inov-8 Bare-X™ 180

Great minimalist shoe. I removed the sock liner and ran in socks. I've done several long runs in these shoes and am very happy with them. You get the road feel of the Vibram Five Fingers without the constricted toe feeling. I like a big toe box, so I ended up sizing up 1 size. It felt about 1/2 size too small for me. This is the first shoe to offer any meaningful competition to the SoftStar Moc3. I like it much better than the Vivo Barefoot Evo II (terrible uppers, very stiff!).

I'd also recommend: SoftStar Moc3

These are great shoes. They fit a little bigger than my inov-8 F-lite 195s by a half size. Great barefoot feel. Good for short running and just about anything else. I did some squats with them the other day (I normally wear weightlifting shoes for squats) and they were great. I would buy these and other inov-8 shoes again in the future.

Love these shoes! My second pair. I use them for CrossFit. Sizing is accurate to my normal shoe size. Shoe may feel wide if you are used to a snug fitting running shoe.

I purchased these earlier this year. I have been getting more into minimalist and barefoot running and felt it time to transition from my Nike Free Runs to something completely zero-drop. I didn't want a shoes with toe pockets, so the VFFs were out. These are an amazing shoe. They are extremely lightweight (around 6 oz each) and have good grip in the soles, so you don't have to worry about sliding or slipping on smooth wet surfaces. I really like the wide toe box. Some other shoes I own cramp my fifth toe, whereas these allow my toes to spread out normally. They offer enough padding that I can run on aggregate or chip-n-seal pavement without hurting myself. The 3mm outer soles along with the 3mm removable foot bed do allow you to experience what surface you are running on. With my eyes closed, I can tell if I am stepping on cement, grass, carpet, tile, wood flooring, sand, dirt, etc. Yet, I can run in these shoes for up to 10 miles on city streets without feeling any soreness. They are also extremely flexible and promote a natural gait. Although you could probably get away with heel striking in these on softer surfaces, they will force you to adopt a more bio-mechanical stride on cement and asphalt if you run a few miles in them. I still prefer running completely barefoot if I want to work on a perfecting a mid-foot strike, but these are the next best thing. On the bad side, if it is cold out (below 40F), you will feel cold wearing them. They also have the longest laces I have ever seen on a shoe. As to not trip, I need to knot them at least 3 times. They are very comfortable though and my feet don't get very sweaty when running in them either, especially since I don't like to wear socks when I wear them. As far as wearing socks, I find they can accommodate a thinner sock fine. Wearing these with more padded socks though will cramp your foot. There is just something about having my feet flat and close to the ground that makes these feel really good. Versus a Nike Free, they are less rigid and allow me to feel a lot more of the surfaces I run on. Versus my Asics Nimbus and other more traditional running shoes, they feel much lighter and more spacious inside. I would highly recommend these if you are wanting to continue your transition into barefoot running. I would not recommend them if you like very supportive and padded shoes, as they offer a lot less stability and arch-support.

I'd also recommend: Nike Free, Merrell Trail or Road Glove, New Balance MT series