Softstar Shoes Switchback - Tough Barefoot Hiking Boots - Josh's Barefoot Shoes Reviews

Josh gives his honest and unbiased “first look” unboxing and review of the Softstar Shoes Switchback barefoot minimalist hiking boots for men or women. Tough armored superfabric for rougher hikes--but lightweight, flexible, breathable and maintaining healthy barefoot footwear values? Check it out!
Grab a pair at my affiliate link: bit.ly/softsta...
Follow me on Instagram @barefootshoejosh ( / barefootshoejosh ) to see cool pics of barefoot shoes, and to get more detailed reviews. My Instagram reviews include scores for 10 different criteria on each shoe, with a 100-point total scale!
#SoftstarShoes #Softstar #Switchback #BarefootShoes #MinimalistShoes #HikingBoots
NOTE: These shoes were a gift to me in exchange for doing an honest, unbiased review. All of the opinions expressed in this video are genuine, honest and unbiased.

[@ramsoncole4605]

I have the primal switchbacks just like that...they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned.

[@barefootshoejosh]

Cool, I'm glad you like them. I like mine too!

[@2klatte]

Thanks for the vid. Would love to see a longer term review of these boots 😊

[@barefootshoejosh]

It's about 5 months later now. I'm still using them, they're holding up very well, and I still like them very much.

[@JohnMoseley]

Would love to see your full list of the widest barefoot shoes.

[@barefootshoejosh]

Working on a video for that. Please subscribe and hit the notifications bell and you'll see it soon.. :)

[@JohnMoseley]

@@barefootshoejosh Great, Josh, I look forward to it.

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@JohnMoseley it's posting right now.. should be live shortly...

[@JohnMoseley]

@@barefootshoejosh Hey! That was quick! I've just seen that it's up.

[@wunchan9406]

Nice review Josh, in regards to sizing what size do you wear for Vivo’s and is it the same for the Softstars? So we have a reference on sizing when ordering thank you

[@barefootshoejosh]

Thanks.. I wear 45 in Vivobarefoots. this gives me a little bit of extra room in front of my toes. In the Softstars, I wear the size 11 (US). I hope that helps.

[@SupTim1]

Never heard of these before this video. Immediately bought a pair using your link after seeing this b/c I live in the american southwest. Think it'll stop a snake?

[@barefootshoejosh]

Hey thanks much for using my link. I have no earthly idea if they would stop a snake, and I certainly don't want to find out the hard way LOL. That said, I've seen another video where a dude was cutting at the material with a knife to check out the "slash resistant" armored fabric.. and it was impressive! For as lightweight and breathable as they are, they seem to be pretty tough.. some other parts of the shoe are leather though.. so again, I'm not going to be the one to run the snake bite test! Anyway, enjoy the boots!

[@likeadog7752]

With the wool liners are they too hot during summer? Great video review. Agree with other comment would like to see a follow up.

[@barefootshoejosh]

I wore these hiking several times during this past summer, and never once had the thought, "My feet are hot," and I live in Southern California.. so the wool liners must not be a problem. In fact, when I read your question, I was like "Do these boots have a wool lining?" LOL.. They're pretty light and breathable, but with nice grippy/chunky soles, and the superfabric is tough. I dig these boots on rockier terrain hikes for sure. If you decide to get some, please remember to use my affiliate link bit.ly/softstarjosh .. thanks! It helps me out, and I think you get a discount but I don't remember!

[@anneonnamouse5496]

Wool keeps you cool in the heat, warm when it's cold out... A magic material

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@anneonnamouse5496 I guess so! And the superfabric is pretty magical too!

