boring color. So I’m looking for suggestions from you lovely folks.
After trying Barefoot style shoes (which usually have much wider than normal toeboxes) I can never go back.
Vivobarefoot shoes are expensive, but pretty high quality and have a great toebox.
Freet are more affordable and often made of recycled material, but some of their designs can be slightly odd looking. They hold up well though, very nice quality from the reviews I’ve seen. They’re made in the UK, I believe.
Splay shoes offer what is essentially wide toebox vans.
There’s tons more though. I’d recommend Anya’s Reviews to narrow down what suits you best, she’s pretty legit in her info from what I’ve seen.
Lems are great wide-toed shoes, and they’re about half the price of the Vivos I had. They’re comfy, plus also great for orthotics.
True, forgot about them! Only issue with Lems (or at least their boots) is their construction doesn’t lend itself super well to resole-ing (though neither do Vivo’s, really), though I have heard of cobblers doing it by grinding down the existing sole and gluing on a replacement.
The Jim Green Barefoot African Ranger is constructed like a traditional boot, so is easily resoled by any cobbler, but I had to send mine back since they weren’t wide enough for me (they seem to be on the more narrow end of ‘barefoot’ style boots).
But for how affordable lems are, they’re a solid choice and have way more cushion than vivos.
I would love to see more repairable barefoot shoes. I’ve been in a pair of vapor gloves for about three years, they are getting close to wearing through under the forefoot but no way to repair them that I have found.
This. Barefoot shoes and never look back.