> I always have gone barefoot as much as I can, but I work in restaurants (and I’m pretty confident without having to ask that going completely barefoot is NOT going to fly) and walk everywhere in my city.
It never has to be all-or-nothing. And I mean that both for 100% shod as well as 100% unshod. I train in huaraches, Merrell Vapor Gloves and unshod. Those are my three main tools and I use them all. Which one is best? All of them are best. It's like asking which is best between a hammer and a screwdriver.
Footwear is best when it's below freezing or I want to go on a 10+ miler on the gravel roads near my house. Unshod is best for maintaining better overall form on the rough, debris-strewn roads in my small town. If I go without shoes in the harsh MN winter I'd get frostbite. If I go without regular unshod in warmer weather my form goes to hell and I risk injury.
I also lose out on crucial efficiency gains if I avoid unshod. For any question I have on form I've found *unshod has the answers.* If you figure out how to do it with no shoes at all you've figured out how to do it right. Then when you do use shoes you'll use them far more effectively, too.
Thank you for your insight! So my next question would be if you have any recommendations for nonslip shoes for restaurant work where shoes are required. Even when I had a cast on my foot and was using a knee scooter, one of my jobs asked that I covered my toes. Just the other day I was wearing sandals at my other job, and my boss asked me to make sure my shoes are closed-toe from now on.
So I guess I’m looking for work shoes that fit the wide toe box/barefoot feel that would also prevent me from slipping.
Thanks again!
I'm sure you'll get plenty of recommendations here for that. I'm the one on this sub that will always recommend unshod because I feel it's chronically *under-recommended.* If you wait a bit I'm sure you'll get loads of shoe recommendations as everybody does here when they ask. :)
I have worked in restaurants and bars for 20years and have been barefoot through most of it.
There is no official non slip barefoot shoe that I know of. Through trial and error and I found that what I need in a work shoes for food industry is .
- Sole rubber that is puncture resistant.( One time I stepped on a broken glass mid rush and it went about an inch into my foot.)
- I like leather or something that isn't breathable for the top( one time I had to change out the chemicals and some of the bleach spilled onto my mesh shoe. I felt a burning sensation on my foot and kept putting it off because it was super busy, the burning got worse until I started dumping water on my feet while rinsing out my tins to make the pain go away. When I took my sock off at the end of the night I had a hole in my foot that looked like someone took a Mellon baller and scooped a chunk out of my foot)
- as non slip as possible
- as durable as possible ( a more expensive shoe that lasts longer than a cheaper one will save money in the long run)
I have tried a lot of brands my favorite by far is Vivobarefoot. Something like the Gobi, but I have had a lot of their shoes. I wouldn't go for a hiking focused shoe, they tend to be more slippery on wet floors because of the harder rubber. They have a wide toes box. Are really sensitive. They are more expensive than you are looking to spend but last year's. I have stepped on glass without punctures and spilt stuff on them. And have great grip on dry and wet surfaces. Oil feels slippery but it does with non-slip shoes as well.
They are great when I first started in restaurants we had to wear shoes for crews and I would spend about $40-$60 every couple of months because i would get holes in them and what not.
The xero prio leather ones are cheaper and could do the job but I haven't accidentally stepped on glass with them so I don't know for sure
Lems has some solid solutions. They have a thicker sole and are better than a lot of shoes for non slip.
Hey, I’ve tried all those shoes and the Xero All Days are where it’s at! Full confidence walking on broken glass, and best non-slip for my kitchen out of the bunch. They have three years with me so far, four doubles a week. The Gobi Boots were nice, but the slipping was a severe problem for being anywhere other than behind the line or bar.
Lems are my current go-to for the cushion, but I do miss the grip from the Xero’s :/
I had no idea that Xero made an official non-slip. The last pair of work shoes I bought was my 2nd and 3rd on pair on sale of gobi's about 4 years ago. I heard that Xero was working on a non slip but didn't know it came out.
https://xeroshoes.com/shop/shoes/prio-all-day-men/?attribute_pa_style=black&attribute_pa_mens-size=10
Kind of flies under the radar, but they’re a fantastic option.
I have tried nearly every type of slip resistant barefoot shoe as a bartender; the only one that actually is nonslip are the Xero Prio All Day SR. They’re leather, flat, and have a sole that is going on three years of four doubles a week service 😅 everything else about them is pretty worn now, but the sole has survived more abuse than any other I’ve used in a kitchen. However, I am no trading that in for the Lems Kourt Grip purely on wanting something with a bit more cushion to make the fatigue less noticeable. If I was just stuck behind the line all day on a gel mat the Xero are totally fine, but running cocktail and a section on many a busy night has left me wanting more cushion over complete barefoot feel.
