I've walked the Camino in barefoot shoes

[Remonstam]

Barefoot shoes on the Camino

There wasn't much information about wearing barefoot shoes on the camino but I loved my barefoot experience so I’ve trained and experimented, and I’ve experienced 460 km to Finisterre on barefoot shoes.
In short: I had a great time with them feeling the earth, rocks, twigs, and it has added value to my experience. I did grind away much of the soles and they were eventually almost unbearably uncomfortable.

Introduction
It’s been about nine months since I’ve started walking in barefoot type shoes, I have about five shoes from the brand vivobarefoot. After an injury to my heel last year I found out about these shoes and strengthening my feet in general. To my regret I found barely any information about experience with barefoot shoes on the Camino. So I’ve started experimenting with different models and long walks.

Physical preparation
I've trained walking in barefoot shoes by walking 1,5 hours daily for three months. When I found and developed my preferred way of walking I started walking longer distances. I grew comfortable with a landing in between a forefoot and heel strike: My natural way seems to lightly touch the ground with my heel and then transfer and completely land with the forefoot. I found that a complete forefoot landing was not flexible enough on uneven terrain where it would result in bumping my heel or the middle of my foot in an uncontrolled manner.
However comfortable I grew on super thin soles and concrete, the long distances required more induction for an impact from flesh on asphalt.

The Shoes
I’ve hiked and trained mostly in ‘Vivobarefoot Primus light III’s but I’ve bought ‘Vivobarefoot Tracker decon low FG2’ a month in advance of my camino.I’ve even left the thermal insoles in as that was just the amount of cushioning I needed to be able to walk all day on rough or hard terrain. Before my camino I’ve walked roughly 140 km on them and I found the beginning of wearing on the sole. Tracker Decon in particular but also other FG (Firm ground) soles with some lugs or rubber studs should work alike for this purpose. The added thickness to the sole should help enough with the impact of walking.

The experience
The first two thirds of my 460 km everything went great. I walked exclusively on my Tracker Decon’s, with great delight of feeling the ground and I even found that while climbing or descending mountains it feels like wearing climbing shoes. It seems that the shoes allow your feet and toes to wrap around rocks. After something like 300km the rubber studs on the soles had on the part of my middle foot (see photo) almost completely disappeared and on long days the last few hours were increasingly painful, then the last day making the end of the world in Finisterre and back to the Albergue it had become unbearable to the point I could not distract myself from it often. But resting a bit more underway with feet higher in the air helped in a few minutes to alleviate the feet. It is especially the forefoot that starts with a numb tingling feeling that increases in pain as km pass by. Also compared to others in normal hiking shoes or my past experiences: While descending mountains I think I’ve found that my knees were taking way more energy. It makes sense considering your legs and the foot of your arch act like a spring in landing in barefoot shoes, so that is extra punishment for the knees. I'm a bike courier and my knees are trained and strong. If you have sensitive knees perhaps its good to take some precautions.

What would I do on future Caminos?
Looking back I had a lot of fun and added experience to my trip by wearing barefoot shoes! I wear barefoot shoes exclusively and I wouldn't trade the experience of walking. I have to admit it was stressful to see the sole grinding away and to feel levels of discomfort increasing. But I had only three relatively small blisters, and my feet felt strong. I would probably choose minimalist footwear that is wide enough for my feet yet with a sole that has some more thickness to grind away and perhaps bring light backup barefoot shoes for the rocky terrains as it was so much fun.

It’s no joke for foot health on the long run to be untrained on a trip like the Camino.
But I would recommend my experience, try for yourself with barefoot shoes, but make sure you have a backup plan and that you are trained, also make full days of walking to test your gear. I hope my experience can help you prepare a bit better.

Feel free to ask any questions,
Buen Camino,

Remon Stam

 

[Bradypus]

Seems like an oxymoron - you can be barefoot or you can wear shoes. I wish someone would invent a more accurate term. Been a particular annoyance for me for years!

 

[Remonstam]

Seems like an oxymoron - you can be barefoot or you can wear shoes. I wish someone would invent a more accurate term. Been a particular annoyance for me for years!

Agreed, I dislike to use the term for this specific sort of minimalist shoewear. But using it and reaching one or two people doing research for their trip is a way to achieve my purpose.

