Hello, thank you for covering different aspects- living in Norway a valuable info is about how much in minus temperature wise a boot can go, friction (super important as we are in the woods on wet roots , on rocks and ice, but also in deep snow in the winter), and stitched boots for the terrain we are on is the way to go, so good to know about that too. How about the size when you add woolly insert ( where do you get them from please ) and thick socks, do you need to go a size up? Thank you very much in advance for your answer and recomendations. Best wishes
The Farmer's are great down to around freezing and a bit lower with a wool insole, but they get wet easily, so for super cold/wet terrain, I'd recommend the Softstar Switchback. It's somewhat thicker, but has a nice grippy Vibram sole with good flex and warm merino wool lining. ua-cam.com/video/ybp_g-8z2vo/v-deo.html You can also filter boots with my shoe finder tool: bit.ly/3FRv6UQ. For socks I use merino Injinji's as my baselayer bit.ly/3dvdcgk and then a thick Smartwool over top. amzn.to/47ZyCZJ
Great looking boot, I've see so many people commenting and asking about them on the fb groups. These and the lems. The lace locks sound like they work extremely well, and yes it's absolutely annoying when trying to lace and tie a boot that keeps getting loose before you can cinch and bow it up. Solid choice I think based off what you've shown so far. That's one I'll look forward to test results on.
Yea, the closest thing I've found is the Saltic Vintero (or Outdoor for summer). ua-cam.com/video/uEOqm4GEFq8/v-deo.html It's got a tough tread and great toe protection.
@@AndrewFolts The Birckenstock QS 700 are the closest i found they are not exactly minimalist but are zero drop and have a wide toe box. But you have to order them from Europe.
Thanks for a good review! One question: Do you think they are stable enough to hike with 20 kg on your back? Or can you recommend a barefoot brand that is a bit more stable? /Thanks!
Hey Andreas, stability isn't really needed for backpacking, since the shoe is so low to the ground. I've backpacked in 5mm Xero sandals and even 3mm Vibram's with no issues. That said, the Farmer is better suited for casual hikes and I'd go with a tougher rubber, like the Vibram V-Trek ua-cam.com/video/gN07dkOloU4/v-deo.html or Vivobarefoot Primus FG ua-cam.com/video/W4wikuqPHZ0/v-deo.html. If you need extra-wide the Softstar Primal RunAmoc Megagrip bit.ly/3FogsnP is another great option. You can use my shoe finder tool to filter by activity, durability, etc. bit.ly/49U1Ryo
Hey Andrew - relatively new viewer here but absolutely love your content. You have so many reviews of barefoot options and it’s so great to actually get some real feedback while making a buying decision. Im in Ontario Canada, and am wondering if you have a recommendation for a spring/summer/fall boot for light hiking and casual use? I know you did an hour + long recommendation video (awesome btw) but I don’t think you had these at that time! Thanks again!
The Farmer Spring version bit.ly/3NzbwRu would be a good option if you need lots of width in the toebox. The Tracker Decon is another good option that's just normal wide and has a slightly tougher hiking tread, but still very light, flexible, and breathable. ua-cam.com/video/Xkax9yUCgFo/v-deo.html
Good morning Andres, Which do you think has better grip on wet surfaces such as city pavements, the Belenka Winter or the Realfoot Farmer? And as for the width at the heel, is the Realfoot Farmer narrower than the Belenka Winter? Is there much difference? Thank you, and congratulations for your channel, which keeps me informed of all the latest news on foot-friendly footwear for our feet.
Ooh, tough choice. Well, the Farmer's are extra-wide in the front and slimmer in the back with less insulation and a lighter weight and the Gobi's are wide throughout with more insulation and slightly better water resistance due the glossy leather.
@@Kalasardar75 yeah I'm having to return two sizes of the magma esc as they're just too narrow and tapered on the pinky side for me. Really disappointed.. I think I'm done with Vivo...
@@Dang_Lin-Wang I started with Vivo, but left them behind long ago. Recently I went into their London shop and tried on some shoes and it actually hurt. Off-the-shelf they appear to have zero interest in catering to us wide-foot types. Still, things might turn around for us once they get their bespoke 3D printed shoes on the market. Not sure how long that'll be. They started testing them in the summer.
the company is weird to say the least. I placed an order for Farmer Spring boots and waited for two weeks, reached out to them and they told me that model is discontinued and only Farmer Winter stays, I tried to argue but they refused to make it. Now(month later) I see this review and apparently it's back in stock. I'm glad I settled on be lenka nevada boots...
