Freet Tundra Review/The Most Minimal Barefoot Boot for Winter??

[@diegojosevelasco8423]

I can no longer wear shoes with a battery greater than 10 mm, I always remove the insoles, it causes back pain and instability. I've been wearing barefoot shoes for everything for three years. And the ones that suit me best, are the VFF and Realfoot shoes with a battery of between 3 mm and 8 mm maximum. Walks through city, countryside and mountains, in areas of Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and the Alps. Some call me crazy, and I tell them... Blessed madness, I have run out of physical problems by wearing minimal pile shoes and wide toe. Greetings and congratulations for showing barefoot shoes.

[@mamabear9389]

I have the Freet Ibex which is the leather version of the Tundra. I like it alot, however I do not do heavy duty hiking. Freet has come out with the Esk. I am curious about that one. Looks like more of a casual shoe for city and light hiking. Fits lower which I tend to like for more mobility.

[@mkscott12]

I have the Hykes Trailblazers and love them, great barefoot winter boot.

[@wi11i6m]

Thanks! I really appreciate the amount of effort that goes into these review videos, Very thorough and informative. Might i ask from your experience which barefoot boot is the warmest? (Or even speculate warmest on the market?) I have WP Boulder boots and Vivo Tracker 2's with thermal inserts but last winter my feet went numb after 1-2 hours of hiking here in Michigan -and thats with thick wool socks

[@sonsofsever]

The FeelGrounds Patrol Winter. It was actually the review video we put out the week before this one, go check it out! It's insulated very well and of all the boots we've tried this fall/winter it's definitely the warmest. One of the more minimal stack heights too!

[@quietfire286]

Interesting and thorough review. I completely disagree about the stack height though, I hike weekly 8-15 miles over moorland, Mountains, gravel paths, bushwacking, scramble over rocks etc... I've found around 8mm to be just right. 15mm would completely remove the groundfeel.

[@sonsofsever]

For you, for sure. But general population who hikes once a month if they’re lucky, that’s gonna be rough for them in this boot. Eric and I are pretty adapted, we hike almost every weekend if not every other weekend, and we like the 15-16 range and feel like we get plenty of ground feel out of those 🤷🏻‍♂️ it’s a spectrum, not a one size fits all opinion

[@quietfire286]

Yep everyone is different & stack height is probably one of the most individual things, I guess it's a lot to do with anatomy, I've got quite big chunky feet. I love how I can mold my feet around the features, it provides lots of stability and connection. @@sonsofsever

[@gibbsy071]

Hi i just got these, and i find them quite rigid from my first try on, for instance the tongue kind of digs in alot, and they feel rigid across my instep, and also above the ankle as you mentioned, and i get the creeky bit lol, as these are not leather did you find that these got softer through time, eg breaking them in, or did you not find them rigid at all, Thanks.

[@sonsofsever]

Definitely a bit rigid to start with. But they do soften up with use!

[@pat2982]

Have you done a review of the Freet Impala?

[@sonsofsever]

@@pat2982 no. They told us they didn’t want to send it because it’s basically the tundra in leather 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@BrandonWatkinsBmW13294]

Any plans on doing reviews of vivo barefoot?

[@sonsofsever]

@@BrandonWatkinsBmW13294 if they would ever respond to us, yes haha

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

How do you find the grip on smooth, wet surfaces? Like if you're going into a store or restaurant and it's raining or snowing outside, how do they fair on the tile floors? The Xero Ridgeways I have feel like I'm walking on ice when I go into a store and the boots are wet. I'm not specifically looking at these boots, but it looks like the same sole used on the Bootee 2, which I am interested in.

[@sonsofsever]

I wish I had a definitive answer for this but I don't. Although, I would imagine that the Freet hiking outsole isn't gonna fare much better than the Xero on a surface like that, but that's just a guess at this point, I only ever used it outside

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

@@sonsofsever Yeah I'm noticing a gap in the barefoot market. You got your shoes for regular wear, and you got your rugged hiking boots, but you don't really have the every day rain boot that's waterproof and slip resistant. Like for Xero shoes, their waterproof membrane is great, just put that on a thin and grippy Vibram sole or something. 😛

[@sonsofsever]

@@MichaelSheaAudio we'd love it if these companies would use more Vibram outsoles for sure! Have you looked into the Lems Boulder Boot Grip? Its outsole is pretty specifically designed for wet slippery surfaces.

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

@@sonsofsever I have seen them, but the stack height is a bit thick for me. I like my barefoot shoes on the thin side. Around 5mm would be ideal. I'd asked Freet on their website, as well as their video for the Bootee 2 how their soles do in these conditions. The person on the website couldn't really comment or make any guarantees, while the person on youtube said they should do reasonably well on wet floors. Reasonably well is much better than what I currently have, so it's an option.

[@sonsofsever]

@@MichaelSheaAudio well keep your eye on the channel this fall, we've already got some boots on their way to us for review, maybe something we put out there will strike your fancy!

[@MustRunTonyo]

What water resistant or waterproof semi boot would you suggest for casual use for the city? Better with more thickness for some more absorption, I'm transitioning to barefoot...

[@sonsofsever]

Lems are really good transition shoes. They've got thicker stack heights than other barefoot brands. The Boulder Boot Grip would be a good starting point! It's zero drop, has like 18mm stack height, is plenty flexible, and it's waterproof. It goes a bit higher in the ankle than the Tundra but not much.

[@MustRunTonyo]

@@sonsofsever thanks! Unfortunately the lems are around 200, while the tundra I can find at 120...I see from your review that it's quite severe on the foot, having thin sole...it scares me 😀

[@sonsofsever]

@@MustRunTonyo yeah price is tough, but Lems are currently on sale! Might be worth looking into. If you're looking for a little more stack height the options narrow a bit. Maybe the Feelgrounds Patrol? I can't recall the price right now but I think they're around 15mm stack height.

[@JohnMoseley]

Freet are amazing in terms of construction, but I can't wear them because they're not wide enough for my feet. I wish they'd do wide versions, but I've emailed them about this and they're not interested.

[@sonsofsever]

I mean, they are definitely wider than traditional boots out on the market. One thing we always about is how just about everybody could always go wider.

[@marcz9482]

Can someone make a video on durability of these types of shoes. They always looked wrecked after one use

[@sonsofsever]

I mean.... I (Chris) have put about 300 miles on them at work and then probably another 50 or so outside of work haha so the pair I'm showing in the video is pretty used. I mention the durability in my portion of the video.