Dr. Hoopes Recommended Shoe List by Shoe Type

toe box comparison

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How to decide which shoes to buy and what to look for in a good shoe.
More great lists by biomechanics specialist, Katy Bowman
Instagram accounts focused primarily on fashionable women's shoes: Anyas Reviews Barefoot Downunder

Road Running

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Altra: All models	Altra: All models	Best
Lems: Primal	Lems: Primal	Best	Perhaps the best shape of any shoe, ever (besides toe-shoes)
Vivobarefoot: Road Series	Vivobarefoot: Road Series	Better	Could have more room for the small toes
Topo Athletic: All models	Topo Athletic: All models	Better	Maker of Five Fingers
Skora: All models	Skora: All models	Good	Toe box too narrow
Merrell: All Models	Merrell: All Models	Good	Toe box too narrow
Jackshibo Shoes	Jackshibo Shoes	Best	Altra copy on Amazon at about half the price

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Evolv Sports: Climbing Shoes	Evolv Sports: Climbing Shoes	Best

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Vibram Five Fingers: All models	Vibram Five Fingers: All models	Overall Best
Altra: All Trail Running models	Altra: All Trail Running models	Best
New Balance: Minimus Trail	New Balance: Minimus Trail	Best	Discontinued, but can still find in used/secondary market
Merrell: Trail Glove	Merrell: Trail Glove	Better
Vivobarefoot: Off-road Series	Vivobarefoot: Off-road Series	Better
Lalo: Mens	Lalo: Womens	Good	Need less heel and more space for big toe

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Altra: Lifestyle	Altra: Lifestyle	Best	Extreme minimalist
Hobibear	Hobibear	Best
Whitin Shoes	Whitin Shoes	Best	Very affordable, free shipping, free returns!
relxfeet Men's Barefoot Cross-Trainer Shoes		Best
Feelmax: Minimalist Shoes	Feelmax: Minimalist Shoes	Best
Belenka	Belenka	Best	Sustainable Shoes
TSLA: Men's Trail Running Minimalist Barefoot Shoe BK30 / BK40		Best	Minimalist Shoe
Splay Shoes	Splay Shoes	Best
Ballop: Barefoot	Ballop: Barefoot	Better
Barebarics	Barebarics	Better
Adidas: Zen Plus Recovery		Good
Adidas: Cloudfoam Ultra Zen Cross Trainer		Good	Extreme minimalist
Xero Shoes: Ipari Hana		Good
Olukai: Nohea Moku		Good
Otz Shoes	Otz Paso	Good
	Sandals: My Saltwater Sandals	Good
Hey Dude	Hey Dude	Good	Look for models with most asymmetric/toe box
Vibae	Vibae	Good
Freet - Freedom for Feet		Best
Ahinsa Shoes	Ahinsa Shoes	Best
Origo	Origo	Good	Sustainable Shoes
Jackshibo Shoes	Jackshibo Shoes	Best	Altra copy on Amazon at about half the price

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Angles	Angles	Best
XeroShoes		Best
Birchbury Bramfords		Best
PedTerra		Best
Groundies Urban Footwear	Groundies Urban Footwear	Best
	Hot Chocolate Design Chocolaticas Vintage Canvas Women's Mary Jane Flat Shoes	Best
Lems: Nine2Five		Best
Senmotic Fine Black (and all other models)	Senmotic Benita (and all other models)	Best
VivoBarefoot: Lifestyle Series on Amazon.com	VivoBarefoot: Lifestyle Series on Amazon.com	Better
Alegria Shoes		Better
Merrell Encore	Merrell Encore	Better / Good	Excessive heel height, women’s too narrow
Birkenstock Dress Shoes Scarba, Corvallis, Harris (pictures), Duma (pictures)		Good
Born Shoes	Born Shoes	Good	Recommended models are: Hutchins, Blast, Nigel, Joes, Gudmund, Sawyer, Slade, Soledad
	GH Bass: (Models w/ wide toe box below ONLY) Bradshaw SlipOn, Delancy Boot	Good	Excessive heel height, also only available on Ebay
Josef Seibel Spirit of Nature	Josef Seibel Spirit of Nature	Good
Patagonia: “Honeycomb-sole” models only Pau, Loulu, Banyan, Sitka		Good	Only available on Ebay

