I have been posting some about barefoot running and walking.

The big shoe companies are clearly paying attention to the (minimalist approach) trend. Nike was first to market with the Nike Free, a flexible shoe for “barefoot like running” with less padding than the company’s typical offerings.

The Nike Free line of footwear features a segmented sole which provides greater flexibility while still having an amount of cushioning. The Free line is based on a scale from 1-10, where 1 is barefoot and 10 is a typical athletic shoe sole.

That scale makes the 3.0 closest to being barefoot. Today I bought a pair of Nike Free 3.0 V2 which are “semi-barefoot” shoes. The soles are very flexible, walking in these shoes are very different to using an ordinary pair of shoes. Less padding in the Free shoes means you need to walk and run differently. No landing on your heel, it hurts too much.

It’s said that you shall take it slow and get used to minimalist shoes. I’m glad that I walk barefoot at home, it seems to make a big difference since I walked more than usual today yet still have no aching feet or legs.

Either the shoes are small in size or you need larger barefoot-shoes. I normally wear size 9, in these I needed size 10.5.