WHITIN Men's Minimalist Trail Running Shoes for Optimal Barefoot Feel W20

You can truly feel the breeze through these shoes with average to thin socks. I love it. My feet are always hot and sweaty. Which Segways into my only minor issue with the shoes. And to their credit, I believe my sweaty feet wear out MOST insoles more rapidly than other folks feet. lol! Also I think the insoles are designed to let you feel the ground after they’re “broken-in”, which is what I want. And they are available for replacement for like $2.99, so I’m not complaining. Just informing. The rest of this long review is all positive. The insoles are my only small con, see the last photo. They halfway wore out in 3 months of extremely heavy use. So maybe it’s almost a feature and not a flaw. You want to feel the ground? Keep your insoles. Don’t mind feeling it or not? Buy replacements. I’ll keep mine till they fall apart. These shoes have acted as my one and only pair of shoes. I mean no other shoes used at all except slides occasionally for convenience. Any time I actually want to move around or walk/run efficiently, these shoes and only these are worn. I can stop on a dime/turn on a dime oh so comfortably. I’ve been working and exercising both indoors/outdoors alike, and enjoying leisure, day in and day out in these shoes. This is my second pair! I wish the grey was darker but who cares. They are THAT good. The other ones are still great. I’ve just dedicated them to the work at the construction site and the outdoors. Because they are SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE than work boots(obviously). I love sneaking around(OSHA) in them on the job site. Another worker was walking by and my feet were at his eye-level. In passing, he poked my big toe and laughed! Lmbo. You’re technically supposed to wear puncture resistant, steel toed boots. But I’ve been doing end stage HVAC construction so it’s easy to stay safe. Just watch out for occasional nails and metal shards. I bet I’m more comfortable in my actual physical shoes than anyone else there! I wouldn't even call this a gripe, because I’m keeping them. But the “dark grey” color is not dark. I’m tempted to return them and get black with gum sole, but I don’t like gum soles so I think I’ll keep them. They look great. Love the black strings and blue accent design on the sides. Such a great pair of shoes for the price. Even if they did cost more from what I can tell, they’d be worth it. Perhaps I’ll review again or update how long they last. [Amazon prompted to review the “slipperiness”] They aren’t slippery at all to me! A 26 year old, average weight male. I went from Addidas with a sole smooth as butter! I would slip as soon as there was enough rain to coat the bottom of my shoes. So immediately after it started raining. These have phenomenal grip. I use them for every day use rain or shine. They have also performed wonderfully on my trail hikes here and there as well! I love feeling the rocks, and tree roots beneath my feet. You’ll even feel the subtle crunch of leaves and pine straw beneath your feet. They fit great too. No surprise. I have worn US size 11 in men’s for all my tennis shoes since I was a teen. I didn’t check a conversion chart or anything. Just ordered 11s and they fit exactly as I would hope. Couldn’t be happier.

This is my first foray into the world of minimalist shoes as an adult, but these shoes remind me of the complete joy I used to feel at age 10 on Saturday mornings walking alongside my dad, fishing pole in hand, loping along silently down a lakeside trail in 100% leather moccassins. I'm no longer that boy. I'm 52, with flat feet and 40 pounds too heavy. I've had two knee surguries, the last of which ended with my doctor saying "It's not if you need a knee replacement, but when. Tell me when you're ready." The inside surface of my right kneecap -- the part that rubs against the rest of the joint -- was scoped to reveal that it looks like its cartilage, which is supposed to be smooth, looks like it has been through a cheese grater. I wore hard "cookie" orthotics in my shoes as a kid, have bought hefty arch supporting insoles for all my shoes all my life, and work 12 hour days outside on Saturdays in boots that have $400 Good Feet Store hard orthotics in them. I say all this not to exhaust the reader or make this product review about me, but instead to say that although I was a cross country runner in my early teens, I am clearly no athlete anymore. If minimalist shoes should hurt anyone, they should hurt me. And some did. I also ordered a couple other brands when I ordered these. They were not comfortable. These are. They fit my feet nicely, and that's saying something for me. I have narrow feet, but have always worn B to D widths because my feet get extremely hot, so I like the extra air space. The sole padding on these shoes is just enough. The tread is good, even in mud. The flexibility is outstanding. And even though the arch supports are nowhere near as high as the orthotics I am accustomed to wearing, I find that they work fine. I walk three miles a day in these. I hope to lose some weight so I can try jogging in them -- something I haven't done in 20 years. Another thing I like about these shoes is the attention to detail in making the heel and tongue substantial, unlike other brands I ordered and returned at the same time I was testing these. The heel rises high enough and is cupped enough to prevent my heel from rubbing. This is actually amazing to me, and unprecedented as far as I can remember. My narrow feet and low arches have always caused my shoes to have no purchase on anything to hold them back from rubbing on the heel. As a result, the inside of the heel of every pair of shoes I've ever owned has had its inner padding rubbed off within months. That's not going to happen with these. Another point of quality in these shoes is the tongue. Other brands I ordered seemed to sacrifice so much to reduce shoe weight that they relegated the tongue to a limp flap of material that would wrinkle every time I laced up the shoe, which translates to rubbing on the instep and also allowing the laces to blow through and rub directly on my sock. Not so with the tongue on these shoes. They have just enough height and padding to prevent wrinkling and rubbing. I'm surprised to find that after an initial few days when I had to adjust my three-mile walks to the new gait that minimalist shoes promote, my body acclimated nicely. I found myself with muscles growing in my calves, arches, and ankles, and my normal aches from a bad knee and arthritic big toe disappeared. An unexpected bonus is that these shoes also make great slippers for padding around the house, which I usually do in bare feet in summer but doesn't work in winter. I normally hate slippers of any kind even in winter because again, my feet get very hot very easily, and I am prone to get sores between my toes when my feet get too hot for too long. Heat isn't much of a problem in these shoes, though, even in summer, so I'm looking forward to December. I am astounded, actually, that I could get a pair of shoes this comfortable for the price. Twice before in my life I've bought a second identical pair of shoes when I found a pair that I really, really liked. That's how hard I am to fit. I shop for shoes for weeks, sometimes months, before buying. But I think I'm going to buy a second or maybe even a third pair of these. Your mileage may vary, but for me, they are perfect.

