WHITIN Men's Wide Toe Box Barefoot & Minimalist Shoe | Zero Drop Sole

These are my first pair or barefoot, or minimalist shoes. I’ve always wanted a pair but didn’t like the price of something like vibram five fingers. I read the reviews of this product carefully along with the q&a section, and decided to try them out. I was slightly concerned going in. Some reviews said they run large, are hard on the feet at first, etc. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I usually wear chucks or vans slip on shoes or any other flat type shoe, so keep that in mind. I put on the shoes and went for a quick stroll outside to see how they were. They fit perfectly (I ignored the warnings of them running large and got my usual size 12) and were surprisingly way more cushioned than I was expecting. I remembered they have removable insoles, took them out, and went for a walk. I went for a one or two mile walk, testing out every surface and texture. I walked on grass, tall grass, concrete, gravel, and dirt. I went out of my way to step on every rock and crack and uneven surface along my way, to test the shoe. It felt great! I’m not suggesting anyone go out of their way to step on rocks or other hazards more than you have to, but I will say that it felt safer and more comfortable to do in these shoes. It flexes enough to let your feet and toes grip and move and position in such a way that’s much more natural than a rigid flat sole. I’m instantly in love with these shoes, but to be fair, this is only my first day (and first walk) wearing them. For every three months these things survive for the first year of having them, I’ll update my review. * UPDATE (12/05/2021) * The day after I posted my initial review (in September) I tore my foot up pretty bad wearing these shoes and walking ten miles. It was my fault though; I shouldn’t have taken the insole out. I put the insole back in and this shoe has been the most comfortable shoe I’ve ever had. I was also happy to learn the laces were decorative and this shoe is a slip on. Excellent! It’s perfect for me…except for one thing. I mention in my original review that I read things carefully. Apparently not carefully enough as these are trail shoes and not made for city walking. Despite this, the shoes were working for everything perfectly. Then one day my foot started hurting like a pebble was in my shoe. I looked at the bottom of my shoe to discover it had a hole straight through it. RIP shoes… I’m not changing my five stars because it’s not their fault I got trail shoes for sidewalk use. Not only that, but the first two months I had them, I walked a minimum of ten miles a day. I even liked them so much that I’m going to get another pair from this same company (the right kind this time) to give them a fair chance. I highly recommend these shoes still.

Review of WHITIN Men's Minimalist Trail Runner | Wide Toe Box | Barefoot Inspired (4_Black Grey). What I love most about these shoes is they fit my 12 EEEE feet without compressing and deforming my toes like most other shoes the market. I have taken three 6+ mile hikes in them into the Rocky Mountains (1200+ foot elevation gain) on rough trails (gravel, rock, snow, and wet ice. Did great on all but the wet ice on steep—they don’t replace crampons.) I have also walked over 30 miles on paved sidewalks. These shoes are awesome. Wide toe box, zero drop heal, rounded heel, and aggressive tread that actually allows the toes to function the way they are designed. This shoe offers the ground feel of my Vibram 5 Fingers, but with the speed and simplicity of a slip on. (Also, no grass between the toes, no special socks, and my wife likes the way these look.) I love feeling the contours of the larger rocks on the trails, allowing my foot to wrap around them, rather than teeter over them like boot or typical trail sneaker. My previous favorite hiking shoes are my Keen sandals, which I love wearing in the summer, but the dry Denver climate does a real number on cracked heels. Because my big toes are about a half-inch longer than my ‘middle toe,’ I generally need to go up a half-size (from 11-1/2 EEEE to 12 EEEE). If I were ordering these again, I would round down to an 11 EEEE, especially if I were bouldering and wanted that grip at the end of the toe. I love the stretch fabric of this model and imagine it will be very breathable when warmer weather comes. When I first adjusted the laces, I tried to get the shoe very snug under the arch, but the hard plastic side piece dug in at the front edge. After a little experimenting, I got an uber comfortable fit. There is no need to tie or untie the laces after you get the fit right. They easily slip on and off without any need to adjust the laces. Cons: I have not tried theses for running, but if I did, I would probably opt for the models (like the 1_Grey) that have the Velcro strap at the top, and a bit more of a traditional running shoe material for the uppers. (I ordered those first and loved the way they could be tightened, but did not care for the light grey on light grey look, so I returned them.) My feet do not slip inside these (4_Black Grey) when walking, hiking, or playing pickleball, but I suspect they with forefoot running or aggressively changing direction.