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Lems: Boulder Boot	Lems: Boulder Boot	Best
XeroShoes		Best
	Duck Feet Shoes	Best	Excellent shape and construction
Blusun	Blusun
New Balance: Minimus Leather		Best
	Alegria Shoes (better models have NO heel)	Better
Sanuk: All Loafers, Chiba, Vagabond, etc.		Better
Birkenstock shoes and sandals	Birkenstock shoes and sandals	Better
	Calceo shoes	Better
VivoBarefoot: Lifestyle Series on amazon.com	VivoBarefoot: Lifestyle Series on amazon.com	Better
Unifootwear Collections	Unifootwear Collections	Better
Birkenstock shoes	Birkenstock shoes	Good
Patagonia: Banyan		Good
	Cabela’s: Oxford, Buckle, Slip-On	Good	Excessive heel height
Born: Milton, Alpert, Quentin, Carsten, Sandor		Good	Excessive heel height
	GH Bass: (Models w/ wide toe box below ONLY) Darla SlipOn, Meridian Clog	Good	Excessive heel height
Otz Paso		Good
Chaco: Montrose (and Chukka), Thompson (and Chukka)	Chaco: Harper slide, Harper lace, Pineland Moc	Good
FeelGrounds	FeelGrounds	Good
Wildling Shoes	Wildling Shoes	Good
Unifootwear	Unifootwear	Good
Canvas Loafer with Arch Support		Good
Kinis	Kinis	Good

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Reebok Crossfit acceptable models also on Amazon	Reebok Crossfit acceptable models also on Amazon	Better	Only models on links
Lalo Mens	Lalo Womens	Good	Need less heel and more space for big toe
Freet - Freedom for Feet		Good
Viktos Core Shoes		Good	Core Shoe recommended
Viktos OverBeach Shoes		Good	Overbeach shoes recommended
Flux Footwear	Flux Footwear	Good

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"
Prevolve Footwear	Prevolve Footwear	Best
Barefoot BERBS: General Info, Black Bear, Polar, Kodiak	General Info, Black Bear, Panda, Teddy	Best
Vivobarefoot Hybrid (old model), Linx (new model)		Better
True Linkswear: Stealth		Better
Kids Golf Shoe: Dawgs		Good

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"
CustomCleats.com (Take any shoes from this list and they will make them into cleats in a couple of weeks!)		Best
Prevolve Footwear	Prevolve Footwear	Best
Code Footwear	Code Footwear	Best
Naturathletics	Naturathletics	Best

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
General Info about the Belleville Mini-Mil Series Videos on the benefits of Minimalist Boots Belleville 101 Tan, 102 Black, 103 Green Transition Boot: 111 Desert Tan, 115 Coyote Tan		Better
Lalo Mens (OK, not mil-spec, but created by a former Seal)	Lalo Womens	Good	Need less heel and more space for big toe.

Men	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Warrington: Steel toe Firefighter boot, (Better Pictures)	Better	Milwaukee model has worked well for my patients
Georgia Boots: Only the following models: Hammer HD Composite Toe Mid Hammer HD Composite Toe High	Better
Keen: Steel toe options	Good
BOGS	Good

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Bont: All models including Road, Mountain, Triathlon		Best
Lake CX201 Road Cycling Shoes	Lake CX201 Road Cycling Shoes	Best	Anatomic shaped road bike shoes
Lake MX169 mountain bike shoes	Lake MX169 mountain bike shoes	Best	Anatomic shaped mountain bike shoes
Shimano RC7	Shimano RC7	Better
Lake Wide Models	Lake Wide Models	Good
Shimano RC9 S-Phyre (wide models are best)	Shimano RC9 S-Phyre (wide models are best)	Good

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
The best shoes for kids: NO shoes!	The best shoes for kids: NO shoes!	By the far BEST!
Plae	Plae	Best
Nerf Water Shoes		Best
Skidders	Skidders	Best
Splay Shoes	Splay Shoes	Best
Various shoes at Walmart (surprisingly!): Casual Loafer, Athletic Shoes (another), Sandal		Casual loafers: Best Others: Better
Momo	Momo	Better/Best	Baby and toddler shoes
Ballop: Barefoot	Ballop: Barefoot	Better
Reebok Nano	Reebok Nano	Better
Wildling Shoes	Wildling Shoes	Good
Freet - Freedom for Feet		Good
Unifootwear	Unifootwear	Good

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"	Notes
Skuze: Del Marina by Skuze	Skuze: Del Marina by Skuze	Best

Men	Women	"Foot Shape"
Uncivilized Sneaker	Uncivilized Sneaker	Best
Aerolux Barefoot in Noir	Aerolux Barefoot in Noir	Better
X1 Mid - Barefoot Basketball Shoe	X1 Mid - Barefoot Basketball Shoe	Best
Notace	Notace