WHITIN Men's Wide Barefoot Trail-Running Shoes W51

UPDATE: A year makes a big difference. After wearing these as my main walking and casual shoes, I have to say that they’re one of my favorite shoes I’ve ever owned. I wish I didn’t use them for so much road walking as I prematurely wore out the soles. I’ll update my other review too, as the ones I called “better” were actually worse and I ended up tossing them out. I still have these, I can’t seem to part with them even though the soles are smooth. I use them as quick slip on shoes by my back door for when I put my dogs out. Buy these, not the other ones. I bought these shoes after getting the "WHITIN Men's Wide Minimalist Barefoot Sneakers Ultimate Relaxation" style thinking they would be the same. They're not. They are much narrower than the "relaxation" shoes, which I think are the best cheap barefoot shoes you can buy mostly because of the ultra wide toebox. So be careful, these are much narrower and if you have wide feet, you will either need to upsize or get another variety and hope for the best. Check the photo to see how much narrower they are than the wide barefoot shoes. That's the reason why I only gave it four stars. That being said, I decided to keep them anyway (after first wanting to return them). Although they're narrower than the wide barefoot version, there's still plenty of room for toe splay and the narrower fit gives a little more stability in the instep. Your foot doesn't slide around as much, but it's also a little confining. I'm going to use them as a transitional running shoe. They are zero-drop and have a wide-ish toebox, so they're better than a traditional pointy-toed running shoe, but they have some stack height and padding in the insole. In fact, I think that's the best use for these - as a transitional mid-point between old school pointy shoes and full-on barefoot shoes. The tread is aggressive and would probably do very well on a trail run. The sole is still flexible like a barefoot shoe, which is good, but the added height provides more protection. They also look pretty good, but a lot of that comes down to the lack of toebox width, which eliminates the clown-shoe look of a lot of barefoot shoes but at the cost of not really being a barefoot shoe. I'm learning a lot about Whitin shoes and while I like them a lot, I hope they start making shoes that are more like the wide barefoot shoes than these. It seems like with these shoes, they wanted to make barefoot shoes, but didn't want to go too far to alienate regular shoe buyers. It does make for a decent transitional sneaker, but if they're serious about barefoot shoes, they need to put that extra-wide toebox on everything that they call barefoot shoes. UPDATE: I've worn these for a few runs now and also for a few walks. I like them more every time I use them. They're OK for running, but they are perfect as a walking shoe. I'll keep running in them as I don't want to wear them out too quickly. Once it gets warmer out I'll start running outdoors and give another update.

I’m of an age whereby I remember buying expensive Florsheim brand shoes that were guaranteed for life . . . or in the case of Florsheim, until the company ceased to exist. The reason that I brought that up, is because, these shoes seem to be made of cloth and rubbery materials which relegates them into an almost “disposable” category. They will not stand up to rough, wintery weather and are don’t seem to be waterproof. I was surprised that ordering one size larger than I normally wear fit perfectly. I decided to change the shoe inserts for better arch support. Then, I was surprised again, that the insoles that I had previously trimmed to fit my size of 10W shoes, fit perfectly into these, size 11, Whitin products. I am also old enough to remember spending half of my paycheck to buy “Earth Shoes.” These were designed as a kind of enhancement to barefoot walking. It was was scam and made me suspicious of shoe ads that advertised similar benefits. I am happy to report that these Whitin hiking/running shoes are infinitely more comfortable than traditional shoes, like my trusty old Rockports, Merrells and Sketchers. Besides amazing comfort, these help me feel much more steady on my “geezerly” feet and are keeping me safer, by lowering the risk of suffering falls. Thus, despite being made of fairly flimsy materials and being unsuitable for bad weather, these shoes’ positive qualities of comfort and keeping a person much steadier on their feet, earn them a solid 5 star rating.

Got these for kickboxing workouts. Pros: Great traction and great feel for each of your movements. Good for balance, which means great for kicking. More of a casual look than most barefoot shoes, as in you could wear these outside of your workouts and look normal. Cons: Really wish these came in half sizes as you really feel the gap in front of your toes when you do things like planks. No cushion for jumps, but then again, that's not what barefoot shoes are known for.