I think the word shows an ugly side of hype and marketing. But then again reaching more people is a positive power too, for example I would probably not know of its existence without the hype.

 

[trecile]

Seems like an oxymoron - you can be barefoot or you can wear shoes. I wish someone would invent a more accurate term. Been a particular annoyance for me for years!

I think that minimalist shoes is a better name.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I have heard of ‘nude clothing’ (shades that are natural and evocative of skin tone), but barefoot shoes is a new one on me!!

Very interesting and informative though!

 

[Tincatinker]

That great hiker and writer John Hillaby always walked in Dunlop plimsolls. The thin rubber soles “kept him connected to the ground”.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Just a few days ago I read about a man, Petr Hlavacek, who recreated Ötzi the Iceman's shoes and tried them out. A news article says (I added the bolding):

According to Hlavacek, these boots offered more contact with the ground’s surface than modern shoes and felt like “walking barefoot, but only better.” The shoes unappealing outward form is compensated by the comfort and practicality which provide protection against hard terrain and different weather extremes.​

A technical article has details:

Reconstructing Ötzi’s shoes | EXARC

Summary: Ötzi the Gletshermummie, Ötzi the Iceman and Tisenjoch are the names we gave the man that walked in the Alps 5,300 years ago. Thanks to the Ötzi museum in Bozen/Bolzano, Italy, I had the opportunity to reconstruct Ötzi’s shoes. For making the shoes I used a flint knife, for both shoes I...

exarc.net

 

[Bradypus]

That great hiker and writer John Hillaby always walked in Dunlop plimsolls. The thin rubber soles “kept him connected to the ground”.

Gravity does the job for me well enough. But then again I weigh a lot more than JH did.

 

[dbier]

Gravity does the job for me well enough. But then again I weigh a lot more than JH did.

Same here. I rely on maximalist heel drop shoes to negotiate my interface with gravity. But then again, of all the things that hurt me on Camino, my feet (and truthfully, my legs, absent my knees and hips) were not among them.

 

[alexwalker]

I once met a young man who walked barefoot. I met him in Galicia, he having walked from Romania, with no money. Slept outside or used donativos. He did 40-60 kms/day... The undersides of his feet were like elephant skin..

 

[Bradypus]

I once met a young man who walked barefoot. I met him in Galicia, he having walked from Romania, with no money. Slept outside or used donativos. He did 40-60 kms/day... The undersides of his feet were like elephant skin..

I first learned about the Caminos from my mother-in-law. In 1985 she walked in a group led by a man who had a religious experience at Lourdes which inspired him to walk barefoot from Paris to Santiago. He didn't insist that everyone followed his example though!

 

[David Tallan]

There is a woman here in Ontario (Sue Kenney, she also has written some Camino books), who walks in barefoot shoes. She cuts the soles out of the shoes so that only the uppers remain and her bare feet are in direct contact with the road/trail surface. She actively promotes this form of barefoot hiking.

 

[trecile]

There is a woman here in Ontario (Sue Kenney, she also has written some Camino books), who walks in barefoot shoes. She cuts the soles out of the shoes so that only the uppers remain and her bare feet are in direct contact with the road/trail surface. She actively promotes this form of barefoot hiking.

What's the point in wearing the shoes at all without soles?

I wear hiking sandals, because I want a sole beneath my feet, and I only need the upper part to hold the soles on.

The BBC show/podcast Sliced Bread covered "barefoot" shoes a while ago.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

What's the point in wearing the shoes at all without soles?

Fashion.

 

[David Tallan]

What's the point in wearing the shoes at all without soles?

I wear hiking sandals, because I want a sole beneath my feet, and I only need the upper part to hold the soles on.

The BBC show/podcast Sliced Bread covered "barefoot" shoes a while ago.

So she could get into those stores that had a policy "no shoes, no shirt, no service". Where possible I believe she goes completely bare feet.

 

[Felice]

I've met 2 people who were using barefoot shoes. Both of them had really really smelly feet. The stench which emanated when they took their shoes off was overpowering.

 

[jpwu]

I have been walking with minimalist shoes for 15 years. FiveFingers, Vivobarefoot, Lems, Joe Nimble and I don't wear anything else. If you step into FiveFingers barefoot, the stench is indeed not hard to cure, so I wear Injinji socks. The contact with Earth is simply great. Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I first learned about the Caminos from my mother-in-law. In 1985 she walked in a group led by a man who had a religious experience at Lourdes which inspired him to walk barefoot from Paris to Santiago. He didn't insist that everyone followed his example though!