@@AndrewFolts I wanted to give them some time before replying. It's pretty bad. The good - shape is awesome and they fit like a glove, both wight and inner volume, very comfortable not loose or tight(I do wear all my shoes with stretchy laces). The bad - qc, sole and certain choices company made are rubbish. The pull tab ripped off first time I tried pulling it(Belenka offered to cover cobbler expenses up to $25); Sole is terrible - it has deep lugs made out of soft rubber(very grippy on dry pavement), however they are extremely slippery on icy or even wet leaves covered surfaces. And you can feel those lugs with your feet when walking on anything other than polished concrete(very annoying and kinda defeats the whole "feel the ground" point of minimalist shoes). They soak water like a sponge, I'm talking you walk 10 feet in snow and they're wet inside(can be fixed with coatings, but still). All of those things can be neglected if you think about them as "casual office" shoes, but they're not. Because the most annoying part is SQUEAKING. The tongue of the shoe rubs against inner layer of leather(white leather under flap with lace holes) creating very noticeable squeak. I'm working in medium noise level environment and I can hear it with every step. So if you'd be in the office - it would sound like wearing wet sneakers on basketball court. Summary - if belenka would use vibram sheet soles they would both feel nicer and perform better in wet conditions(probably be cheaper too, since no need to create a expensive mold) and more sustainable in long run. Noisy part could be fixed by using nubuck(and not polished) leather in the part of the shoe that tongue will rub against. So I do not see it as a complete product ready for public, but rather prototype of potentially awesome boots.
This pair looks amazing, Andrew! Thank you for reviewing it! ^_^ Just a quick question: since I started my "barefoot transition" in November 2022 (never returned to the terrible mainstream shoes... and never will), so far I've only been wearing two brands of barefoot shoes: Vivobarefoot (4 pairs: "Magna FG", "Addis Desert", "Primus Trail Knit FG" and "Gobi III") and Vibram Five Fingers (1 pair, "V-Run", only for the gym). I was wondering if the size of RealFoot shoes fits in the same way as in the Vivo and Vibram (my size is 47, EU, for both); unfortunately, here in ITALY we don't have any physical store so... online purchase is the only way to go. :( Hence, have you checked if RealFoot is reliable for the size? Thanks in advance, take care and keep up the good work! :)
@@AndrewFolts These are currently 40% off (March 22) My feet are 27.0 cm long . Looking at their chart, I was prepared to order size 44 .,with an extra 2 cm toe space. But if these fit you perfectly, maybe I should get the 45 since my foot is about a cm larger ?
I'm stuck on deciding between a size 43 and 44. What are your foot measurements? And how what size did you end up choosing? My foot is 27.5 cm and according to the Realfoot sizing chart if I add an extra 1.0 cm I should be good and that puts me just over a size 43 according to their chart. I'm wondering if I should size up to 44, but I printed out their chart to step on and 44 looks too big. However, it might not be as roomy once i actually put the boot on- that was my experience with my Belenka Nevada boots . What do you think? I have a pair of Vivo Magna Forest Tracker size 45, Belenka Nevada size 45, and Vibram FF size 45. But a 45 on the Realfoot size chart looks way bigger. In all honesty, if those shoes were wider in the pinky toe area I could've likely sized down
My usual size is 43/44 and I went with the Farmer 44, which has plenty of space. My feet are 10.5 in or 26.67 cm. The extra-wide toebox could indeed give you more room, so maybe 44 is the way to go.
Higher than Softstar. The main problem with those is the toe taper, because of the way they're stitched flat to the top of the sole. Realfoot stitches to the front.
Widest shoes or boots I know of. Earlier this year (2023) I emailed them asking if they had any plans to come out with anything vegan. They replied saying they were working on it and hoped to have something this year. As the months wore on, I thought they weren't going to make it, but they did, just about: you can now pre-order their new vegan winter boot and it'll ship in January. As a very wide-footed vegan, I'm hoping my troubles are over.
@@AndrewFolts The perks of spreading the good word on barefoot shoes! I look forward to your review and will, of course, share my two cents in response. I'm hoping Realfoot catch on so a few more barefoot brands will dare to go as wide.
No more or less slippery than any other casual barefoot shoe I've tried. For hiking on wet hills and such you'd want a more aggressive tread, obviously.
If you put a nice layer of beeswax or other leather treatment on it, it'll hold up for a while, but it's not fully WP, so it'll eventually soak through, especially in heavy rain.
