Leather Barefoot Boots: The King of Minimalist Footwear

December 18, 2021 — After four years of experimenting, I finally found footwear that feels as good as being barefoot.

Three years ago, I stumbled into the world of barefooting when I bought a pair of “zero-drop” Altra Escalantes.

They were thin, flat and had this goofy toebox, but they felt AMAZING — and pretty soon I transitioned from 14mm to 6.5mm to 4mm, and finally to a 3mm pair of Vivo Primus Lite’s.

But even at 3mm, I STILL wasn’t satisfied.

So this year I started running and hiking completely barefoot — which was great…

…until winter came, and it was like…

Ugh…I just need a shoe that’s light and flexible and roomy and warm and waterproof and, most of all, feels like I’m not even wearing a shoe! Is that too much to ask?

Hack: Leather Barefoot

One day I was cruising Etsy for barefoot shoes, and I came across this listing for “leather moccasin boots.”

Unlike Native American moccasins, they had a minimalist, no frills vibe — so I ordered a pair.