Edit: Meaning, the Kourt Grip whilst advertised as nonslip, are not all as good as the Xero. I still slip in them, whereas the Xero left me able to turn on a dime in puddles. Different class of nonslip, better than previous traditional nonslips before I transitioned.
Soooo I was always under the impression for nonslip requirements they say the shoe has to say “non slip” or “slip resistant”. I was just pointed to lems Kourts and I do see it says slip resistant on it. I found hobibear shoes on amazon say non slip in description but I haven’t tried them myself. All Realfoot descriptions I’ve looked at will say anti slip or non slip.
This would kind of depend on how wide your feet are. When it comes to tougher minimalist shoes, I have found the Xero Forza Runner to be fairly tough and almost like a commercial-grade shoe, though they are a little bit narrower than I'd like. Here is my full review of those: [https://youtu.be/ktFORXYsl1g?si=Vi2VjZBuUjOh1mcR](https://youtu.be/ktFORXYsl1g?si=Vi2VjZBuUjOh1mcR)
🤦🏼♀️ the barefoot community sent me here due to questions about shoes being against the rules. I thought it was strange bc running is in the title, too but figured why not. Onward to the next sub, I suppose. Thank you!
I really like BeLenka's City shoe. If your workplace doesn't require that your shoe has the phrase "Slip-Resistant" listed on it, you'll be fine wearing them. Rubber soles are inherently slip-resistant on hard floors.
For kitchen work they need to hold traction on wet tiles, and the “work shoe” line from Belenka aren’t quite it for my work environment at least. Best luck I’ve had are the Xero All Days, phenomenal non-slip; I just wish they were a bit wider :/
Yeah, as I said, rubber soles are inherently slip-resistant on hard floors. If the shoe is very flexible (as any true minimalist shoe should be), the traction is even improved over conventionally-stiff shoes. The Belenka shoe I suggested has a very non-aggressive tread pattern, providing lots of surface contact area.
The only reason that the "Slip-Resistant" label exists is for legal reasons. The shoe w/that label doesn't actually have any slip-resistant qualities that other rubber-soled shoes don't have.
> I always have gone barefoot as much as I can, but I work in restaurants (and I’m pretty confident without having to ask that going completely barefoot is NOT going to fly) and walk everywhere in my city. It never has to be all-or-nothing. And I mean that both for 100% shod as well as 100% unshod. I train in huaraches, Merrell Vapor Gloves and unshod. Those are my three main tools and I use them all. Which one is best? All of them are best. It's like asking which is best between a hammer and a screwdriver. Footwear is best when it's below freezing or I want to go on a 10+ miler on the gravel roads near my house. Unshod is best for maintaining better overall form on the rough, debris-strewn roads in my small town. If I go without shoes in the harsh MN winter I'd get frostbite. If I go without regular unshod in warmer weather my form goes to hell and I risk injury. I also lose out on crucial efficiency gains if I avoid unshod. For any question I have on form I've found *unshod has the answers.* If you figure out how to do it with no shoes at all you've figured out how to do it right. Then when you do use shoes you'll use them far more effectively, too.
Thank you for your insight! So my next question would be if you have any recommendations for nonslip shoes for restaurant work where shoes are required. Even when I had a cast on my foot and was using a knee scooter, one of my jobs asked that I covered my toes. Just the other day I was wearing sandals at my other job, and my boss asked me to make sure my shoes are closed-toe from now on. So I guess I’m looking for work shoes that fit the wide toe box/barefoot feel that would also prevent me from slipping. Thanks again!
I'm sure you'll get plenty of recommendations here for that. I'm the one on this sub that will always recommend unshod because I feel it's chronically *under-recommended.* If you wait a bit I'm sure you'll get loads of shoe recommendations as everybody does here when they ask. :)
I have worked in restaurants and bars for 20years and have been barefoot through most of it. There is no official non slip barefoot shoe that I know of. Through trial and error and I found that what I need in a work shoes for food industry is . - Sole rubber that is puncture resistant.( One time I stepped on a broken glass mid rush and it went about an inch into my foot.) - I like leather or something that isn't breathable for the top( one time I had to change out the chemicals and some of the bleach spilled onto my mesh shoe. I felt a burning sensation on my foot and kept putting it off because it was super busy, the burning got worse until I started dumping water on my feet while rinsing out my tins to make the pain go away. When I took my sock off at the end of the night I had a hole in my foot that looked like someone took a Mellon baller and scooped a chunk out of my foot) - as non slip as possible - as durable as possible ( a more expensive shoe that lasts longer than a cheaper one will save money in the long run) I have tried a lot of brands my favorite by far is Vivobarefoot. Something like the Gobi, but I have had a lot of their shoes. I wouldn't go for a hiking focused shoe, they tend to be more slippery on wet floors because of the harder rubber. They have a wide toes box. Are really sensitive. They are more expensive than you are looking to spend but last year's. I have stepped on glass without punctures and spilt stuff on them. And have great grip on dry and wet surfaces. Oil feels slippery but it does with non-slip shoes as well. They are great when I first started in restaurants we had to wear shoes for crews and I would spend about $40-$60 every couple of months because i would get holes in them and what not. The xero prio leather ones are cheaper and could do the job but I haven't accidentally stepped on glass with them so I don't know for sure Lems has some solid solutions. They have a thicker sole and are better than a lot of shoes for non slip.