Greetings. I have been wearing Vibram Five fingers for ten years in the United States, in California. And now I have returned to my country Spain, specifically in Asturias where it usually rains and the Five fingers will stay for sunny and dry days, summer and autumn drier seasons. I bought some waterproof Ranger 2.0 boots from Be Lenka, and I want some spare ones with a waterproof membrane. Do you think these Farmer boots from RealFoot are good boots? Compared to the Ranger 2.0 from Be Lenka? Thanks in advance. Greetings from Asturies - Spain ;) @AndrewFolts
The Farmer's are nice for casual and light trails, but for rocky/slippery hills and very wet conditions the Ranger would be better, especially if you put some waterproofing wax on the thicker leather. Cheers from USA!
Somewhere in the multiverse, there are one timeline where boots like that are conventional, I wish I live in that world
The Extra-Wide-o-Verse. Maybe I would be like this evil UA-camr who made videos about thick, narrow cushion shoes, ha. (:
Hello, thank you for covering different aspects- living in Norway a valuable info is about how much in minus temperature wise a boot can go, friction (super important as we are in the woods on wet roots , on rocks and ice, but also in deep snow in the winter), and stitched boots for the terrain we are on is the way to go, so good to know about that too. How about the size when you add woolly insert ( where do you get them from please ) and thick socks, do you need to go a size up? Thank you very much in advance for your answer and recomendations. Best wishes
The Farmer's are great down to around freezing and a bit lower with a wool insole, but they get wet easily, so for super cold/wet terrain, I'd recommend the Softstar Switchback. It's somewhat thicker, but has a nice grippy Vibram sole with good flex and warm merino wool lining. ua-cam.com/video/ybp_g-8z2vo/v-deo.html You can also filter boots with my shoe finder tool: bit.ly/3FRv6UQ. For socks I use merino Injinji's as my baselayer bit.ly/3dvdcgk and then a thick Smartwool over top. amzn.to/47ZyCZJ
I finally ordered these. I believe I could comfortably wear them with thick toe socks and my pinky and big toes will hopefully not feel crammed.
Yea, these are by far the widest barefoot boots I've ever tried. You've got miles of room in that toebox. Enjoy! (:
Are those wider than runamoc?@@AndrewFolts
@@Acenis Slightly in the toe and the RunAmoc's are slightly wider in the heel, but they're very similar.
Great looking boot, I've see so many people commenting and asking about them on the fb groups.
These and the lems.
The lace locks sound like they work extremely well, and yes it's absolutely annoying when trying to lace and tie a boot that keeps getting loose before you can cinch and bow it up.
Solid choice I think based off what you've shown so far.
That's one I'll look forward to test results on.
Yea, probably my most requested review. Puts all other wide toeboxes to shame, ha.
really wish one of these companies would do a safety toe boot.
Yea, the closest thing I've found is the Saltic Vintero (or Outdoor for summer). ua-cam.com/video/uEOqm4GEFq8/v-deo.html It's got a tough tread and great toe protection.
@@AndrewFolts The Birckenstock QS 700 are the closest i found they are not exactly minimalist but are zero drop and have a wide toe box. But you have to order them from Europe.
in a Xero shoes Q&A UA-cam video , Steve said Xero is working on one
@@robertboury914 incredible you follow that closely but i honestly would love to see that
Thanks for a good review! One question: Do you think they are stable enough to hike with 20 kg on your back? Or can you recommend a barefoot brand that is a bit more stable?
/Thanks!
Hey Andreas, stability isn't really needed for backpacking, since the shoe is so low to the ground. I've backpacked in 5mm Xero sandals and even 3mm Vibram's with no issues. That said, the Farmer is better suited for casual hikes and I'd go with a tougher rubber, like the Vibram V-Trek ua-cam.com/video/gN07dkOloU4/v-deo.html or Vivobarefoot Primus FG ua-cam.com/video/W4wikuqPHZ0/v-deo.html. If you need extra-wide the Softstar Primal RunAmoc Megagrip bit.ly/3FogsnP is another great option. You can use my shoe finder tool to filter by activity, durability, etc. bit.ly/49U1Ryo
Hey Andrew - relatively new viewer here but absolutely love your content. You have so many reviews of barefoot options and it’s so great to actually get some real feedback while making a buying decision.
