Customer Reviews Vivobarefoot Bannister

Compared to conventional shoes of the same size, these feel bigger, so consider ordering a half-size smaller for barefoot shoes. Excellent quality, wide toe-box, no support/drop means your feet do the work they're designed to do. You will have to adjust your walking style to wear these comfortably for long days walking (heel-toe walking, shorter strides, etc.). Not breathable, which is the only thing keeping these from getting a 5 star for comfort. I wish they would make an all-black version instead of the black/tan so you could wear these with different styles. I'd buy a second pair in a second! Don't get these if you prefer non-slip, grippy shoes because these things are slick! However, they are perfect for normal activities in fair weather.

While the other few negative reviews complained about comfort, I'm going to complain about the design of the shoe. I've actually got no problem with the comfort level. They're not as barefoot as other Vivobarefoot shoes, but they still work for me. The problem I had is that these shoes are absolutely terrible around any sort of water. Yes, they're leather shoes. If I stepped in a giant puddle, I expect problems. These have major problems with any sort of moisture. See how the side walls are leather? There's a good reason every other shoe has rubber side walls. If you get any sort of water past the very bottom of the sole of the shoe, it wicks up into the leather, discoloring and damaging it. That brings me to the very bottom of the sole. See how it's in two parts? There's a rubber part, and a leather part. These two parts are glued to the shoe upper, but not sewed or sealed. Today, I stepped on a wet sidewalk and water soaked up through the crack in the sole through to the inside of the shoe and my socks. Again, this is not tromping through inches of water. This is a normal moderately rainy day. For the price, I would expect a lot higher quality in the thoughtfulness of the design. These look great right out of the box, but quickly get ruined by normal life. If you're 100% wearing these indoors and on 0% chance of rain days, you can probably get by, but if there's any sort of drizzle in the picture, forget it.

I'm not sure why this got so many bad reviews. If you're buying a true leather shoe, expect the soles to be stiffer and less responsive than rubber of the same thickness. I wear these a couple of times per week and don't have any problems. I use leather honey to soften and condition the upper when it needs it. I love the quality of their leather shoes, and haven't had any problems. I do wish that they'd make these in all-black, though. In that case, I'd buy another pair!

These shoes look even better than in the picture. The sole feels fantastic too. I usually wear a size 12 US, but I had to size down because these actually have a proper toe box.

I am an avowed "barefoot shoe" wearer, and I own several pair of Vivobarefoot shoes--but these are the worst. First, the good: they're beautiful. This particular pair I expect to last a long long time (which is not true of many Vivobarefoot shoes). The bad: they're not very light; but the most egregious error is the fact that the sole is thick and there is almost no barefoot feel to them at all. I actually find these shoes, even after 6 months of wearing them and breaking them in, very uncomfortable. They're more like a nice pair of sneakers that have been stripped of an insole. By far, these are the most attractive of the minimalist shoes I have ever seen. If they comfortable, they might be worth the outrageous pricetag. I also have to say, and I don't know whether this will turn out to be true for this shoe: Vivo's are not well made. They don't hold up for the long haul, which makes their price tags insulting. They also have terrible and often unresponsive "customer service." Not a great company to deal with, so I'd take that into consideration before purchasing ANY of their shoes. (A few of their shoes have started to fall apart very quickly; I am finished with them as a customer).

Alack, alas, five months ago I skeptically ignored negative reviews and bought Bannisters. I had worn lots of Vivo shoes over the past four years and loved them. The Bannister promised so much in terms of style and comfort---I expected the leather to soften and age and that the shoes would get more and more comfy and in spite of the stiffer sole as comfy as Vivos tend to be. How could Vivo do this to us?? Gabe and Dustin accurately describe how disappointing these shoes are. And, incredibly enough, what Dustin says is true---even after five months of "breaking in" the shoes are today even less comfortable than they might have felt months ago. I wear the Freuds and other Vivo models and will buy the One M most likely in the Spring but the Bannister should be removed from the market. Someone in London wanted a pretext for trips to Portugal and they've foisted this terrible shoe off onto unsuspecting customers.

Echoing what Dustin wrote, these shoes are super uncomfortable and absolutely not in keeping with Vivobarefoot and the whole minimalist philosophy. Heavy/unyielding soles, super stiff and heavy construction and the back (ankle) part of the shoe comes forward so it scrapes your ankle and cuts of circulation. Everything about the concept of these shoes is wrong - and I am a big fan of Vivo's approach to shoes. But this is really an awful shoe and I regret ever having bought them.