I ended up walking barefoot into Villafranca del Bierzo on my 1994, as my army boots had broken and the Spanish replacement boots I could afford ended up being 100% unworkable and worse than nothing at all. There were no reliable pilgrim shops along the Way in those days ...

The first few 100 metres were tough after I ditched them, but I had walked something like 1,650K to that point, and my foot leather was tough enough at that point for it to be OK, and the end of the walk into Villafranca was not too bad.

After that, I got through IIRC three pairs of espadrilles, two into Santiago and a third to get home, all of which wore through on the Camino so that I was next to barefoot from that point onwards, except for the 1-2 days when each pair was new -- though they did provide protection for my toes and heels, which was good enough in context.

They *did* get quite powerfully stinky !!

The most exciting moment was coming across a viper sitting bang in the middle of the Camino -- we stared at each other a bit, then thankfully it peacefully slithered away ...

---

Bottom line ? From personal experience, I'd say that walking on these silly Ways of Saint James with good footwear is more advisable than without.

 

[Brightmore]

Thanks for the super post. Very interesting! I recently switched to bf shoes and wear them casually as I would other shoes and to the gym. I have suffered with achilles tendinitis in the past, but it is never an issue with bf shoes. Also, the widee toe box is helpful to guard against blisters. Thinking of using them for the coastal camimo Portuguese next year. I always double
sock, first layer Injinji socks and thin second layer. Seems to work! Tevas for the evening. I went for Primus Lite III Mens, as I worried the lugs on the other designs would ware quickly on such a long hike.

 

[Bill's_Walking]

I once met a young man who walked barefoot. I met him in Galicia, he having walked from Romania, with no money. Slept outside or used donativos. He did 40-60 kms/day... The undersides of his feet were like elephant skin..

It's got to be something about Galicia. When I walked the Camino Ingles I encountered a barefoot walker.

 

[dfox]

In my humble opinion, folks who require "cushioning" for their feet and/or "stability" of their walks, "barefoot" shoes may not be good for them.

I think barefoot shoes are good for a short distance when I need a "short" reflexology session. ;-)

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

I met a young pilgrim from the Netherlands wearing these same shoes last spring on the Primitivo.
I wonder if this is a "thing" starting out from NW Europe that may be catching on...?
I was quite impressed by the daring, as I find that even my Alta zero-drop is right on the edge of "minimalist" for me.

Anyway, I appreciate hearing your report as my son loves the Vibran 5-toe shoes that were being made for a while, and now that those are not made anymore, he may really like to hear about this brand.
I will look for the shoes in Canada.
buen camino

 

[Kiwi-family]

I recently switched to bf shoes and wear them casually as I would other shoes and to the gym. I have suffered with achilles tendinitis in the past, but it is never an issue with bf shoes.

Curious. I have worn very low drop shoes/sandals or been barefoot my whole life. Having just developed tendinopathy, my physio and a bio-sports mechanist who I am seeing have recommended shoes with a big drop (and an additional wedge right now) in order to unload the Achilles and let it heal. Plus strengthening exercises of course.

 

[Gary Martin]

For my last two Caminos ( 650 and 800 miles) I wore Witten trail runners. I found them much more secure, and more comfortable than the Altus that I had been wearing previously and they were a fraction of the price. The two roughest days were the pass north of Madrid in a foot and a half of snow with broken cobbles underneath and a 29 km day on the San Salvador that was a steep trail over two high passes. I’m not easy on my shoes.
. I’m mystified by the reports of smelly feet. The only problem I’ve had with that was with waterproof Gore-Tex shoes. That was a bad experience.
I did reinforce the eyelids with brass grommets and carry shoe goo to reinforce the soles.
I very much like the shoes, but would recommend purchasing a pair and wearing them out before committing to a camino.
Gary

 

[trecile]

I've met 2 people who were using barefoot shoes. Both of them had really really smelly feet. The stench which emanated when they took their shoes off was overpowering.

Sounds like they weren't wearing socks with their shoes.

 

[dougfitz]

That great hiker and writer John Hillaby always walked in Dunlop plimsolls. The thin rubber soles “kept him connected to the ground”.

