Vivobarefoot Gobi Boot: 2024 review

An unexpected, fun experience

This week was my anniversary and we decided to hear for a weekend away in Edinburgh, which I decided would be the perfect place to try out Vivobarefoot’s Gobi boots and see what they are all about. Cobbled streets, steep walkways, plenty of steps and some unpredictable weather gave me the perfect location to put these fascinating boots through their paces. We spent two days walking, dining and exploring the city. Here is what we learnt.

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was how high quality the leather felt. They were minimal in style, with no lining inside, but the leather was so soft and supple and felt incredibly comfortable on my feet. I usually stay away from over designed shoes and the soles have a really unusual shape with a swoosh down the sides. The photos that I had seen on the VivoBarefoot website made me worried that they might be a little over-designed but when I first tried them on the style seemed to make sense. Like all barefoot shoes, the toebox is wide but they didn’t look as extreme as others that I own. Slipping my feet in, the design features all made sense. In fact, they looked great.

Niggles

My first impressions were positive but my frustration came when using the speed hook system at the top. The laces are the flat type and the hooks were equally thin, which meant that the laces needed to be angled perfectly to slot into the hooks. The boots were not cheap and I really would like speed hooks to be… speedy. So, I decided to abandon the hooks, tie them up half way and go for that more casual boot style. This was a mistake. I spent most of the first day with them like this and, while they looked great and fit true to size, they felt too loose and my foot moved around inside the shoe more than I would like. I was enjoying the style but I finished day one unsure about these boots.

Walking on clouds

It was only after I decided to persevere with the lace up system that I discovered what was causing the hype around these boots. Lacing up the boots meant that they were attached to my ankles, which took all the weight off my shoes. The shoes are not heavy at 511g, but now they felt completely weightless. Walking through Edinburgh Old Town, I could feel every stone under my feet. I loved the whole experience. Walking through the crowds of people, up and down steps, through museums and shops, it felt like I had this hidden secret experience that everyone else was missing. The shoes were so much fun.

Style and versatility

Celebrating our fifteen years of marriage, we decided to go to an expensive restaurant for dinner. The Gobi boots felt as at home with a smarter casual outfit and with my trousers rolled down, looked more like shoes than boots. Which, brings me to their versatility. They are smart enough that you can wear them to work or out to a dinner. They are adventurous enough that you can wear them around town, out for a walk in the park or as a casual shoe. They are fully waterproof and kept my feet nice and dry through a sudden Scottish down pour.

After a weekend in Edinburgh, I decided that if I was to buy just one pair of everyday barefoot shoes – it would be these.