I have looked at minimalist shoes for years and just could not convince myself to spend between hundred and two hundred dollars. Then I found "Whitin", looking at the shoe and seeing the reviews maybe for the price this is good quality. But then again, the price was a third of those brand name shoes that received far lower reviews than Whitin's. Which surprised me, how can the quality be better but cost loss? Well, I took the plunge purchased a pair in May 2021 and fell in love with them. I wear them everyday, they are the only shoe I want to wear. If I could get away with it, I would wear at work. However, last time I looked they don't make these in steel toes. I wondered how they would hold up on rocky areas since here in Tennessee we have a lot of rock. If you ever walked on small pieces of granite rock bare foot or with a thin shoe you would how punishing these rocks can be. Not to say that river rock is not hard on your feet but granite has sharp edges that can give even a good hiking boot a fit. Well, I am here to say that these shoes can handle these rocks and with comfort. Don't get me wrong, you know the rocks are there but you don't have that sharp pain from the rock digging into your foot. These shoes are tuff wearing them for two months everyday has proven to me that these shoes are worth ever penny I spend on them. The bonus is, they are a third of the cost of the big name brands. Now, you may be wondering why I only gave the shoes four stars. Well, the only reason is, the rear heel strap broke. Putting the shoe on and pulling the heel end on it just broke. I would have just kept wearing the shoes but I know Amazon has a great return policy and I love these shoes so much that I wanted another pair. In these last four days it has been hard not having my Whitin's and having to wear my running shoes again has hurt. Yes, that is how much I love this shoe. Oh, by the way, I have bought extra pairs now to allow me the comfort of not only different colors but if I have another shoe fail I will have backups. Side note: If you are a runner yes, they work great once you learn to run on the ball of your foot and not the heel as you would with standard running shoes. Even running trails in these shoes is not a problems. Size maybe an issue if you don't like to wear socks, I wear a size 10 but they are a little loose without socks.