IIRC, there was an Australian bushwalking club that required participants in its hikes to wear Dunlop Volleys or equivalent flat soled plimsolls. The rationale was these did less damage to the places they walked than the more aggressive treads of hiking boots.

 

[dick bird]

For the uninitiated, ´plimsolls´ are the now rather old-fashioned term for tennis shoes, current in the UK at least when I was very much younger. They are named for Samuel Plimsoll after whom the plimsoll line on ships is named. He was concerned for the welfare of merchant seamen. Great man.

But they used to pong something awful if you didn´t wear socks.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

And in the US, referring to tennis shoes is another rather old-fashioned name, and seems to be mostly replaced with what we now identify as running or trail runner shoes.

 

[trecile]

But they used to pong something awful if you didn´t wear socks.

Most any shoes or sandals will get stinky when worn consistently without socks.

And in the US, referring to tennis shoes is another rather old-fashioned name, and seems to be mostly replaced with what we now identify as running or trail runner shoes.

Or sneakers.

 

[Bradypus]

IIRC, there was an Australian bushwalking club that required participants in its hikes to wear Dunlop Volleys or equivalent flat soled plimsolls. The rationale was these did less damage to the places they walked than the more aggressive treads of hiking boots.

I have a yellow streak a mile wide when it comes to Aussie wildlife. Personally I'd want something that went a lot higher up the legs and was resistant to fangs. Kevlar chest waders spring to mind....

 

[Brightmore]

Curious. I have worn very low drop shoes/sandals or been barefoot my whole life. Having just developed tendinopathy, my physio and a bio-sports mechanist who I am seeing have recommended shoes with a big drop (and an additional wedge right now) in order to unload the Achilles and let it heal. Plus strengthening exercises of course.

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[Brightmore]

For my last two Caminos ( 650 and 800 miles) I wore Witten trail runners. I found them much more secure, and more comfortable than the Altus that I had been wearing previously and they were a fraction of the price. The two roughest days were the pass north of Madrid in a foot and a half of snow with broken cobbles underneath and a 29 km day on the San Salvador that was a steep trail over two high passes. I’m not easy on my shoes.
. I’m mystified by the reports of smelly feet. The only problem I’ve had with that was with waterproof Gore-Tex shoes. That was a bad experience.
I did reinforce the eyelids with brass grommets and carry shoe goo to reinforce the soles.
I very much like the shoes, but would recommend purchasing a pair and wearing them out before committing to a camino.
Gary

Yes, that terrain concerns me with zero-drop shoes. Hoping there won’t be too much of it in the coastal Portuguese. Looking back on my French Way, I think the extra padding was necessary on some of the sharp, uneven ground.

 

[OZAJ]

I read a book some years ago by an Englishman who walked around barefoot. He particularly enjoyed squishy river flats and beaches.

He wrote that it took only two weeks of training before he could comfortably walk barefoot.

Here in Oz, summertime barefoot walking seems to have become quite fashionable over the past few years. But then I live in a regional holiday centre.

 

[Felice]

Hmm, having just looked up Tracker Decons, there is indeed some confusion as to what 'barefoot' shoes are - in my mind at least!
The really smelly shoes I referred to higher up the page, were not like this. They were very light shoes - more like a glove with fingers for each toe. Any idea what these were? This was 10 years ago.

 

[dick bird]

I have a yellow streak a mile wide when it comes to Aussie wildlife. Personally I'd want something that went a lot higher up the legs and was resistant to fangs. Kevlar chest waders spring to mind....

I have lived in Australia since 1994. In that time I have probably seen a couple of dozen snakes, maybe less, and we do a lot of bushwalking. Every snake I have seen has been doing one of two things: a) absolutely nothing, minding its own business just soaking up the sun, or mainly b) moving away from me as quickly as I was moving away from it. But we were talking about footwear. A lot of Australians do wear thick gaiters even when it isn´t raining.

And on the subject of bare feet, my Spanish teacher said one of the things that most shocked her in Australia was young women walking around in bare feet. Not on the beach, but downtown after a night out carrying their high-heeled shoes in one hand.

 

[jpwu]

Hmm, having just looked up Tracker Decons, there is indeed some confusion as to what 'barefoot' shoes are - in my mind at least!
The really smelly shoes I referred to higher up the page, were not like this. They were very light shoes - more like a glove with fingers for each toe. Any idea what these were? This was 10 years ago.

