We barefooters are great people. We heal our minds by fixing our bodies. We tread lightly on our mother earth. We even help other people achieve their best selves by making them become barefoot! So often though, we have a fatal flaw that we like to pretend isn’t ever a problem: we refuse to wear shoes, even when we really should.
For most of us, we are perfectly fine (and in fact should) going barefoot 90% of the time. Our feet develop beautiful calloused soles, strong flexible arches, and sensitive receptors to protect us from almost all dangers to our feet.
Sometimes, however, we really need shoes. And for some members of our society, they can't transition to barefoot until we admit that they must wear shoes, and start making better shoes/boots for them.
Ever tried stepping on a shovel barefoot? Yep, you know what I'm talking about.
Our ancestors invented shoes for one reason: to protect their feet from environments harsher than they evolved to handle. Think deep snow, sharp slick rocks, or a thorny bramble patch.
Today, It’s the man made environments that are usually the greatest threat to our precious feet.
I have worked off and on in the trades most of my life, mostly residential remodel work. I have worked as an HVAC technician, as an electrician (my favorite trade), and have done a fair bit of framing and plumbing (plumbing is the worst).
I can run an arc welder, pull apart an old engine, and have even tried my hand at some blacksmithing - I quickly discovered I don't have that kind of arm strength to swing a hammer for long!
You can bet I'm sure ain’t barefoot while on the jobsite!
I have watched too many guys stick three inch framing nails through their feet on accident, and then have to go to the ER and explain to the physician on duty why they weren't wearing proper safety gear. Guys dropping a heavy water heater on their foot and having to call in sick for several days while they get the swelling from their broken toe under control.
Our ancestors knew that a wrecked foot is a dead foot. Just because their feet would normally be just fine hiking through fields of sharp rocks, they knew to put on protective shoes on the off chance they slipped and sliced their foot open, preventing them from continuing on the hunt or trek, and potentially leading to terrible infections. Most of the time the worst never happens, but all it takes is one slip up and your feet are toast!
Footwear technology has come a long way in the past seven thousand years. No longer are we limited to just a thin skin protecting our feet from life's worst, now we have heavy leather boots with Vibram soles, and steel toes. We have running shoes that can last us hundreds if not thousands of miles with nary a shard of glass getting in. Good sandals can protect our feet from dangerously hot asphalt or splinters on wooden walkways.
Our footwear options would leave our ancestors speechless! The thing they would remind us, though, is that shoes are tools, not just a piece of fashion. The shoes we choose to wear (or not wear) should be determent by the job at hand, not by what some fashion magazine says, or what our barefoot pride doesn't want to wear.
Planning on kicking that shovel? You’ll probably need something thicker than your “VOBAREFOOT Tracker II” barefoot hiking boots!
I try to be a full time barefooter, but when I'm on the jobsite i suck in my pride and put on my heavy work boots.
Full confession: I love my boots! They have been one of my best investments in my tool box, ever.
These bad boys are a pair of White’s Hawthorn Explorers (not affiliated). With 10” tall uppers, extra wide steel toe (it fits my barefoot toes!!!), Vibram soled, and 100% full grain leather. I can trash them on the jobsite all week, and then come home to polish them up for the weekend. They have lasted YEARS, and due to the quality of materials and craftsmanship I can take them to my local Cobbler and have them resoled and repaired!
If only they didn’t have that lifted heel.
It was surprising to me, when I first got these boots, how decent they really are on the feet.
Now hear me out! With no built in cushion, or arch support these boots are like having a 2”x4” strapped to your foot, a leather 2”x4”. They flex around the ball of the foot, because of the stiff heel, steel shank, and heavy steel toe that's all you get, but its is enough.
The thick leather sole gives exolete protection from the hazards on the jobsite. The deep lugs give great traction on wet and slick surfaces (think latter rungs in the rain). The full grain leather upper is incredibly abrasion resistant, and nicely takes a wax coat for waterproofing.
For most guys the worst part of breaking in such nice boots is your foot having to strengthen itself to walk in them. Most guys don't have strong feet from wearing terrible footwear for so long. Putting on these shoes is much like transitioning to barefoot by standing on concrete all day.
My strong feet had no issues breaking these boots in.
The biggest downside to my White’s is the heel lift. Just walking around and standing at the jobsite these actually don't cause an issue, but you can't run in them or walk a lot without wrecking your knees.
It would be so easy for White's to change up their last and make a zero drop version using one of Vibram flat soles. Then they would be so much more flexible and be actually barefoot endorsed!
Right now the best options for us barefoot junkies are to avoid shovels and heavy machinery at all costs, or to suck it up and put on normal work boots.
Hey! Since we’re banding together to boycott shovels, check out this post on the best barefoot shoes currently on the market!