I was looking to explore some of the "minimalist" shoe options out there and came across this brand that was rated pretty well. I liked the look of the shoe and they were only about $40 so the investment was minor. The Positives: -- The shoe came very quickly and fit as expected! I typically wear a size 10, that is what I ordered, and length wise it fit great. It does take some getting used to the "extra" room in the toe box due to the extra width there. But once you start wearing them and your feet learn to adjust, they were fine. -- Bottoms are super grippy and have a lot of traction as you can see from the pic -- Loved the color. They looked just like their pictures when I got them. -- Very flexible and have a "minimalist" feel to them compared to my normal shoes -- I have been able to run and workout in these shoes with no problem. Like I said previously, mostly just the adjustment period of getting used to a wider shoe. You kind of feel like your foot is sliding around in the toe box initially. Sock make a bit of difference here too. The Negatives: -- The primary, and at this point, only negative is quality. I have had these shoes for only about 3 weeks and as you can note from the last picture, the lace pulled right through the rubber lace hole. Currently no other areas that are defective or coming apart. The fortunate piece to this is that these shoes have so many other holes farther down that I was able to just re-lace it on a lower hole. I have been able to keep using the shoe for running and workouts. Not sure if or when there will be other areas that become defective that will render the shoe useless, time will tell. But for now, they are functioning as advertised. Final thought: -- If you are considering getting into the minimalist shoe game and are hesitant to start out on a name brand that costs triple to quadruple what these cost, this is a great low investment way to go to trial it. As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for". Quality and durability may be in question here but for the price, I'm not overly butt hurt if I only get a few months out of these shoes. Depending on how these hold up with general use over the next few months, I would consider these successful and would purchase again.

EDIT - Update to previous review (included below) Unfortunately I can't add any stars, because 5 is the max. I bought another pair (in the grayscale camo) for warm-weather hunting. While I was mainly using these as quick and easy "grab and go" shoes they're my primary shoe now for everything. On or off the beaten path, they're great for everything. What they AREN'T good for: - Deep water (once soaked they stay soaked for over a day) So they're great in the water, but don't leave them on or you'll get trench foot. Of course that's true for just about any shoe. - Cold. There's no insulation here. - Protecting the sides/tops of your feet from abuse - you'll want boots if you might drop something on your toes. Otherwise these shoes do it all. All day/long distance walking. This is situational. If you build up your endurance your feet won't get as tired. The key thing is that when you're effectively barefoot you "use" your feet a lot more than when they're encased in a padded and stabilized shoe. PREVIOUS REVIEW I am decidedly not a trail runner. That's not what I got the shoes for. What I like about them is that the soles are extremely flexible, so once tied you can easily get them on/off without untying/retying. They're tough enough to be a "real" shoe for going out, and light enough to be more like a slipper. I wouldn't wear them to the office necessarily, but they work great for casual stuff. I'd guess based on the feel of the rubber in the sole, and on other reviews here, that the tread will wear rapidly on concrete/pavement. I'm not worried about it since I don't use them for running, and I don't drag my feet when I walk. Even if they do wear quickly, they're cheap enough to replace more often without breaking the bank. I will say that they're light on padding. The way you get that barefoot feel is by having a very flexible - and thin - sole. You don't get a lot of cushion under your feet with these which means if you're not used to walking around barefoot you're going to get a lot more foot fatigue - particularly on hard surfaces. Again, I use these primarily as a grab-and-go shoe for errands and other situations where I expect to not be on my feet for an extended time. They're also great off-road shoes - a fantastic combination of being able to feel the ground underfoot without feeling any sharp rocks or the other "pokey-bits" of nature. I'd also add they're great for driving where a thicker, less-flexible sole make it more difficult to feel the pedals. If you know what heel-and-toe shifting is, you know what I'm talking about. Finally, my foot is annoyingly between 12 and 13, meaning about half the size 12's I try are too small, and half the 13's are way too big. The size 12 in this fits like a glove. Or a sock, as the case may be.