Vibram FiveFingers.

 

[jpwu]

I met a young pilgrim from the Netherlands wearing these same shoes last spring on the Primitivo.
I wonder if this is a "thing" starting out from NW Europe that may be catching on...?
I was quite impressed by the daring, as I find that even my Alta zero-drop is right on the edge of "minimalist" for me.

Anyway, I appreciate hearing your report as my son loves the Vibran 5-toe shoes that were being made for a while, and now that those are not made anymore, he may really like to hear about this brand.
I will look for the shoes in Canada.
buen camino

Vibram FiveFingers are still available on line.

 

[Bradypus]

have lived in Australia since 1994. In that time I have probably seen a couple of dozen snakes, maybe less, and we do a lot of bushwalking.

I've only visited once. In June and July. Less than a week after friends told me I would see no snakes at that time of year I met a death adder on a trail in Queensland!

 

[Keith H]

I just finished a Frances where I did most of my walking in Altra Mont Blancs (loved them!) but at the end of the day I would use my Xero Shoes sandals which are very minimalist. I would put on a pair of hiking socks if it was cold otherwise it was just the sandals on bare feet. While it seems a bit odd to have nearly no cushion on my feet after a long day walking it really worked for me. I’m not sure if it was just the freedom and different pressure points on the feet or the massage I got from the ground surfaces in town but my feet felt much better in the evening.

 

[JabbaPapa]

For the uninitiated, ´plimsolls´ are the now rather old-fashioned term for tennis shoes

The closest that modern shoes in wide use get to the plimsoll, except for plimsolls as such (if you can even find them), are the most basic type of Converse.

Modern versions of both types of footwear really are too heavily influenced by the American sneaker.

 

[dbier]

I used to wear what I think were plimsolls back during martial arts training (Feiyue shoes). Pretty thin in the soles.

And yes, if I didn't wear socks, they would get quite...aromatic. I would toss them in the washer and then air dry to clean them. Heck, I even ( gently) washed my *pack* after this last Camino, to say nothing of its contents.

Always amuses me ( as long as I'm not in an enclosed space or downwind) how utterly stinky people can get, and they'd never seem to notice, while the rest of us are gagging.

 

[trecile]

They were very light shoes - more like a glove with fingers for each toe.

Vibram FiveFingers are still available on line.

Like this

FiveFingers: The Original Barefoot Toe Shoes | Vibram

FiveFingers

www.vibram.com

 

[Donna Sch]

I wanted to take my Merrill Pacer Gloves with me on my first camino but after walking a couple of 16 km walks I got midfoot burning. Saw a podiatrist who looked at my gait and realised I crunch my left midfoot if my soles are too flexible. So I benefit from a more solid sole. Even though I prefer barefoot shoes for normal everyday things and usually wear them at work. Short distances are fine but there is no way my feet would have survived 20-40km stints on the VdlP so the barefoot shoes were reluctantly left at home.

 

[jpwu]

Most lovers of minimalist shoes, including me, only started wearing those shoes at a later age. If we had walked barefoot from birth, our feet would be used to walking barefoot. It is therefore a matter of compromise at a later age.

 

[TeMahAbuela2023]

Seems like an oxymoron - you can be barefoot or you can wear shoes. I wish someone would invent a more accurate term. Been a particular annoyance for me for years!

Totally get that.

 

[David Tallan]

It's got to be something about Galicia. When I walked the Camino Ingles I encountered a barefoot walker.

It is something about Galicia. That something is that all routes, whether from England or Romania pass through Galicia before arriving in Santiago.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

Vibram FiveFingers are still available on line.

Yes, but not in the size I need. Most of what I can find is size 9 women’s… Alas.

 

[mattythedog]

There is a woman here in Ontario (Sue Kenney, she also has written some Camino books), who walks in barefoot shoes. She cuts the soles out of the shoes so that only the uppers remain and her bare feet are in direct contact with the road/trail surface. She actively promotes this form of barefoot hiking.

I guess instead of sewing my Brooks Ghost uppers back onto the soles with dental floss when they blow out 2-3 weeks into a Camino, I could just cut the soles completely off and have S. Kenney's ?fashionable? footwear. Ho ho Ho!