These shoes restored my quality of life. Prior to finding these shoes my feet did more than just hurt or become sore, my feet burned like I was walking on hot pavement on a 100 degree day. Tried so many shoes. I ran in high school, then lucky enough to get a college scholarship for track and cross country running. I was very particular about what shoes I wore for training and racing. Always researched and took my time trying on and testing so many shoes before finding the perfect shoes for my need. Took care of my feet. Never had issues. Then I turned 50 years old and it was like my feet were dying. Not being overly dramatic when I say my feet felt like they were dying. The pain was horrible in so many ways on both feet with h no injury or clear reason for the never ending pain. Saw several doctors and none could find any problem to be causing the pain. I tried so many shoes and inserts and every treatment I could find. Nothing helped. Maybe this is silly, but when you find shoes that feel like they were made for you and got you through miles and miles of training and racing year after year, and then suddenly I found myself not even able to wear them, or any shoe, to just the grocery store and back home without deep burning and pain it emotionally sucker punches you. It’s like a life long friend constantly hurting you and you have absolutely no clue why. It’s like a does sound silly. But either way nothing helped and I felt hopeless. When I found these cheap (cost wise) shoes on Amazon I had never heard of Within shoes. I had nothing to lose so I bought a pair. I can’t state this enough—The shoes weren’t a magical cure for my pain. I didn’t put them on for the first time and everything was all better. My feet still burned and hurt. But I could tell a difference in how these shoes fit and how they felt. So, I gave them a chance and kept wearing them. After a month of wearing them my feet actually hurt less and the burning was getting better also. After two months my feet didn’t hurt or burn at all. Not kidding or exaggerating at all. I went from not being able to walk for a matter of minutes due to pain to being on my feet all day without any pain after wearing these shoes for two months. I struggled to find the exact difference or reason for the change or why these shoes helped when nothing else would. All I could come up with is that over the years my feet became so insulated, protected and forced to conform to modern shoe design that my feet were weakened and worn down to something resembling a bare, rounded off peg that my legs powered without any participation from my feet. Like I said early, it’s like my feet were dying from lack of use even though I kept in shape and obviously constantly used them. Over those two months of wearing these Within shoes my feet relearned their natural form and rebuilt muscles and more to strengthen my feet. The Within bare, zero drop shoes gave my feet room and the ability to heal themselves. Not declaring anything a miracle cure. The shoes simply allowing my feet to function as designed. I’ve bought four pairs of these shoes so far and it’s been almost two years since I first started wearing them and my feet have never felt better. No pain. No burning. I tell everyone I can about these shoes. Unfortunately most don’t try them. But my father-in-law (in his 80s) did buy a pair and he declared them the best shoes he’s ever worn. His feet and lower leg pain had been an issue for over 25 years. Along with walking pain he had trouble driving long distances due to the pain. But now he’s pain free. He gave away every shoe he owned (he had a lot of like new shoes he couldn’t wear) and bought over ten pairs of various styles of Within shoes. That’s a good example of what I mean when I say these shoes restored my quality of living. These shoes certainly increased his quality of living. He continues to tell everyone these are the best shoes he’s ver worn and will never wear anything different. I have to say that I agree with him 100%. Thank you Within!

So far I just cannot believe these shoes cost what they cost- $27. I recently moved to an area (the PNW) that is fantastic for hiking, and being a cyclist I decided I wanted to do some cross-training in that regard. So I started doing regular hikes and through that and seeing everyone else running on the trails all the time, I decided I might like to try trail running (though I've never wanted to do such an abhorrent thing before). That said, I didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for a high quality running shoe if for whatever reason it didn't work out (I hated it/my feet broke simultaneously/I hated it/my leg fell off/I hated it). So after some limited research on 'zero drop' and 'barefoot' and other things I happened upon these shoes. They seemed to have a LOT of good reviews, so I thought why not, I'm not losing much if I spend the $27. And if I like it I'll just buy better shoes later. Well 1 run and multiple hikes later, I really can't imagine making a better decision (at least so far). When the shoes arrived I was honestly VERY impressed by how nice they looked, and how well-made they felt. After wearing them around the house (and feeling how comfortable they were), I could only assume that either they would fail me running in some way or fall apart completely instantly. How else could such a price be attained? Lo and behold, so far they have held up. I've only been able to run once so far (as a knee injury from cycling has slowed me down), but have also hiked in them a couple of times as well. They are VERY comfortable. I'm not sure I have ever in my life worn a pair of shoes for the first time and not had SOME issue, however slight. No issues with these. They are also surprisingly grippy... when I first looked at the rubber on the bottom I thought well that's not really going to give me much traction on all these wet roots/muddy trails we have here in the Portland area. But they surprised again and I've had zero issues with traction, even on steep inclines/declines (of course if your foot placement is idiotic, then yeah, you might have an issue...and a wet root is a wet root, period). The lacing system is great, with no tying involved, just push the button, pull the laces and let go of the button. There's also a handy velcro tab on the end of the laces to stick them to the top of the shoe so they don't flop around. Basically, I couldn't have asked for anything more from a pair of running shoes, even for 2x or 3x the price, much less the price I paid. Yes, coming from non-zero drop shoes, your feet/ankles have to get used to the situation, so be prepared for that if you are and don't go crazy at first. On fit, I wear a size 12 shoe in general, and ordered size 12. They are basically perfect. Toes very very near the tip so at first I worried it would be an issue but after one use my fears were assuaged as I have plenty of space in the toe box. I will edit my review to include comments on longevity/durability later on, but for now, as it stands, I really can't fault this awesomely priced pair of shoes.

