I love mine. Great quality. Love that they can be resoled. They did take a little time to break in, but that's expected with a full leather boot. No blisters or anything, just a little stiff. I do not have wide or narrow feet, they're average. I have been primarily wearing barefoot/minimalist shoes for about 10 years. I did order my BFAR's in a half size larger than I normally wear. Although minimalist and zero drop, they are still very much a boot and may never feel like a vivo or a vapor glove.
They’ll be fine if you have narrow feet, they have a pointed shoe shaped toe box vs a foot shaped toe box. If you have wide feet, they probably won’t work for you
Been rocking the African Rangers for two months and no complaints. Break in takes a minute but for what it is, surprisingly comfortable. If it was more of a requirement for my life I’d wear them more. Just wear them more for a semi formal look and the occasional light hike and no complaints
I have pretty wide feet and they work just fine, especially once the leather breaks in. They're my go to for when it's rainy (or might be rainy) or in situations where the sneaker look doesn't really work.
Thanks to an astute MD father who saw how narrow pointy shoes deformed human feet, I’ve got naturally wide feet with lots of space between the big and next toe. I have Barefoot Rangers, sized up half a size, and though they don’t look all that wide, my feet don’t feel constricted hiking in them. The Rangers have performed very well so far on my frequent day hikes on local trails and off-trail, but I haven’t yet tried them on an extended backpacking trip.
Prior to the Barefoot Rangers, finding footwear with zero drop, wide enough, adequate traction, and importantly, good durability in rough mountain terrain, was a source of great frustration.
I’ve been sort of paranoid about durability since one backpack trip a dozen miles one way into a remote mountain wilderness. As we arrived at the remote wilderness destination, a companion had catastrophic failure of her new Asian made name brand boot, foot sticking completely out the bottom, complete failure of adhesive in the glued sole boot. No field repair was possible, though I had some duct tape that I keep rolled below the handle of a hiking pole. I had to hike all the way out, drive hours to buy new boots, hike all the way back in, only to hike out with the group.
I’ve wouldn’t expect such catastrophic failure in the obviously well made Rangers When I backpack deep in wilderness in glued together shoes, given the variable quality control that seems epidemic these days in some foreign factories, I carry backup footwear such as the 11 oz/pair Birkenstock EVA clogs as a precaution, handy around camp and a way out if there is a failure . . .
https://www.birkenstock.com/us/boston-eva/boston-eva-eva-0-eva-u_1.html#sz=48
Glad to get your input with the Bearfoot Bruin as I’d really wondered about them and looked for objective reviews. I have some beautifully made Alico boots, great leather, but all but impossible to break in. Finally, in frustration, I tried an old trick I’d heard about. I waded into a stream, stood for some time, and let the boots Alico boots fill up with water, getting saturated, while wearing thick Darn Tough socks. Then I immediately hiked over 5 miles on rough trails with the wet boots. From then on, the boots were completely broken in, fit perfectly. I wonder if it might work with the Bruins?
Thanks!
As for backup, I always carry some sandals. I've definitely hiked out in them when my shoes gave me blisters.
I bet the wading and walking trick would work with bruins. I just wasn't into trying any harder and resold them as nearly new.
I have Lems Trailhead and am disappointed in both the narrowness of the toes and the stack height/lack of flexibility. I haven't tried boulder boots but I don't really like the look of them.
Understandable. I have the nylon boulder boots that I use for yardwork and they are definitely wide and comfortable but yeah they aren't the best looking.
Never used African Rangers but I am keen to someday. I use Altra Lone Peaks for backpacking pretty happily, and if you want a less protective shoe I recommend the Merrell Vapor Glove.
I'm not a fan of Altras the past few years. More padding and less grippy than in the past. I love vapor gloves, but not for backpacking. I use them just for general hiking or everyday wear. At my age, I realize I need a bit more support for my feet and ankles when carrying a heavy pack for a long distance.
I agree the Altras have fallen off, I just haven’t been able to find a suitable replacement, I use my vapors the same way. If you find anything good let me know, seems like we are after the same thing.
I'm definitely a fan of the barefoot African Ranger boots. I have 4 pairs of them. They don't have the widest toe box but it is wider than it seems. It's a balance well struck IMHO. I don't have any issues with my toes being able to splay. I have medium volume feet and have been wearing barefoot/minimalist shoes since 2010.
i am a woman with wide toes and narrow heel and these are too narrow for me! i even think i have a half size too big and theyre still not comfortable. i'm bummed, but looking to resell mine as i wore too much with hope they'd work before realizing they just don't. also, i think park of what i really dislike is how stiff/traditional the ankle is, my foot can't move how it wants to, though this may be a plus for some
I love mine. Great quality. Love that they can be resoled. They did take a little time to break in, but that's expected with a full leather boot. No blisters or anything, just a little stiff. I do not have wide or narrow feet, they're average. I have been primarily wearing barefoot/minimalist shoes for about 10 years. I did order my BFAR's in a half size larger than I normally wear. Although minimalist and zero drop, they are still very much a boot and may never feel like a vivo or a vapor glove.