 

[Walkerooni]

After something like 300km the rubber studs on the soles had on the part of my middle foot (see photo) almost completely disappeared and on long days the last few hours were increasingly painful, then the last day making the end of the world in Finisterre and back to the Albergue it had become unbearable to the point I could not distract myself from it often.

I don't hear you actually making case for them...

 

[Jyrki Wahlstedt]

Barefoot shoes on the Camino

There wasn't much information about wearing barefoot shoes on the camino but I loved my barefoot experience so I’ve trained and experimented, and I’ve experienced 460 km to Finisterre on barefoot shoes.
In short: I had a great time with them feeling the earth, rocks, twigs, and it has added value to my experience. I did grind away much of the soles and they were eventually almost unbearably uncomfortable.

Introduction
It’s been about nine months since I’ve started walking in barefoot type shoes, I have about five shoes from the brand vivobarefoot. After an injury to my heel last year I found out about these shoes and strengthening my feet in general. To my regret I found barely any information about experience with barefoot shoes on the Camino. So I’ve started experimenting with different models and long walks.

Physical preparation
I've trained walking in barefoot shoes by walking 1,5 hours daily for three months. When I found and developed my preferred way of walking I started walking longer distances. I grew comfortable with a landing in between a forefoot and heel strike: My natural way seems to lightly touch the ground with my heel and then transfer and completely land with the forefoot. I found that a complete forefoot landing was not flexible enough on uneven terrain where it would result in bumping my heel or the middle of my foot in an uncontrolled manner.
However comfortable I grew on super thin soles and concrete, the long distances required more induction for an impact from flesh on asphalt.

The Shoes
I’ve hiked and trained mostly in ‘Vivobarefoot Primus light III’s but I’ve bought ‘Vivobarefoot Tracker decon low FG2’ a month in advance of my camino.I’ve even left the thermal insoles in as that was just the amount of cushioning I needed to be able to walk all day on rough or hard terrain. Before my camino I’ve walked roughly 140 km on them and I found the beginning of wearing on the sole. Tracker Decon in particular but also other FG (Firm ground) soles with some lugs or rubber studs should work alike for this purpose. The added thickness to the sole should help enough with the impact of walking.

The experience
The first two thirds of my 460 km everything went great. I walked exclusively on my Tracker Decon’s, with great delight of feeling the ground and I even found that while climbing or descending mountains it feels like wearing climbing shoes. It seems that the shoes allow your feet and toes to wrap around rocks. After something like 300km the rubber studs on the soles had on the part of my middle foot (see photo) almost completely disappeared and on long days the last few hours were increasingly painful, then the last day making the end of the world in Finisterre and back to the Albergue it had become unbearable to the point I could not distract myself from it often. But resting a bit more underway with feet higher in the air helped in a few minutes to alleviate the feet. It is especially the forefoot that starts with a numb tingling feeling that increases in pain as km pass by. Also compared to others in normal hiking shoes or my past experiences: While descending mountains I think I’ve found that my knees were taking way more energy. It makes sense considering your legs and the foot of your arch act like a spring in landing in barefoot shoes, so that is extra punishment for the knees. I'm a bike courier and my knees are trained and strong. If you have sensitive knees perhaps its good to take some precautions.

What would I do on future Caminos?
Looking back I had a lot of fun and added experience to my trip by wearing barefoot shoes! I wear barefoot shoes exclusively and I wouldn't trade the experience of walking. I have to admit it was stressful to see the sole grinding away and to feel levels of discomfort increasing. But I had only three relatively small blisters, and my feet felt strong. I would probably choose minimalist footwear that is wide enough for my feet yet with a sole that has some more thickness to grind away and perhaps bring light backup barefoot shoes for the rocky terrains as it was so much fun.

It’s no joke for foot health on the long run to be untrained on a trip like the Camino.
But I would recommend my experience, try for yourself with barefoot shoes, but make sure you have a backup plan and that you are trained, also make full days of walking to test your gear. I hope my experience can help you prepare a bit better.

Feel free to ask any questions,
Buen Camino,

Remon Stam

View attachment 160337

FWIW, I walked Primitivo in barefoot shoes, no problems at all, love those, intend to use barefoot shoes in the future, both on and off Caminos…

 

[jpwu]

FWIW, I walked Primitivo in barefoot shoes, no problems at all, love those, intend to use barefoot shoes in the future, both on and off Caminos…

Which one?