Bought these to replace my Vibrams and my Body Glove 3T as an all-rounder for outdoor sports. Was super hopeful that they would work for parkour, walking disc golf and sprint disc golf. What I got is basically a pair of socks glued onto a lugged rubber sole with some shock cord lacing. They're SUPER stretchy. I had to return the pair I ordered at normal size and go down half a size. At first, the smaller size fit perfectly but once I got out into warm climates and warm surfaces, the fit grew more and more sloppy. To prepare for this review, I have used these to: disc golf (walk style and sprint style), hike, rock scramble, parkour, boulder, beach walk, trail run, offroad run, urban walk, move furniture, serve & bartend. What I like: Super lightweight & breathable, comfortable to wear all day, with/without sock or insole. Easily hand-washed, comfortable to work and run in on multiple surfaces. These shoes work very well on sand and in aquatic environments. They might make ok dive booties but I'm no expert there. What I dislike: Zero confidence in footing during athletic activities beyond plain old running. Upper is too stretchy to provide any sort of support during movements required in sports like parkour or disc golf--the heel cup and rand, in particular. DO NOT use these for walking disc golf unless you really enjoy breaking ankles and cruciate ligaments. Scrambling and bouldering movements were far less than confident. What I Was Surprised By: They look really cool. The gold accents kind of made me think of the First Civilization from Assassin's Creed (they don't live up to the legacy, sadly). They also handle sand extremely well, and downhill hiking/running. They are very conducive to front of house food service work, I found. (This is not me saying these are an established substitute for slip-safe soles or anything, just that I work somewhere that these are acceptable to work in and they performed there very satisfyingly.) What I Was Disappointed By: The flex of the upper material is dreadful. I've had three different styles of Vibram Fivefingers and Body Glove 3T thus far and each of which were far more amenable to my spectrum of cross-training, so these really sidelined me with very clear hindrances to otherwise instinctual movements. I can't trust these to move WITH my foot; fatal accidents could ensue. Bottom Line: These look sporty, but fail to live up to it. They're great & affordable for very basic working, running and aquatic activities, but if you're looking for a set of minimal shoes you can trust in functional athletics like parkour or rock sports, save up and look elsewhere.

Surprisingly good shoes. Bicycling 8,000 miles a year have left me with "tailor's bunions" that hurt like hell when walking or running. The wide toe box of these shoes and the barefoot configuration totally relieved the pain. These $40 shoes are way better than the $700 orthotics I just bought for my running shoes.

I tend not to spend time writing reviews, but I am so happy with these I felt obligated. I think my wife is getting sick of me talking about how much I like these shoes! I’m a 44 year old male, 5’11” around 190. I’ve been fairly active for years, running lifting, hiking etc. I’ve had some pretty bad plantar fasciitis issues lately so I’ve been trying all kinds of stuff to see what works. Which, is how I ended up with these. I was hearing about the need to strengthen my feet, and one way to accomplish that is by sometimes wearing a flatter shoe. I gotta say, these are literally the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. After buying them we went on a big road trip to multiple national parks and I hiked all over with these things without issues. They feel so good and form to my feet so well. At this point, I hate when I have to wear other types of shoes anymore. The way I describe it is like this, normal shoes make your feet do what they want, but your feet make these shoes do what they want. It’s such a better feeling. I’m not saying these cured my plantar fasciitis, I’m still working on that. I also don’t run in these, only walk and hike in them. But, I bought two more pairs in case they stop making them. That’s how much I love them. If you’re considering trying some barefoot type shoes, don’t hesitate! A final note, these breathe so well. I can wear them all day without my feet sweating.

Estos tenis están bien bonitos y son muy cómodos los compre a la talla y quedaron perfectos. Muy recomendables

I love these shoes! I have had such a hard time finding shoes that fit my feet well. The wide toe box on these fit me great. When looking into barefoot/minimalist shoes I quickly realized that they are incredibly expensive. These shoes are a good price. They are zero drop and very flexible. They really do check off all of the boxes for a minimalist shoe. Now the couple of things that I don't like. These are not major issues more just some things that I am not a huge fan of. 1) the insoles are very thick and padded. They are actually around 9mm thick and even have some arch support. This is pretty much against everything that you are told to look for in barefoot shoes. Luckily with the insoles removed these are great. The stack height gets reduced down to 7mm with the insoles removed (including the treads which are around 3mm deep) which is pretty good. Now for issue 2) this is a minor one but the glue that holds the sole to the shoe is very visible around the edges. This is not a big deal but it would look better if this glue was not visible. It might be more visible because I bought black shoes and the glue is white but I believe it should be less visible overall. With all that being said I love these shoes. They are wide, comfortable, very flexible and breathe well. I will definitely be buying more when I need too. So far I have over 60km of walking in these shoes over concrete, gravel, mulch, mud and even some climbing over fallen trees and they have been great the whole time.

Wondering if they have a water proof version 🤔

Great shoe. Toe box could be slightly wider though

I bought these for a 17km trail run and was pleasantly surprised. Tests before the run showed the rubber sole was surprisingly sticky even while climbing steep hills of wet grass. Then came the 17km race in a trail of mostly dirt and roots, but also parts of sand, gravel and mud. Again, those shoes performed surprisingly well. I was actually shocked, in some parts of the trail, at how well these were holding and at how safe I felt wearing them in that trail. I definitely won't need anything else for trail running.