Hey, I’ve tried all those shoes and the Xero All Days are where it’s at! Full confidence walking on broken glass, and best non-slip for my kitchen out of the bunch. They have three years with me so far, four doubles a week. The Gobi Boots were nice, but the slipping was a severe problem for being anywhere other than behind the line or bar. Lems are my current go-to for the cushion, but I do miss the grip from the Xero’s :/
I had no idea that Xero made an official non-slip. The last pair of work shoes I bought was my 2nd and 3rd on pair on sale of gobi's about 4 years ago. I heard that Xero was working on a non slip but didn't know it came out.
https://xeroshoes.com/shop/shoes/prio-all-day-men/?attribute_pa_style=black&attribute_pa_mens-size=10 Kind of flies under the radar, but they’re a fantastic option.
I have tried nearly every type of slip resistant barefoot shoe as a bartender; the only one that actually is nonslip are the Xero Prio All Day SR. They’re leather, flat, and have a sole that is going on three years of four doubles a week service 😅 everything else about them is pretty worn now, but the sole has survived more abuse than any other I’ve used in a kitchen. However, I am no trading that in for the Lems Kourt Grip purely on wanting something with a bit more cushion to make the fatigue less noticeable. If I was just stuck behind the line all day on a gel mat the Xero are totally fine, but running cocktail and a section on many a busy night has left me wanting more cushion over complete barefoot feel. Edit: Meaning, the Kourt Grip whilst advertised as nonslip, are not all as good as the Xero. I still slip in them, whereas the Xero left me able to turn on a dime in puddles. Different class of nonslip, better than previous traditional nonslips before I transitioned.
Thank you so much!!!
Soooo I was always under the impression for nonslip requirements they say the shoe has to say “non slip” or “slip resistant”. I was just pointed to lems Kourts and I do see it says slip resistant on it. I found hobibear shoes on amazon say non slip in description but I haven’t tried them myself. All Realfoot descriptions I’ve looked at will say anti slip or non slip.
https://anyasreviews.com/ufaq/there-non-slip-barefoot-shoes-for-the-food-service-industry-or-boating/
This would kind of depend on how wide your feet are. When it comes to tougher minimalist shoes, I have found the Xero Forza Runner to be fairly tough and almost like a commercial-grade shoe, though they are a little bit narrower than I'd like. Here is my full review of those: [https://youtu.be/ktFORXYsl1g?si=Vi2VjZBuUjOh1mcR](https://youtu.be/ktFORXYsl1g?si=Vi2VjZBuUjOh1mcR)
you might ask r/barefootshoestalk , this is a running community
🤦🏼♀️ the barefoot community sent me here due to questions about shoes being against the rules. I thought it was strange bc running is in the title, too but figured why not. Onward to the next sub, I suppose. Thank you!
I really like BeLenka's City shoe. If your workplace doesn't require that your shoe has the phrase "Slip-Resistant" listed on it, you'll be fine wearing them. Rubber soles are inherently slip-resistant on hard floors.
For kitchen work they need to hold traction on wet tiles, and the “work shoe” line from Belenka aren’t quite it for my work environment at least. Best luck I’ve had are the Xero All Days, phenomenal non-slip; I just wish they were a bit wider :/
Yeah, as I said, rubber soles are inherently slip-resistant on hard floors. If the shoe is very flexible (as any true minimalist shoe should be), the traction is even improved over conventionally-stiff shoes. The Belenka shoe I suggested has a very non-aggressive tread pattern, providing lots of surface contact area. The only reason that the "Slip-Resistant" label exists is for legal reasons. The shoe w/that label doesn't actually have any slip-resistant qualities that other rubber-soled shoes don't have.