BLUF: They are great. I switched to a barefoot-style shoe six months ago after seeing some articles and videos describing how they strengthen your feet. I did notice this, since now I can work on projects in the house and garage for several hours barefoot, without getting pains in the arches. I thought the barefoot/minimalist style would end up causing pain in my feet, but they've done the opposite. After wearing a pair for several months, I tried on my Asics again, and they felt much narrower. Bunions averted. The ones in the pictures with the orange laces (that particular design) can be a little looser, since it has an adjustable strap. I also took out the laces they provided, since I don't like the stretchy kind. The all black ones are comfortably snug, but you can't adjust the snugness of where the shoe meets the ankle. However, I would rather wear those on a run or a hike because they feel more stable. They feel like they have a slightly thicker heel as well. After walking on concrete and gravel for six months, the soles (orange laces in the picture) have held up extremely well, with barely any visible wear. All the seams and glued-together parts are also still solid. I used to buy Asics size 10.5, which translates perfectly to 10 in Whitins.

Appear to be higher quality than other brands. Taking two stars off because the elastic band around the enterance is so tight and I cannot wear with socks. Not easy to put on because the elastic piece around the enterance feels like a rubber band that squeezes around the top of the foot. Wish it would have a tongue instead of the elastic band entrance. Kind of odd to include shoelaces since it is already super tight. Wouldn't recommend for people who have circulation problems or for those who struggle putting on shoes.

I love these wide, minimalist shoes. They fit my feet perfectly and I got a good four years of vigorous use out of them before the rubber soles finally started to wear thin. It's a shame they appear to be discontinued. The closest model available has a slightly narrower toe box on the medial side, which means having to choose between a size that is slightly too narrow or slightly too long for my feet. Please bring these back, WHITIN!

I originally bought these because they were cheap (on sale for just under thirty bucks), and I wanted some flat shoes for kettlebell workouts. I prefer to do kettlebells barefoot, but if I'm not at home, gyms frown on that sort of thing (for good reason). Sizing issues: I have extra wide feet (10.5 4E), and these and the Oraginers don't have wide width, so I ordered up (size 11). Turns out that both WHITIN and Oraginers sell them with US sizes, but then ship you EU sizes. WHITIN sent me size 44, and Oraginers sent me size 45. I'm actually a size 44 in European, so I had to return the Oraginers. Unfortunately I can't compare them. I bought these, the Oraginers, and classic Converse Chucks. The Chucks definitely have noticeably more padding, but are not really more comfortable. I've gone on hour-long walks on all pavement (roads & sidewalks) with both, and the WHITIN are actually more comfortable. Maybe because there's essentially zero padding so I can feel everything and subconsciously adjust better than with the padding. The laces are absolutely worthless. I just took them out. They stay on and don't move at all. They're super-easy to put on and take off. The Chucks lose a lot of points there. I ordered three more pairs while they were on sale, and although I have Brooks, New Balance, and Sketchers that I like a lot, I wear these more often. For what it's worth, I just walk and kettlebell -- I'm not a runner.

Perfectos para camitas en la playa , comidos y secan rapydo

Perfect fit, very light and super comfortable. My son loves them and the seller was prompt for delivery to QLD Australia and replies to my queries. Thank you very much.

At $42, this is a good price point for a zero drop shoe. I think a lot of other shoe companies are taking advantage of the barefoot "fad" and charging way too much for what's effectively a sock with a rubber sole. This one fits nicely, and is quite comfortable to wear, with a good quality sole.

Happy

Very well adapted to my feet and after a couple of months it's still very comfortable and resistant! I use them in my Kung fu classes and for my calisthenic exercises! They are exactly what I needed!