[@hhv9Moiras]

Hi Josh! thank you for the review. I'm about to get one pair of the superfabric but I'm afraid to have issues with the size. If I follow softstar chart, by all means I should get the 8U (my feet are 25,3cm and 24,8cm) but I've read they tend to run small for hiking and going downhill. Would you be so gentile to share a bit more of your experience size wise? Have you taken them to a hard trail? Can you tell us more in detail how do you feel you feet after several hour walking? could you share your feet and boot measurements? Or idk, maybe something like: do you have room to put a thumb inside the boots if you put your foot forward? hehe

[@barefootshoejosh]

HI.. thanks for commenting! Yes I chose a size that gives me at least a thumb width in front of my toes.. You have to pay attention with Softstar's sizing chart, because they are not giving you the measurements of the insole, or the inside of the shoe.. they are saying on their chart, "If your foot is in this range.. get this size," and they factor in giving you a little space. So my feet are 27cm x 11cm and I got the size 11. They say the 11 is for feet that are between 27.3cm - 28.1cm; BUT because these are hiking boots--due to the hiking SOCKS I wear, and because my feet tend to swell if I'm going on a decent hike, I opted to size up, and that worked in my case. Your mileage may vary. If I was you, I would probably go with an 8U, but don't take my word for it--your best bet is to ask Softstar's customer service. ALSO, you can PRINT their sizing guide, and stand on it to see what you think.. just make sure that you get the printing size correctly (STEP 1 on their instructions.. VERY important). Here's the link for the printable sizing guide: www.softstarshoes.com/media/pdf/sizing-guide-adult-2017.pdf I haven't taken these on a LONG hike. Since I've lived in SoCal, my hikes are mostly shorter.. so I might have worn these for like 3 hours and my feet felt fine afterward--but again, that's me. These have Vibram's toughest soles on them, so they do the job. They warned me that these might be a little low volume before I got mine, which concerned me a bit, since my feet are higher volume and a LOT of shoes don't work for me because they are tight across the top of the foot, like where the bottom lace sits usually. However, I don't know if I got lucky, or if they solved the problem or what happened, but my pair of these fits great. I hope you find this info helpful. If so, please use my affiliate link to get yours: bit.ly/softstarjosh Thanks much! Josh

[@Mythichealth]

I have had these fall apart in 3 months of light use. Heal just pealed off from upper. They wouldn't warranty it. Their "elf lewis" wrote me back in support and said it was "loved a lot" or something. So every 3 months I have to pay 250 dollars for part time wear of the Switchback boot. And their support says it's normal. I also have had another "Sawyer" style by Softstar and the heal wore a hole right through bottom of shoe in same time about 3 months. Honestly very light use. Couple hours per day. I thought these would be good. I was excited for their products but unfortunately they died very fast and poor service followed.

[@barefootshoejosh]

Wow that's wild. I have those exact two pairs of shoes from Softstar, and both of mine are champs, and have zero problems.. maybe I just got lucky.

[@Murtagh653]

could you please detail your experience in a reddit post or something? I was seriously considering buying these, in fact I was just about to until i saw your comment. i haven't seen anyone else give these shoes a bad review, it would be helpful if your experience was more well known, as it could help people save a lot of money.. these boots are $410 AUD. what "elf lewis" said seems at odds with how they market the boot, as it is advertised with a "virtually indestructible superfabric upper" and vibram megagrip soles.

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@Murtagh653 The report runs contrary to my own personal experience, as well as the experience of the other reviewers and Softstar customers I've been in contact with.. not to mention the 400+ reviews on Softstar's site that average out to 4 stars. I'm not questioning the above commenter's experience. I'm saying their experience was an anomaly--an exception to the rule that these boots are tough, quality, awesome boots 99% of the time.

