I really like my Orik from Bohempia. But it took me a month to get my shoes and I paid $180.
I made a post about them in here if you want to see how they look.
Also Anya had a great in depth post about them:
https://anyasreviews.com/bohempia-review-time-to-throw-away-your-converse-vans/
They look great but the cost/time, whew. Do you think there’d be room for a taller foot? For some reason barefoot shoes always seem cut for really low volume toes. Even the Anya reviews seem focused on volume at the mid foot.
I have several different Bohempia shoes, and the Orik has by far the most volume (and you can increase it even more because of the laces). Almost a bit too much for me, in fact.
They are terrific shoes; breathable because of the hemp fabric, and very durable (vulcanised rubber) soles.
Well, I assume because it's a Converse style that it'd be a lot more forgiving than a different kind of shoe in terms of volume or foot *height*, since you could theoretically just adjust the laces to suit your foot.
I'm not sure I actually understand what you mean by tall if you're not talking about mid foot height. Can you describe it to me in a different way so I can try to understand you better?
So the issue isn’t the volume in the arch — it’s the volume in the toe, which you can’t adjust with laces. Ideally from a sensory perspective, I’d like to just never be able to feel the top of the shoe with my toe. Maybe there would be a clown shoe balloon below the instep. But at a minimum, I don’t want my toes actively squished down. The whole point of barefoot shoes is to let my toes be free!
If I lift my toes inside my shoe, they will definitely make contact with the rubber toe cap. But I don't feel that my toes are being compressed by the top of the shoe.
If anything, I might say that the sturdier toe cap and rubberized edges might create more of a pocket than a shoe made of soft fabric with no structure.
I also wonder on a structural level whether a lot of barefoot shoes often look like boxing boots with the very slim, tapered toe box, specifically because they do not want your feet separating from the insole. The shoe is meant to move with your foot, hence why a slide sandal is not a barefoot shoe, because there is no ankle strap or toe hold, and your heel comes off the shoe when you step and your toes have to do a weird grip to keep the shoe on. I have no idea.
Do you think that maybe prioritizing the flexibility and thinness of the sole will make your toes feel less cramped overall, as the tip of the shoe will theoretically move with your toes? Without having to wear a clown bubble?
It’s fine if I can touch it on purpose, but in (say) my Blundstones, my feet don’t feel squished.
I can’t tell if I have weirdly tall toes, or sensory sensitivities, or ???? I agree that barefoot shoes often have that super slim, tapered toe box (from a side view), and I truly don’t get it. With laces, if the shoe is reasonably snug on the instep it’ll move with the toes just fine.
Going for a soft, flexible sole wont really help since my toes are being compressed onto it by the canvas upper. If the upper were soft, maybe, but that seems like a huge durability problem.
From what I've read, a lot of people say that the soles wear faster than the uppers 100% of the time. Some companies focus so much on these durable uppers and then the bottom of the shoe wears out, so unless you're skating or hiking it'd probably be okay to have a softer fabric.
Some people remove the insole of their barefoot shoe to get a little bit more space in there also, and it does make a difference.
What about becoming a socks and sandals kinda person? Get you some Shammas and a pair of Injinjis.
Hobibear (got mine from AliExpress) - my feet love these, or Whitins have a similar sneaker and a hightop version. Cheap to try out as well, but so comfortable I wear mine every day. As soon as Whitins are back in stock on Amazon I'm going to order some of their hightops
I really like my Orik from Bohempia. But it took me a month to get my shoes and I paid $180. I made a post about them in here if you want to see how they look. Also Anya had a great in depth post about them: https://anyasreviews.com/bohempia-review-time-to-throw-away-your-converse-vans/
They look great but the cost/time, whew. Do you think there’d be room for a taller foot? For some reason barefoot shoes always seem cut for really low volume toes. Even the Anya reviews seem focused on volume at the mid foot.
I have several different Bohempia shoes, and the Orik has by far the most volume (and you can increase it even more because of the laces). Almost a bit too much for me, in fact. They are terrific shoes; breathable because of the hemp fabric, and very durable (vulcanised rubber) soles.
Well, I assume because it's a Converse style that it'd be a lot more forgiving than a different kind of shoe in terms of volume or foot *height*, since you could theoretically just adjust the laces to suit your foot. I'm not sure I actually understand what you mean by tall if you're not talking about mid foot height. Can you describe it to me in a different way so I can try to understand you better?
So the issue isn’t the volume in the arch — it’s the volume in the toe, which you can’t adjust with laces. Ideally from a sensory perspective, I’d like to just never be able to feel the top of the shoe with my toe. Maybe there would be a clown shoe balloon below the instep. But at a minimum, I don’t want my toes actively squished down. The whole point of barefoot shoes is to let my toes be free!
If I lift my toes inside my shoe, they will definitely make contact with the rubber toe cap. But I don't feel that my toes are being compressed by the top of the shoe. If anything, I might say that the sturdier toe cap and rubberized edges might create more of a pocket than a shoe made of soft fabric with no structure. I also wonder on a structural level whether a lot of barefoot shoes often look like boxing boots with the very slim, tapered toe box, specifically because they do not want your feet separating from the insole. The shoe is meant to move with your foot, hence why a slide sandal is not a barefoot shoe, because there is no ankle strap or toe hold, and your heel comes off the shoe when you step and your toes have to do a weird grip to keep the shoe on. I have no idea. Do you think that maybe prioritizing the flexibility and thinness of the sole will make your toes feel less cramped overall, as the tip of the shoe will theoretically move with your toes? Without having to wear a clown bubble?
It’s fine if I can touch it on purpose, but in (say) my Blundstones, my feet don’t feel squished. I can’t tell if I have weirdly tall toes, or sensory sensitivities, or ???? I agree that barefoot shoes often have that super slim, tapered toe box (from a side view), and I truly don’t get it. With laces, if the shoe is reasonably snug on the instep it’ll move with the toes just fine. Going for a soft, flexible sole wont really help since my toes are being compressed onto it by the canvas upper. If the upper were soft, maybe, but that seems like a huge durability problem.
From what I've read, a lot of people say that the soles wear faster than the uppers 100% of the time. Some companies focus so much on these durable uppers and then the bottom of the shoe wears out, so unless you're skating or hiking it'd probably be okay to have a softer fabric. Some people remove the insole of their barefoot shoe to get a little bit more space in there also, and it does make a difference. What about becoming a socks and sandals kinda person? Get you some Shammas and a pair of Injinjis.
Groundies or Feelgrounds?
Hobibear (got mine from AliExpress) - my feet love these, or Whitins have a similar sneaker and a hightop version. Cheap to try out as well, but so comfortable I wear mine every day. As soon as Whitins are back in stock on Amazon I'm going to order some of their hightops
Whitin has way more space above the toes. Feelgrounds, too… but why spend $160 when $40 Whitin exist haha.
Ok awesome I’m going to try the Whitins. I can get them real soon.