Customer Reviews Vivobarefoot Ra II

I've had these shoes for a little over a month. I wear them 2-4 days a week. I'm a teacher. The first day I wore them my toes felt a bit squished by the end of the day but I think it was my socks, it's cold and the socks were a bit thicker than what I would normally wear to work. Now I feel like I'm wearing leather socks. In regular shoes I can barely stand for 2 hours before my feet start to hurt. With these I almost feel bad about taking them off when I get home. I would prefer a little more width in the toe box but I have wide feet so I think for most people the width is fine.

These shoes follow the Vivobarefoot tradition of minimalist, lightweight, super-flexible shoes, but add waterproofing and a bit of insulation. That's something I've been longing for for a long time in Vivos. I now have a pair I can wear in rain and thin snow. The shoes are very comfortable (if you are used to and like minimalist shoes) and the waxed blue canvas looks great. My only complaint is with the laces--they frayed to the point of being unusable after about a week. (The issue is really with the metal aglets rather than the laces.) I replaced them with elastic laces (as I do on most of my shoes) and hopefully they'll last a bit longer. In any case I'm disappointed that Vivo hasn't tested this aglet-lace combination better.

I've been wearing New Balance Minimus shoes for several months now and love them. So when I saw the Vivobarefoot Ra II, I bought a black pair and a brown pair. They are so much more comfortable than traditional dress shoes and they're fine with jeans or khakis in a casual environment but I wouldn't wear them with a suit or slacks. Also, after only a few weeks, the laces on the black pair have shredded and I need to replace them already. But overall the shoe is great if you're looking for a minimal/barefoot experience.

Flat shoes (zero drop) with no cushion to walk on grass or dirt is fine because the earth gives natural cushion. But for work and the concrete and asphalt jungle, it kills your heel instantly. I always get a size a tad bigger so that I can get inserts into the shoe. Good thing I did, I need way more cushion in these. It's three weeks on and I still can feel the heel shock every time I walk on concrete/asphalt. It's slowly healing so I'd say I'll be okay in about two weeks... So with these (or any other no cushion shoes), get nice thick flat liners immediately! (My opinion, of course...).

It's a very good feeling being able to feel the ground beneath you. This shoe works as described, has plenty of space, and looks quite presentable. Issue is that it does fall apart rather quickly: color detailing started rubbing off day 2, and some of the threads are coming undone. I'm disappointed, considering the price point, that it can't be better constructed.

They are not the most stylish shoes, but they are comfortable. I didn't want to wear them during the wedding ceremony where I was a groomsmen, but I switched to them for the reception, which saved my life.

I am totally disappointed with the quality of this shoe. I have only had them about a month and wear them every day to a desk job which requires little to no stressful activities that would cause damage to any shoe. Nevertheless, I have to continually trim the stitches connecting the sole to the upper. I have had other brands of barefoot shoes and will return to them rather than deal with the disappointing experience of this shoe.

Not my first pair of Vivo Barefoot shoes. Fit nicely, but after three months, the glue holding the sole together fell apart. (Large enough gap to insert a finger.) Product returned.

I wanted a dress version of my Altra Instinct Everyday so I gave this a try. I tried them on and sent them right back. First, for the price I would have expected more in the shoe. I understand it's a minimalist shoe, but the leather was so flimsy it started to visibly crease just walking across the room once. It also was very tight above my arches (and I have flat feet); re-lacing them didn't help. The reason I sent them back, though, was that they just were not a good looking shoe. They look more like a slipper than a dress shoe, making them ill suited for dress.

Great design, great fit but after a year and two months one of the shoes started to come apart at the seam running vertical down the side of the shoes. I called customer service and they said to send them back to who I purchased them from, which if it was vivobarefoot and within 6 months time they would replace them. I only wear the shoes in the office so the wear and tear is minimum. If this were Patagonia or even REI I imagine they would have received them as it appears like a defect rather than normal wear and tear. Not purchasing another pair of shoes from this company.

I wore them two-days a week as a bartender. Not very hard wear. These lasted about three weeks before the toe box started splitting apart on the right shoe. That's money in the trash.