[@Murtagh653]

@@barefootshoejosh Hi Josh, I am well aware of all the good reviews (thank you, by the way, I have been watching a few of yours on different shoes) but it is just too big a risk for me to take, given that the price is very high, even for a normal high end shoe or boot, and the warranty is only 12 months, on top of the fact that I would have to ship it to the USA from Australia (a process that usually takes at least a month, one way) for any problems. I would be more inclined to give it a try if they had an official retailer in Australia, but I don't think they do. I also read the reviews on their website, looking at the lowest starred ones first, and there were a couple of people complaining about the same thing (sole peeling, stitching coming undone) though the stitching issue may now be fixed, as they say they have started double stitching, but another common complaint was the lack of height in the toe box, which would likely be a problem for me as my big toe nails point upwards at probably around 30 degrees, though it could be more or less, as I am taking a guess. having said all that, i would probably buy them if they came in black leather, i am just not sold on the superfabric, and i prefer the ability of leather to stretch and mold to your foot (they say the superfabric will never stretch, which seems restrictive in a shoe / boot) thanks for the reply, i did not mean my original comment to come across badly, I just didn't see many reviews of this boot online, and the only negative opinions are actually on softstars on website (as well as the one here) which I only discovered after reading this comment and going back to their website and sorting the reviews by negative rating. i like to look at all the reviews i can find on expensive stuff that i am considering buying, and a negative review can promote more discussion, especially on reddit, i also get a but suspicious when i don't see any negative reviews of a product, as no one loves everything, and even a perfect product will have its detractors.

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@Murtagh653 Yes.. agreed.. I think it's good to read some negative reviews of any significant purchase. I do the same thing. On the flip side--think of any product you have that you absolutely LOVE, then go read the negative reviews of it and you will be like "My experience was VERY different than theirs." However, given your toenail situation, you have extra cause for pause. The company actually warned me about that potential issue before they sent the boots for review. I'm not sure if it's something they have addressed since then or not; but it didn't cause my feet a problem, luckily. Yours could be different. That's the tricky thing about feet--they're all different! So one person's treasure could be another person's trash... If you want a leather hiking boot without a known volume-above-the-toe issue, you might consider the Freet Ibex. I reviewed the Tundra here on the channel, which is a microfiber version of the leather Ibex). Other than the material and color, they're the identical boot. Best of luck shopping. I know it can be a challenge, especially when considering shipping, returns, price, fit, etc.. I appreciate your engagement!

[@mamabear9389]

I was thinking that the SoftStar primal line were the only barefoot shoes SoftStar makes. So this shoe also has the anatomical foot shape?

[@barefootshoejosh]

Yes if you order the "WIDE" width, it's the same as the primal line. If you get some, please use my affiliate code: bit.ly/softstarjosh

[@alifnor]

​@@barefootshoejosh Are the regular primals good for sprinting and playing sports? Thanks!

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@alifnor these are hiking boots with chunky lug soles.. not sure why someone would choose these for sprinting or sports.. but to each their own!

[@alifnor]

@@barefootshoejosh That was my bad 😅. I meant to ask about the regular primals.

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@alifnor ah.. gotcha. I have these hiking boots, and I have the Primal Sawyers, which are sort of "office casual" sort of style.. again, not really sporty. You're probably thinking of the Primal RunAmocs.. they have some with flat "city" soles, and some with grippier trail-running friendlier soles.. I imagine you would choose whichever sole fits your sport of choice best... I don't personally have any RunAmocs so it's hard for me to say. I've done reviews on shoes like the Barebarics Zoom (kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmPCnZKNYpKso5o ), or the Vivobarefoot Geo Court II ( --kzbin.info/www/bejne/pquUdHacfJxnm6dh- ).. and both of those strike me--off the top of my head-- as sports-friendly.. but again, whether they're a fit for you and your needs is another question. Depends on the sport, depends on your level of experience/conditioning to barefoot shoes, etc, etc.... Sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and try something and see how it goes! Let me know what you find out!

[@melissabaatz8443]

I currently own a pair of be lenka nevada boots that I use for working in a warehouse. I love them dont get me wrong, I just feel they're a bit bulky. I only got the nevadas because I needed something slip resistant (a big requirement for work). Do you think the softstar switchbacks would work or just stick with the nevada boots?