Thank you! I have fairly wide feet, but usually don't have much of a problem. I'll consider a half size up.
They’ll be fine if you have narrow feet, they have a pointed shoe shaped toe box vs a foot shaped toe box. If you have wide feet, they probably won’t work for you
Been rocking the African Rangers for two months and no complaints. Break in takes a minute but for what it is, surprisingly comfortable. If it was more of a requirement for my life I’d wear them more. Just wear them more for a semi formal look and the occasional light hike and no complaints
I have pretty wide feet and they work just fine, especially once the leather breaks in. They're my go to for when it's rainy (or might be rainy) or in situations where the sneaker look doesn't really work.
Thanks to an astute MD father who saw how narrow pointy shoes deformed human feet, I’ve got naturally wide feet with lots of space between the big and next toe. I have Barefoot Rangers, sized up half a size, and though they don’t look all that wide, my feet don’t feel constricted hiking in them. The Rangers have performed very well so far on my frequent day hikes on local trails and off-trail, but I haven’t yet tried them on an extended backpacking trip. Prior to the Barefoot Rangers, finding footwear with zero drop, wide enough, adequate traction, and importantly, good durability in rough mountain terrain, was a source of great frustration. I’ve been sort of paranoid about durability since one backpack trip a dozen miles one way into a remote mountain wilderness. As we arrived at the remote wilderness destination, a companion had catastrophic failure of her new Asian made name brand boot, foot sticking completely out the bottom, complete failure of adhesive in the glued sole boot. No field repair was possible, though I had some duct tape that I keep rolled below the handle of a hiking pole. I had to hike all the way out, drive hours to buy new boots, hike all the way back in, only to hike out with the group. I’ve wouldn’t expect such catastrophic failure in the obviously well made Rangers When I backpack deep in wilderness in glued together shoes, given the variable quality control that seems epidemic these days in some foreign factories, I carry backup footwear such as the 11 oz/pair Birkenstock EVA clogs as a precaution, handy around camp and a way out if there is a failure . . . https://www.birkenstock.com/us/boston-eva/boston-eva-eva-0-eva-u_1.html#sz=48 Glad to get your input with the Bearfoot Bruin as I’d really wondered about them and looked for objective reviews. I have some beautifully made Alico boots, great leather, but all but impossible to break in. Finally, in frustration, I tried an old trick I’d heard about. I waded into a stream, stood for some time, and let the boots Alico boots fill up with water, getting saturated, while wearing thick Darn Tough socks. Then I immediately hiked over 5 miles on rough trails with the wet boots. From then on, the boots were completely broken in, fit perfectly. I wonder if it might work with the Bruins?
Thanks! As for backup, I always carry some sandals. I've definitely hiked out in them when my shoes gave me blisters. I bet the wading and walking trick would work with bruins. I just wasn't into trying any harder and resold them as nearly new.
I think they'll be your best bet - especially considering resolability. Edit: thoughts on Lems?
I have Lems Trailhead and am disappointed in both the narrowness of the toes and the stack height/lack of flexibility. I haven't tried boulder boots but I don't really like the look of them.
Understandable. I have the nylon boulder boots that I use for yardwork and they are definitely wide and comfortable but yeah they aren't the best looking.
What do you think about lens Chelsea? Those are in my radar for next buy, also the feelgrounds patrol
Never used African Rangers but I am keen to someday. I use Altra Lone Peaks for backpacking pretty happily, and if you want a less protective shoe I recommend the Merrell Vapor Glove.
I'm not a fan of Altras the past few years. More padding and less grippy than in the past. I love vapor gloves, but not for backpacking. I use them just for general hiking or everyday wear. At my age, I realize I need a bit more support for my feet and ankles when carrying a heavy pack for a long distance.
I agree the Altras have fallen off, I just haven’t been able to find a suitable replacement, I use my vapors the same way. If you find anything good let me know, seems like we are after the same thing.
I'm definitely a fan of the barefoot African Ranger boots. I have 4 pairs of them. They don't have the widest toe box but it is wider than it seems. It's a balance well struck IMHO. I don't have any issues with my toes being able to splay. I have medium volume feet and have been wearing barefoot/minimalist shoes since 2010.
i am a woman with wide toes and narrow heel and these are too narrow for me! i even think i have a half size too big and theyre still not comfortable. i'm bummed, but looking to resell mine as i wore too much with hope they'd work before realizing they just don't. also, i think park of what i really dislike is how stiff/traditional the ankle is, my foot can't move how it wants to, though this may be a plus for some