Im in Ontario Canada, and am wondering if you have a recommendation for a spring/summer/fall boot for light hiking and casual use? I know you did an hour + long recommendation video (awesome btw) but I don’t think you had these at that time!
Thanks again!
The Farmer Spring version bit.ly/3NzbwRu would be a good option if you need lots of width in the toebox. The Tracker Decon is another good option that's just normal wide and has a slightly tougher hiking tread, but still very light, flexible, and breathable. ua-cam.com/video/Xkax9yUCgFo/v-deo.html
Good morning Andres,
Which do you think has better grip on wet surfaces such as city pavements, the Belenka Winter or the Realfoot Farmer? And as for the width at the heel, is the Realfoot Farmer narrower than the Belenka Winter? Is there much difference?
Thank you, and congratulations for your channel, which keeps me informed of all the latest news on foot-friendly footwear for our feet.
The Be Lenka Winter has a much more aggressive tread.Yes, the Farmer is a lot more narrow in the heel. Cheers!
@@AndrewFolts Thank you very much, Andrew. Have a happy day!
If you had to choose between the Farmer and the Vivo Scott IV, which one would you pick?
I got the Scott’s and returned them because of how narrow the front was and tight. This boot is truly for wide/splaying toes !
Ooh, tough choice. Well, the Farmer's are extra-wide in the front and slimmer in the back with less insulation and a lighter weight and the Gobi's are wide throughout with more insulation and slightly better water resistance due the glossy leather.
Yea, i bet you have wide feet. Mine are medium, so the Scott's felt roomy for me, but the Farmer's are def on another level, width wise.
@@Kalasardar75 yeah I'm having to return two sizes of the magma esc as they're just too narrow and tapered on the pinky side for me. Really disappointed.. I think I'm done with Vivo...
@@Dang_Lin-Wang I started with Vivo, but left them behind long ago. Recently I went into their London shop and tried on some shoes and it actually hurt. Off-the-shelf they appear to have zero interest in catering to us wide-foot types. Still, things might turn around for us once they get their bespoke 3D printed shoes on the market. Not sure how long that'll be. They started testing them in the summer.
Did you have problems ordering on their site?
Can't say, since they sent them to me direct for testing, although I've not had anyone report issues. Did you?
how does the toebox width compare to the Softstars Switchback? Wider, narrow, or same?
Very similar, they're both extra-wide. I'd say Softstar is slightly wider due to not being flat-stitched to the sole around the edges.
the company is weird to say the least. I placed an order for Farmer Spring boots and waited for two weeks, reached out to them and they told me that model is discontinued and only Farmer Winter stays, I tried to argue but they refused to make it. Now(month later) I see this review and apparently it's back in stock. I'm glad I settled on be lenka nevada boots...
Oh damn, that's too bad. Well, they're a smaller company than BeLenka, so it can happen. How're the Nevada's working for ya?
@@AndrewFolts I wanted to give them some time before replying. It's pretty bad. The good - shape is awesome and they fit like a glove, both wight and inner volume, very comfortable not loose or tight(I do wear all my shoes with stretchy laces). The bad - qc, sole and certain choices company made are rubbish. The pull tab ripped off first time I tried pulling it(Belenka offered to cover cobbler expenses up to $25); Sole is terrible - it has deep lugs made out of soft rubber(very grippy on dry pavement), however they are extremely slippery on icy or even wet leaves covered surfaces. And you can feel those lugs with your feet when walking on anything other than polished concrete(very annoying and kinda defeats the whole "feel the ground" point of minimalist shoes). They soak water like a sponge, I'm talking you walk 10 feet in snow and they're wet inside(can be fixed with coatings, but still). All of those things can be neglected if you think about them as "casual office" shoes, but they're not. Because the most annoying part is SQUEAKING. The tongue of the shoe rubs against inner layer of leather(white leather under flap with lace holes) creating very noticeable squeak. I'm working in medium noise level environment and I can hear it with every step. So if you'd be in the office - it would sound like wearing wet sneakers on basketball court. Summary - if belenka would use vibram sheet soles they would both feel nicer and perform better in wet conditions(probably be cheaper too, since no need to create a expensive mold) and more sustainable in long run. Noisy part could be fixed by using nubuck(and not polished) leather in the part of the shoe that tongue will rub against. So I do not see it as a complete product ready for public, but rather prototype of potentially awesome boots.
