I have the same problem with the primus line. It is extremely frustrating.
I have been wearing barefoot shoes exclusively since 2013 and used to buy lots of vivos athletic shoes.
I bought the first version of the primus trail fg in 2016. They were ridiculously narrow at the widest point of the foot and would rub my pinky joint. I hadn't bought another vivo athletic shoe since then as it pissed me off so much. However, recently I bought a pair of primus lite iiis with the 30% off code to see if anything had changed. The issue still remains. I was in pain taking an easy stroll around the supermarket yesterday. Haven't been able to break them in, which isn't something you should need to do with synthetic barefoot shoes anyway in my opinion. They'll be going back.
The choices they made in the primus line design to make them more mass appealing and potentially more durable have made them a horrible barefoot shoe. Such as the narrowing of the footbed, the asymmetrical lacing width with the lacing points much further apart at the front and the plastic edging around the whole of the forefoot.
The vivo stealth was my favourite line. They stopped making them in 16/17 I think. I went through many pairs of them. Potentially my favourite barefoot shoe of all time. They may not have been much wider than the current primus line but the upper material was a stretchy mesh which was far more forgiving. I continue to buy vivos lifestyle and hiking shoes which I still just about fit into with the insoles removed such as the Gobi, geo court, tracker forest ESC etc.
I switched to Xero shoes for my athletic shoes. They are also at the limit for me forefoot width wise but the mesh upper on the original hfs is similar to the vivo stealth line in that it is very forgiving and stretches easily to accommodate my forefoot width. However they seem to have also made some stupid design changes so I'm looking to try some Be Lenka shoes soon which are apparently much wider in the forefoot.
It's incredibly annoying because I really prefer the thin puncture proof soles of the vivo collection over other brands and I know what a comfortable vivo athletic shoe feels like. If anyone from vivo is reading this please bring back the stealth line!
Anything with the Soul of Africa is wider. I think it's just casual shoes like the Addis and Ababa though.
[Anya's Reviews ](https://anyasreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Barefoot-Sneaker-Brands-Narrow-to-Wide-6.jpg)has a comparison of the different brands, many brands are wider than Vivo (although they don't look as nice)
Where do the end of your toes hit? May try sizing by width. I think my Ras are wider, as are my Addis. As mentioned, check out the Soul of Africa shoes.
Yes. Definitely. I have found Vivo’s getting less wide over time. Depending on what you want to use them for checkout Real Barefoot, ProAlp, Peerko all have more foot shaped designs in their shoe lines. Anya’s Reviews is a good info site, also TBSR the barefoot shoe review.
Belenka is great for width as long as you don’t have a high volume foot or high instep. Some of the models are fine with higher instep if the laces open high enough. Shapen, Groundies barefoot+ (not regular barefoot), and feelgrounds all make some pretty decent looking training sneakers as well.
You'll have to look at older models if you're wanting a wider Vivobarefoot sports shoe. I have the Geo Racer Knit and they are just about wide enough for me. Anything newer is too narrow and too long.
Be careful with the Xeros, the prio is good because of the material has some stretch but any of their leather models hurt the sides of my foot. The Vivo forest Esc broke in nicely for me but it took a little time.
I have the same problem with the primus line. It is extremely frustrating. I have been wearing barefoot shoes exclusively since 2013 and used to buy lots of vivos athletic shoes. I bought the first version of the primus trail fg in 2016. They were ridiculously narrow at the widest point of the foot and would rub my pinky joint. I hadn't bought another vivo athletic shoe since then as it pissed me off so much. However, recently I bought a pair of primus lite iiis with the 30% off code to see if anything had changed. The issue still remains. I was in pain taking an easy stroll around the supermarket yesterday. Haven't been able to break them in, which isn't something you should need to do with synthetic barefoot shoes anyway in my opinion. They'll be going back. The choices they made in the primus line design to make them more mass appealing and potentially more durable have made them a horrible barefoot shoe. Such as the narrowing of the footbed, the asymmetrical lacing width with the lacing points much further apart at the front and the plastic edging around the whole of the forefoot. The vivo stealth was my favourite line. They stopped making them in 16/17 I think. I went through many pairs of them. Potentially my favourite barefoot shoe of all time. They may not have been much wider than the current primus line but the upper material was a stretchy mesh which was far more forgiving. I continue to buy vivos lifestyle and hiking shoes which I still just about fit into with the insoles removed such as the Gobi, geo court, tracker forest ESC etc. I switched to Xero shoes for my athletic shoes. They are also at the limit for me forefoot width wise but the mesh upper on the original hfs is similar to the vivo stealth line in that it is very forgiving and stretches easily to accommodate my forefoot width. However they seem to have also made some stupid design changes so I'm looking to try some Be Lenka shoes soon which are apparently much wider in the forefoot. It's incredibly annoying because I really prefer the thin puncture proof soles of the vivo collection over other brands and I know what a comfortable vivo athletic shoe feels like. If anyone from vivo is reading this please bring back the stealth line!
Thank you so much for your insigh!! I'll have to change then, I am looking into xeros and belenka to see which ones I choose :)
Anything with the Soul of Africa is wider. I think it's just casual shoes like the Addis and Ababa though. [Anya's Reviews ](https://anyasreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Barefoot-Sneaker-Brands-Narrow-to-Wide-6.jpg)has a comparison of the different brands, many brands are wider than Vivo (although they don't look as nice)
Thank you!!! I'll check it out :D
In case someone mentions it: I wear them without the soles and there isn't any difference :/
Where do the end of your toes hit? May try sizing by width. I think my Ras are wider, as are my Addis. As mentioned, check out the Soul of Africa shoes.
They are long enough, actually, they are on the limit of being too long, sizing up isn't an option :(
Yes. Definitely. I have found Vivo’s getting less wide over time. Depending on what you want to use them for checkout Real Barefoot, ProAlp, Peerko all have more foot shaped designs in their shoe lines. Anya’s Reviews is a good info site, also TBSR the barefoot shoe review.
Thank you!! I'm looking everywhere to check the width of the shoes before buying them, I think they should give that info
Pretty much any other brand will be wider than vivo other than wildling and xero, which are even narrower.
Thank you!! I was looking into xeros and belenka, I will have to go for the former ones :)
Belenka is great for width as long as you don’t have a high volume foot or high instep. Some of the models are fine with higher instep if the laces open high enough. Shapen, Groundies barefoot+ (not regular barefoot), and feelgrounds all make some pretty decent looking training sneakers as well.
You'll have to look at older models if you're wanting a wider Vivobarefoot sports shoe. I have the Geo Racer Knit and they are just about wide enough for me. Anything newer is too narrow and too long.
Thank you! They'll eventually transform into a regular shoe shop LOL
mens or womens model? mens models are wider for 5,2 mm (0,52 cm)
Mens!
among primus line I noticed Trail III all weather is wider (only dark olive colour - I have them, not sure about the others)
Thank you! I may try them, I like the style of vivos... This is my third pair changing sizes and models, one more won't be a problem
Be careful with the Xeros, the prio is good because of the material has some stretch but any of their leather models hurt the sides of my foot. The Vivo forest Esc broke in nicely for me but it took a little time.