fenchurch | Minimalist Hiking Shoes

As I think I've mentioned here before, I'm a barefooter and have had a sort of hate/hate relationship with shoes for most of my life. I've got some good reasons for this (that are a bit too involved to go into right now), but early last year I tried on my first pair of Vibram FiveFingers and life has never been the same. I now own nine pairs of shoes. At the same time! Well, until winter hit, I only owned seven... the colder, wetter weather pushing me to try a more rugged pair of Vibrams that are fleece-lined and water resistant. And they work, mostly. They're rather tough to put on and I've found they're not very effective in wet snow, but when it's just cold or just wet, they work wonderfully! But, of course, this meant I still really needed something that would do a decent job of keeping my toes from getting frostbit in wet snow.

Enter VivoBarefoot Trail Shoes!

These are considered "minimalist" shoes and they're fantastic for winter-wear! Despite the rugged looking soles, there's actually quite a bit of "ground feel" when you walk in them. They cinch down nicely along the foot, but the area around the toes expands well to allow the foot spread when you step. And, even better, there's no "molding" in the sole to force the foot to go in any particular form. It doesn't feel exactly like walking barefoot, but it's so close that it doesn't aggravate my ankle the way regular shoes usually do.

I snapped this shot after wearing them today to go walking out on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail... and I can't wait to try them out in snow-laden Utah next month!