Living Barefoot | Best Shoe of 2011

Search

// you’re reading...

"Barefoot" Footwear

Best Shoe of 2011 – By Living Barefoot

By Al Gauthier ⋅ December 11, 2011 ⋅

Living Barefoot’s BEST Minimalist Shoe of 2011 – The VIVOBAREFOOT Ultra

We are lucky enough to see and test some of the best minimalist shoes on the market. This year has seen an explosion in the minimalist market and next year should be even bigger!

While we have seen some excellent product from many companies, one stands out this year for its cutting edge design, versatility, true minimalist features, and even for price: The VIVOBAREFOOT Ultra.

Made from ultra-light materials, the Ultra feels as though it is barely there – a great feature for a true minimalist product. The included insert, combined with the hole-filled upper, allows the wearer to use the Ultra in situations that range from the wettest river crossing to the hottest desert day. You have complete control over the warmth and protection you need—all in one shoe. They are wide, flat, and ultra flexible. They even have fantastic ground feel.

So why should we mark it our best shoe of 2011? There is no other shoe that compares. No other product offers such flexibility in one shoe. If you had to buy only one pair of minimalist shoes, you might as well start with the Ultra. For seasoned barefooters who need a pair of light shoes for those moments when your toes need a little extra protection, these may be the only shoes you’ll ever need. They are light enough to stuff in a bag without ever knowing they are there. The washable materials mean that even dirty feet will never make these shoes look old and grotty.

Hey, they even look great, with a wide selection of men’s and women’s colours to choose from.

Hands-down, they are the most innovative product from VIVOBAREFOOT this year as well as the most flexible and innovative product we’ve seen in 2011. We feel they are deserving of the Living Barefoot Shoe of The Year Award for 2011.

For more information read our full reviews for the Men’s and Women’s Ultra.

Buy Vibram FiveFingers at these quality online retailers:

___________________________________________________________________________

About Living Barefoot Reviews:

As you read our reviews, please keep in mind that our reviewers review shoes in terms of their suitability for those looking to find the highest quality minimalist shoe products. All reviews are as factual as possible. In an effort to be transparent and ethical, we will point out any defects found, even if these do not affect the usability of the product. Not all defects will be present in final production shoes as we are sometimes offered “seconds” or pre-release products in an effort to provide you with reviews in a timely manor. In the event that serious issues are found with a review sample we will give every opportunity for the manufacturer to replace to explain the review samples before the final review is released. We never accept payments for reviews. We do not guarantee a good review for any products sent to us. We do not review products that do not claim to be minimalist or “barefoot like” unless we receive a significant number of requests from readers or listeners.

Should you have any questions about our review process or would like your product reviewed on our site, please do not hesitate to contact us using our contact page.

___________________________________________________________________________

Featured Interview: Christopher McDougall – Author of Born to Run

Listen HERE

Christopher McDougall is a well-spoken, humble man who has through the popularity of his book brought about some of the biggest changes in the perception of feet and running in recent years. Join us in learning about how this talented author wrote his book, discovered his feet, and how he feels about barefooting and running. This interview should not be missed.

We Talk about:

- Chris’s recent appearance at the TED Conference

- Thoughts on Interviews In General

- His first exposure to barefoot running

- How he came to find the Tarahumara while on assignment for the New York Times.

- He thoughts on his influence over barefoot running and ultra running

- How he struggled with writing Born to Run

- This thoughts on minimalist shoes

- And much more!

To learn more about Christopher McDougall visit his website: http://chrismcdougall.com

Buy His Book: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
Download the Audible Audiobook

Find “Living Barefoot” in iTunes and download it onto your iPod / iPhone or listen online

___________________________________________________________________________

Keep Yourself Connected:

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed, Listen to or download our Podcasts, subscribe to our RSS feed, or Subscribe to our email updates.

___________________________________________________________________________

Recent Minimalist Shoe Reviews:

Stay updated by being notified when we release a new reviews. Subscribe Here.

___________________________________________________________________________

Give us your support!

As Living Barefoot continues to grow our costs keep increasing. In order to cover the many costs necessary to provide our readers and listeners with the great quality reviews and content on Living Barefoot we would like to request your help.

If you like what we are doing, we are asking for a tiny contribution to show your support. We guarantee you won’t notice the missing contribution, but if enough people participate, it can be a significant contribution to help continue to innovate and bring you great reviews, news, and personalities through the Living Barefoot Show.

What will we do in return? We’ll continue to offer you great free news, reviews, and guest interviews on our show. We will also decrease the amount of advertising on our site as subscriptions increase.

Donate as little as $1 monthly. The subscription will simply deduct $1 from your bank or credit card monthly. You can cancel the automatic withdrawal at any time. You won’t notice $1, but we will!

Discussion

2 comments for “Best Shoe of 2011 – By Living Barefoot”

Interesting choice, I love the Ultra as well, and used it for most of the summer, much more than any other shoe I own. The only real drawback is the lack of durability. I had to have my shoes replaced after using them for less than three months because they wore right through the sole on the left shoe. Don’t know if VB can fix this and still keep the shoe so light and flexible, but I sure hope they do!

Posted by Cory | December 12, 2011, 00:34
Good point Cory,
Readers should know that the sole does wear faster than a regular shoe. Those 3 months must have been very intense on your part I imagine as I have been using mine since they were launched and have yet to even come close to creating a hole. I’m sure VB is working on a method by which to extend the life of the shoe.

Posted by Al Gauthier | December 12, 2011, 06:22