I’m a huge fan of Xero shoes and a customer for life. With that being said, I feel kind of gypped having spent over $130 on these particular Xero shoes.

The shoes arrived with areas of frayed stitching and loose threads. The removable insole is a good idea, but the quality of this one is quite poor. Even with proper running form and a proper fit, the removable insole is prone to sliding around and rides up out of the shoe whenever I take the shoes off. I’ve also noticed that the actual sole of the shoe is starting to come apart from the body of the shoe in a few places, so I worry that it will eventually start flapping off entirely.

An issue that is more specific to me is the width of the toe box. I’ve found that after wearing exclusively Xero shoes for three years, my forefoot has become so wide that this foot shaped toe box is actually too narrow and jams my pinkie toe inward. Can’t really fault them for that, but I will say that it wasn’t a problem with my last pair

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a giant fan of Xero shoes. In fact, I don’t like these shoes but I still won’t be returning them because they are my only shoes and I literally can’t stand the idea of wearing any traditional shoe! However, I do think this particular model is inferior and would love to see some of these issues addressed down the line.

Overall I had a pretty great experience with these shoes for road running, but they didn't last as long as other common brand runners. I've had them for 9.5 months and only use this pair for running, while another xero pair for every day and gym. I generally run three 5ks a week, and since the weather got nice the last couple months I've been running further during my runs. A rough guess would be that I've put on 400-500 miles of running in these shoes and that is when these problems started to show. The soles have warped and are bent to about a 30° upward curve causing very uncomfortable compression. The warping of the shoes first seemed to start after a run while it was raining and only got worse after that. My last run I had to keep stopping as my feet were going numb and I had to constantly take the shoes off and readjust the laces to relieve the pressure.

My reason for 2 stars is that I've owned cheaper running shoes that lasted longer than these. I enjoyed running in these better than any previous shoe, but the short lifespan really killed it for me. I was really hoping they would last at least a year.

I've worn minimalist shoes in the past and really enjoyed them, but I struggled with these. First off, I had the same issue many others had where the insoles completely slid out while I was using them. Xero ended up having to mail me new ones for the shoes; apparently this was a known issue.

I enjoyed wearing these on a few runs as they are lightweight and fit well. However, I tried wearing them outdoors when there had been a slight drizzle earlier in the day and I immediately slipped and almost fell. These shoes offer ZERO traction if there's even a little bit of moisture on the ground. I couldn't even walk down my driveway in them, they were that slippery. Obviously, this is a huge hazard. The only thing I use these shoes for now is at the gym, as they provide enough traction indoors and the zero-drop lets you connect properly with the ground while you lift. If you only use these at the gym then I could recommend them, but for safety issues I don't recommend using them outdoors.

I really like these shoes. They are comfortable with just enough sole and upper material. Sizing is accurate. I normally wear a size 12. However , I ordered a size 12 1/2, because I know my feet will swell a little when I'm running higher milage and I wanted just a little more room. I definitely recommend these shoes to anyone who is wanting to get into the minimalist footwear. Knowing the vision Xero has for these shoes by having the environment in mind is a really good selling point for me. I hope you continue this thinking as a company indefinitely. Right now, I've only been wearing my pair around the house, because lately Ohio weather is just dog ****. I'm planning to use these shoes for the marathons I'll be running this coming spring/summer season. Looking forward to crossing the finish lines in my Zelens!