 

[Jyrki Wahlstedt]

Which one?

You mean the model of the shoes? I think those were Merrell's Vapor Glove or something like that

 

[Jaime Carrollo]

Barefoot shoes on the Camino

There wasn't much information about wearing barefoot shoes on the camino but I loved my barefoot experience so I’ve trained and experimented, and I’ve experienced 460 km to Finisterre on barefoot shoes.
In short: I had a great time with them feeling the earth, rocks, twigs, and it has added value to my experience. I did grind away much of the soles and they were eventually almost unbearably uncomfortable.

Introduction
It’s been about nine months since I’ve started walking in barefoot type shoes, I have about five shoes from the brand vivobarefoot. After an injury to my heel last year I found out about these shoes and strengthening my feet in general. To my regret I found barely any information about experience with barefoot shoes on the Camino. So I’ve started experimenting with different models and long walks.

Physical preparation
I've trained walking in barefoot shoes by walking 1,5 hours daily for three months. When I found and developed my preferred way of walking I started walking longer distances. I grew comfortable with a landing in between a forefoot and heel strike: My natural way seems to lightly touch the ground with my heel and then transfer and completely land with the forefoot. I found that a complete forefoot landing was not flexible enough on uneven terrain where it would result in bumping my heel or the middle of my foot in an uncontrolled manner.
However comfortable I grew on super thin soles and concrete, the long distances required more induction for an impact from flesh on asphalt.

The Shoes
I’ve hiked and trained mostly in ‘Vivobarefoot Primus light III’s but I’ve bought ‘Vivobarefoot Tracker decon low FG2’ a month in advance of my camino.I’ve even left the thermal insoles in as that was just the amount of cushioning I needed to be able to walk all day on rough or hard terrain. Before my camino I’ve walked roughly 140 km on them and I found the beginning of wearing on the sole. Tracker Decon in particular but also other FG (Firm ground) soles with some lugs or rubber studs should work alike for this purpose. The added thickness to the sole should help enough with the impact of walking.

The experience
The first two thirds of my 460 km everything went great. I walked exclusively on my Tracker Decon’s, with great delight of feeling the ground and I even found that while climbing or descending mountains it feels like wearing climbing shoes. It seems that the shoes allow your feet and toes to wrap around rocks. After something like 300km the rubber studs on the soles had on the part of my middle foot (see photo) almost completely disappeared and on long days the last few hours were increasingly painful, then the last day making the end of the world in Finisterre and back to the Albergue it had become unbearable to the point I could not distract myself from it often. But resting a bit more underway with feet higher in the air helped in a few minutes to alleviate the feet. It is especially the forefoot that starts with a numb tingling feeling that increases in pain as km pass by. Also compared to others in normal hiking shoes or my past experiences: While descending mountains I think I’ve found that my knees were taking way more energy. It makes sense considering your legs and the foot of your arch act like a spring in landing in barefoot shoes, so that is extra punishment for the knees. I'm a bike courier and my knees are trained and strong. If you have sensitive knees perhaps its good to take some precautions.

What would I do on future Caminos?
Looking back I had a lot of fun and added experience to my trip by wearing barefoot shoes! I wear barefoot shoes exclusively and I wouldn't trade the experience of walking. I have to admit it was stressful to see the sole grinding away and to feel levels of discomfort increasing. But I had only three relatively small blisters, and my feet felt strong. I would probably choose minimalist footwear that is wide enough for my feet yet with a sole that has some more thickness to grind away and perhaps bring light backup barefoot shoes for the rocky terrains as it was so much fun.

It’s no joke for foot health on the long run to be untrained on a trip like the Camino.
But I would recommend my experience, try for yourself with barefoot shoes, but make sure you have a backup plan and that you are trained, also make full days of walking to test your gear. I hope my experience can help you prepare a bit better.

Feel free to ask any questions,
Buen Camino,

Remon Stam

View attachment 160337

Excellent report. Thanks for the good information. I will likely stick to my Tevas and Saucony Grids. I did enjoy going barefoot on the long sandy stretches along the Norte beaches.

 

[jpwu]

You mean the model of the shoes? I think those were Merrell's Vapor Glove or something like that

Thx.