WHITIN Men's Wide Canvas Barefoot Sneakers | Zero Drop Sole | Minimalist Footwear

I am a Doctor of Chiropractic, so I'm very particular with how my shoes compliment the biomechanics of the human foot. The only casual shoes that I wear now are Whitin. I can wear these shoes comfortably with or without socks. They look super cool, and they are very affordable. I have found that they hold up well. I bought this model, plus another model. I have had them for at least 6 months and I am very satisfied. What I love about Whitin shoes are the fact that they are built to allow the human foot to simply do what it was designed to do. This is accomplished in these shoes by having no incline in the heel (zero drop) so the posterior chain of your leg (calf and hamstrings) are not flexed and shortened, and by having a wide toe box so that your toes can spread out as far as they need to. A zero drop and a wide toe box allow for the proper motion of the 26 bones within the foot. When the foot moves properly, it absorbs shock. If the foot doesn't move properly, such as when you are wearing bad shoes (please note: 99% of shoes are made with an incline in the heel and a narrow toe box, and are therefore classified as bad in this doctors opinion), shock will not get absorbed by the foot as well and will get absorbed by your knees, hips, and spine, especially the low back. Whitin shoes are also great because they are minimalist and have a thin sole. This allows for greater proprioception between the brain and the feet (proprioception is the brains ability to sense where body parts are in space). In essence, when you buy shoes, you want them to mimic walking barefoot. Whitin allows for your feet to do this. I recommend these shoes to patients on a weekly basis. If you are a human and you have feet, find yourself some high-quality zero drop, wide toe box shoes like Whitins!

Man these are great shoes! I bought these for my son (10 years old, size 8 in black and rubber) and he loves them!! He’s adhd and it’s extremely hard to ever get him to wear shoes. He also literally has Fred Flintstone feet and the wide toe fits him very well! He will actually stop to put these shoes on because he can slide them right on and go. He says they are extremely comfortable. They do have a normal shoelace but I can pretie them and my son slips them right on. They are made of a durable canvas, easy to clean and holds up well. Lightweight and flexible. I’m just glad I finally found shoes he will put on! ADHD moms, you know what I’m talking about!

For all intents and purposes, these are solid and 100% deliver on the whole "barefoot", wide-base, flexible, lightweigh, breathable... thing. Very comfortable. However the knit top, while a bit cheaper and still decent quality definitely gets messy pretty fast. I even combined these with some waterproofing spray which seems to have done little to combat bits of mud. Additionally, these are actually sized to European sizes, so my 13.5 was a 48... And originally I had gotten the 13s but they were too small, which is uncommon for me when I try on shoes... So these run a little smaller, might recommend sizing up a half-size. Overall would still totally recommend and I'm pleased with purchase.

These shoes are a good inexpensive introduction to barefoot shoes. The shoes seem to be pretty well made. The canvas is a kinda medium weight and seems to hold up pretty well to normal daily use. The soles are very flexible and provide a lot of ground feel. These are zero drop, so if you are new to barefoot shoes, expect there to be some stretching in your calves. This can be somewhat uncomfortable at first, so I recommend wearing for half a day at first, then extending how long you wear them. You may experience some discomfort in your knees and hips as well as your body adjusts, but just take it easy and you should be fine. The insole is minimal and offers no arch support, but does offer a slim cushioning. This walks the line between ground feel and protection for your feet, and I think it does pretty okay. These shoes have a nice, wide toe box for natural splay of your toes. If your feet have been shaped by narrow toe shoes, you will notice considerably more room. The more you wear these, the more your toes will spread out naturally again. This can be uncomfortable or not, depending on how much your feet have been damaged by modern shoes. If you have bunions like I do, this shoe provides plenty of space. These shoes (and all barefoot shoes) will absolutely change the way you walk and stand. If you currently take long strides where your heel hits the ground first, then you will get sore doing that in these. Bad posture will hurt. But if you listen to your body, and make some adjustments, you will find that taking smaller strides and standing in a natural posture will feel a lot better. In other words, if you’ve listened to the barefoot shoe hype and think you can just slap a pair of these shoes on a suddenly everything will be better, well, let’s just say that’s unlikely. But if you carefully easy into it and make the necessary adjustments, you’ll open up a whole new way of wearing shoes. Now, these shoes aren’t waterproof. They are canvas. So if you need waterproof, look elsewhere. Okay now the negatives, and there’s really only one at this price point: the soles are squeaky. I mean… squeaky! If you drag your feet on almost any surface your feet are gonna squeak. They don’t usually squeak just from walking, but if you come to a sudden stop, or change direction quickly or just don’t pick up your feet high enough, then they will squeak. That’s it. TLDR: These a great introduction to barefoot shoes that will require you adjust your walking style and the soles can be squeaky but the price point makes these a great option for dipping your toes into the world of barefoot shoes.

Sizing for these shoes was not correct

Although these are called running shoes, they are ideal for HIIT bodyweight/calisthenics workouts. I’m a big user of the Freeletics workout app, and these are perfect for doing things like burpees and mountain climbers, when having a huge foam heel can be detrimental to your form. They are low key enough that they can be worn outside, unless you deliberately point out the wide toe box, nobody would notice. They provide a great “ground-feel” as well, which makes you feel more stable when walking about

I really like barefoot shoes. I have the Xero shoes and Lem's and these are on par with these two. They're very comfortable. The toe box is really wide. They look good, not like most barefoot shoes. I am surprised how good they are especially with that price. Most barefoot shoes are really expensive and can get up to $200 USD. If you want to try barefoot shoes before committing to something more expensive, give these a try. I would even say if you like more expensive barefoot shoes, then you would still enjoy wearing this pair.

I bought a pair a few year ago and loved them! They lasted ages and for $60 they were great value! Bought 2 more recently for $70 each and was still happy to pay that but just came to write this review and saw the price… not worth more then $80 dollars, the eyelets around shoe lasses rust pretty quickly and the colour fades with in a month or so. I bought these for work and as a trial for barefoot shoes, great for 60-70$ wouldn’t pay more then 80$ tho. Could go and get name brand barefoot shoes for the same price

Husband really likes these shoes, and they were a good price. He likes the wide toe box and that they are comfortable.