This pair looks amazing, Andrew! Thank you for reviewing it! ^_^
Just a quick question: since I started my "barefoot transition" in November 2022 (never returned to the terrible mainstream shoes... and never will), so far I've only been wearing two brands of barefoot shoes: Vivobarefoot (4 pairs: "Magna FG", "Addis Desert", "Primus Trail Knit FG" and "Gobi III") and Vibram Five Fingers (1 pair, "V-Run", only for the gym).
I was wondering if the size of RealFoot shoes fits in the same way as in the Vivo and Vibram (my size is 47, EU, for both); unfortunately, here in ITALY we don't have any physical store so... online purchase is the only way to go. :(
Hence, have you checked if RealFoot is reliable for the size?
Thanks in advance, take care and keep up the good work! :)
So I'm almost always a 44 and the Farmer 44 fit perfectly with a little space. The toebox is certainly extra-wide.
@@AndrewFolts Thank you so much, Andrew! 😉
@@AndrewFolts These are currently 40% off (March 22) My feet are 27.0 cm long . Looking at their chart, I was prepared to order size 44 .,with an extra 2 cm toe space. But if these fit you perfectly, maybe I should get the 45 since my foot is about a cm larger ?
@@robertboury914 I have quite a bit of room in the 44 with 26.67 cm feet, so I feel like the same size should work for you.
I'm stuck on deciding between a size 43 and 44. What are your foot measurements? And how what size did you end up choosing?
My foot is 27.5 cm and according to the Realfoot sizing chart if I add an extra 1.0 cm I should be good and that puts me just over a size 43 according to their chart. I'm wondering if I should size up to 44, but I printed out their chart to step on and 44 looks too big. However, it might not be as roomy once i actually put the boot on- that was my experience with my Belenka Nevada boots . What do you think?
I have a pair of Vivo Magna Forest Tracker size 45, Belenka Nevada size 45, and Vibram FF size 45. But a 45 on the Realfoot size chart looks way bigger. In all honesty, if those shoes were wider in the pinky toe area I could've likely sized down
My usual size is 43/44 and I went with the Farmer 44, which has plenty of space. My feet are 10.5 in or 26.67 cm. The extra-wide toebox could indeed give you more room, so maybe 44 is the way to go.
How's the volume of these? I tried Softstar Switchbacks but had to return because they were way too tight in the toe box in terms of height.
Higher than Softstar. The main problem with those is the toe taper, because of the way they're stitched flat to the top of the sole. Realfoot stitches to the front.
Widest shoes or boots I know of. Earlier this year (2023) I emailed them asking if they had any plans to come out with anything vegan. They replied saying they were working on it and hoped to have something this year. As the months wore on, I thought they weren't going to make it, but they did, just about: you can now pre-order their new vegan winter boot and it'll ship in January. As a very wide-footed vegan, I'm hoping my troubles are over.
Yea, it looks great. They're sending one for me to test, which I'm excited about, because I use my Farmer's all the time!
@@AndrewFolts The perks of spreading the good word on barefoot shoes! I look forward to your review and will, of course, share my two cents in response. I'm hoping Realfoot catch on so a few more barefoot brands will dare to go as wide.
Read some review saying their sole is slippery, what's your take on this?
No more or less slippery than any other casual barefoot shoe I've tried. For hiking on wet hills and such you'd want a more aggressive tread, obviously.
Hi Andrew is it easy to put it on?
It's as easy as any other barefoot boot I've tried. Unhook the lop lace locks and just loosen the third eyelets.
How well does the Farmer handle rain?
If you put a nice layer of beeswax or other leather treatment on it, it'll hold up for a while, but it's not fully WP, so it'll eventually soak through, especially in heavy rain.
Greetings. I have been wearing Vibram Five fingers for ten years in the United States, in California. And now I have returned to my country Spain, specifically in Asturias where it usually rains and the Five fingers will stay for sunny and dry days, summer and autumn drier seasons.
I bought some waterproof Ranger 2.0 boots from Be Lenka, and I want some spare ones with a waterproof membrane. Do you think these Farmer boots from RealFoot are good boots? Compared to the Ranger 2.0 from Be Lenka?
Thanks in advance.
Greetings from Asturies - Spain ;) @AndrewFolts
The Farmer's are nice for casual and light trails, but for rocky/slippery hills and very wet conditions the Ranger would be better, especially if you put some waterproofing wax on the thicker leather. Cheers from USA!
@@AndrewFolts Thank you very much ;)
Is it resoleable?
Realfoot doesn't resole them, but the sole is stitched, so you could take it to a cobbler or sew a new sole on yourself.