[@barefootshoejosh]

I don't know if these are technically "Slip-Resistant." That's actually a very specific term, at least it used to be when I was working in a restaurant a decade or more ago.. we had to have shoes that met that requirement. Best thing to do is contact Softstar if that's a requirement on your job. Best of luck!

[@cjhuber8728]

Which would you recommend for narrow feet?

[@barefootshoejosh]

Hi CJ.. I'm not sure if you're asking about barefoot shoes in general, or hiking boots specifically. Some of the brands at the narrower end of the barefoot spectrum are.. * Xero Shoes (they do have a couple of hiking shoes/boots like the Scrambler, Daylite Hiker, Xcursion). If you need waterproof, they have the Alpine model, which I've reviewed here on the channel when my wife got hers. My affiliate link: bit.ly/xerojosh * Vivobarefoot (They have shoes and some great hiking boots like several versions of the Tracker, Magna etc.) My affiliate link: bit.ly/vivojosh * Groundies - going out of business so don't count on being able to make returns; BUT you might be able to score some great deals on Amazon and/or Groundies' website right now (especially their "Sale" page: www.groundies.com/sale check out the Ontario, the Utah, the Tegernsee models for hiking). I have no code or link for Groundies. * Feelgrounds are more "medium width, and I can't think of any for hiking; but I *LOVE* their slip-on mesh model. With your narrower feet, you will like them even more than I do. I reviewed them here on the channel--TWICE LOL My affiliate link: www.feelgrounds.com/?p=feelgroundsjosh * Merrell has a couple of barefoot models like the vapor glove that I used to love, but now that my feet have widened up over the years, they're a little narrow for me. Same goes for the Tesla Gear knockoff version which is way cheaper--I've reviewed both of these on the channel I believe--the Tesla ones for sure.. but these aren't for hiking. I have no code or link for Merrell. That was a lot of info but I hope it helps you find exactly the right shoe for you! Please use my links and/or codes where possible--it helps me out! Let me know what you end up with and how you like them!!!

[@Brandon-qp7gq]

how are these holding up after 2 years?

[@barefootshoejosh]

Mine are doing great! There's a trailhead at the end of my block, so I hike a lot. I rotate these and two other pairs of hiking shoes, so they all get a good amount of wear, and yes, these are holding up extremely well.

[@Brandon-qp7gq]

@@barefootshoejosh thanks for the update! and thanks for these reviews. very informative!

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@Brandon-qp7gq Thank you for watching man, I'm glad you enjoy!

[@JohnZook78]

So cal I thought it looked familiar

[@barefootshoejosh]

Yessir! Why are you familiar with it? I'm in north San Diego county.

[@JohnZook78]

@@barefootshoejoshI was born at March afb. And I’ve been all over Cali. But lived in Victorville mostly.

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@JohnZook78 ah.. cool. I'm in Fallbrook, about 40 min from March AFB. Lived mostly in San Diego and 10 years in NorCal

[@missionfitness7933]

the treads look huge! Not sure I'd like that for non-hiking ( I never hike).

[@barefootshoejosh]

They're not for "non-hiking" -- they're for hiking. But even then.. I see people wear boots with treads this big or bigger on the street all the time.

[@missionfitness7933]

@@barefootshoejosh Oh I know! it's only snobs like us who demand the bare minimum! hahahahah!~

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@missionfitness7933 I know LOL!! The Vibram Megagrip soles are actually pretty common--even on some barefoot sandals. They might just look gnarlier on the video LOL

[@missionfitness7933]

@@barefootshoejosh well, if I were into hiking they'd probably be great! For regular use they're still better than regular shoes, but I've become extremely picky about having the most minimalist shoes possible! My correct-size Carets just arrived. Even those could have less padding, IMO.

[@barefootshoejosh]

@@missionfitness7933 yeah if you don't hike, these aren't the ones for you! If you like nicer-looking minimalist shoes, I have some I just reviewed that are *SO* beautiful. They received a higher score from me than any other shoe I have reviewed. I will post the video sometime in the next couple of weeks.