Shoe Review: The Vivobarefoot Trail Freak

A little while after I moved to Colorado my trail shoes' uppers blew out along the side of the base of my big toe. (Quickie shoe review: don't get the Minimus Trail 1010. Sloppy fit, didn't last 150 miles before the blowouts.) For a while I went back to my trail shoes from a few years back, the New Balance Minimus Trail 110. The 110 is a GREAT trail shoe but nothing lasts forever and they had pretty much had all they could take. The sole was coming off and the ultra-tough upper was slowing ripping out on the left shoe. I was in desperate need of a new trail shoe. I didn't feel like rolling the dice with another New Balance so I bought the Vivobarefoot Trail Freak.

I have had my eye on buying a pair of Vivoarefoots for some time. I am a big fan of minimal footwear and had read some really good reviews, especially about the Trail Freak. A quick synopsis of the VivoBarefoot company. Their shoes are produced using recycled, eco-friendly materials and I have also seen that they are 100% vegan, though I have never been able to find that on their own website. They make all sorts of shoes: running, casual, hikers, sandals, and more. All with a heavy emphasis on light weight, thin sole, zero drop, wide toebox, and (most of all) flexibility. One of the pics below shows just how flexible the Trail Freak is. It's... well....freaky. You can literally fold it in half with no problem.

As you can also see from the pics, I have worn these shoes several times running and hiking and mostly in really sloppy, muddy conditions. lets's begin with the only negative. They are not the most grippy shoes I have ever had on footing such as snow, ice, wet rocks, etc. Not that all that many trail shoes are that great in those extreme footing conditions, but I would say the Trail Freak is a little below average in this category. It is a little surprising considering they have pretty tall lugs on the bottom, which you can see decently in the pic above.

Now the positives. First off, they are unbelievably comfortable. They ride low on the ankle bone but have a real nice, tall heel cup that ensure they don't slip and rub the back of the heel. I have worn them through puddles and deep mud and they are essentially waterproof. There is essentially no chance of a blister. The shoe is designed to be worn without socks if you like (something I cannot bring myself to do often. It just feels weird) so there are also no seams to rub a hot spot into your foot. In short, probably the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn.

The most surprising thing about this shoe is that despite the incredible flexibility, it is a stunningly rugged shoe over rocky terrain. It does have a small section of hard plastic in the middle inside of the shoe sole. I wouldn't call it a rock plate but it does protect the instep if you step on a sharp rock. But even with it's thin, but puncture resistant, sole it guards the foot very well over rocks and roots. And despite what I thought was slightly sub-par traction on the wet stuff, on dry dirt and rock the lugs dig in quite well and provide more than adequate traction on uphills.

All in all, this is a great shoe so far, though I can't vouch for durability just yet. Here are the stats: Drop = 0. A super thin 2.5 mm sole (lugs are listed as 4.5 but I am not sure if that is the total thickness WITH the lugs or the lugs alone. Either way, really thin, though it doesn't feel like it). Weight = 9 ounces. So not super lightweight but I couldn't tell the difference between the Trail Freak's and other lighter shoes I have run in.