I wear 11 men's US, size 44 Euro and these are true to size. They are also my single greatest purchase of 2025 so far. My feet have been killing me lately so I have done a lot of research and measuring and realized 40 years too late I need an extra wide shoe and that my arches are pretty flat. I have been miserable in shoes my whole life and as soon as these arrived I put them on and I cannot believe the immediate relief. They are light, breathe very well, the toe box is very accommodating but not awkward, the outsole is a great combination of thin, cushiony, grippy, not too stiff not too soft, and the insole is surprisingly nice underfoot as well. The soles are thin enough you can fold the shoes, perhaps for efficiency packing, and then they just spring back. I have been wearing these since they arrived and have no complaints. As far as the barefoot design goes, I guess it works naturally for me but I'm not someone who goes out of their way to find barefoot shoes. I had originally heard a lot about Lem's and was interested in those but they were too expensive. Someone then suggested Whitin and I figured for $30 I might as well try them. Very very happy. Materials: they feel like shoes made of shoe material. They are very flexible and bendy so the uppers are more synthetic fabric than plastic panels, they are breathable and I like that the sole conforms to the shape of the shoe instead of just being glued to the bottom of the shoe. They feel very good when walking, sitting, or standing. Absolutely great shoe so far.

The toebox of this shoe is wide, but the remainder of it is not as wide as I would hope (middle of my foot is still too wide for the shoe). More than that, though, the shoe does not do a great job of staying 'on' with the upper feeling more like a sock and sliding over the top of the sole. I would not feel great running in these, but they are fine for around town. Because of where the laces are on the shoe I have not been able to cinch this down to really lock the foot onto the sole. The sole seems decent quality, though, almost too soft of an upper/the upper not connecting well into the sole that is the issue. I would probably return if I had not worn them a couple of times before discovering this.

I purchased these shoes for a particular reason that would be of interest to Senior Citizens - The nerve connection between the brain and the skin are weaker after age 60 and I am 81 years old. The Shoes are great - but for me - the tongue needs to be longer and the flaps need to be longer, with metal islets for the shoe strings. As of now I can use them indoors ( to increase skin contact with the floor) but not outside without the shoe strings, which I had to take out - because the tongue was cutting off circulation to my foot, because I wear orthotics and it changes the shape of the shoe. you could put in 2 rows of shoe string islets -that would allow room for orthotics - So younger people and Senior Citizens could both use this shoe which I like very much for their lightness, barefoot feeling. This shoe runs small - I wear an 11.5 U.S. and they fit me at European 45 which is what I ordered, and was sent. All Good - If the maker of these shoes changes or offers the shoe in the specifications I mentioned, then, I will buy them and be able to use them on my daily exercise walk in the morning.

These have held up better than any barefoot shoe i've owned. I used to buy xeroshoes, vivobarefoot, etc, spending hundreds on what essentially amounted to CRAP! These are obviously made in china but i have had zero issues with them. build quality is amazing. They've lasted through months of constant wear without any problems with stitching or glue coming undone. they're comfy too and good for walking. only problem is they are a bit slippery. I would recommend not walking on slippery floors or rocks with these, but pavement, grass, dirt are all OK

3.5 stars These have a better, slightly more rugged, sole, better for walking outside (over rocks, nuts, sticks, etc.) and with a bit more grip. But the "zero drop" part means they're still pretty thin. I can feel the sharp bits and pieces under my feet, maybe less than in regular Whitins, but still... And it seems to degrade quicker than regular tennis shoes or hiking shoes. The grey is nice looking, and disguises dirt or water stains well, but easy to throw in the washer (and then air dry). They do seem to be narrower than other Whitin shoes. The toe box is still roomy, but across the middle of the foot isn't as wide as I've become used to.

Used for gym Works great and very comfortable Size is true

No había de mi talla así que compré una talla más grande. Tengo 4 meses con estos tennis. Me encantan, son super cómodos. La tela es poco rígida y creía que se iba a disolver fácilmente a la primera lavada pero han resistido muy bien. A la hora de lavarlos me sorprendí ya qué no se les adhiere la suciedad permanentemente. Siguen como nuevos. Tengo pies ligeros y delicados pero muy fuertes, es muy común de que la suela la agujere fácilmente, pero ya llevo 4 meses con ellos y no he tenido necesidad de conseguir suelas nuevas. Las únicas personas que no les recomendaría este par son las que constantemente viven en un lugar muy rocoso, al caminar sobre grava o piedras punteagudas se siente un poco incómodo pero para mi que vivo en un lugar urbano están excelentes.

Muy cómodos

Me quedaron muy bien, si lo recomiendo

Me llegó la talla que pedí, muy cómodos