finally bit the bullet ....

BFwillie_g

Barefooters
May 17, 2010
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Kulmbach, Germany
... and bought a pair of shoes:


1650167_003.jpg





Never seen them before? Not surprising. They're from a German brand called 'Bär' (Baer, without the umlaut). Totally minimal shoes, handmade in Germany... cost a little more than average (140 Euro), but they're the first running shoes I've bought in over three years, so what the hey.

Oh, I only ordered them this minute online, won't have them for a day or two. Will certainly report back once I get them! And there's a two week, no Q's asked return policy, so who knows?

Why did I buy them? I honestly don't know! I think I just like the company philosophy.
 
Looks neat, too bad they're not available in the US (I'm guessing).
 
They don't even have an English language website. It's an old family-run business with a few retail stores scattered around Germany, but that's it. They only sell direct. Their shoes are all 'handmade' (I'm sure there's plenty of automation these days) 100% in Germany. These particular shoes are also labelled as Vegan (all synthetic, so a no-brainer except for the glue).

That's a big selling point for me. If I lived in the USA, I'd buy Runamocs. Everything else is China, inc. and way overpriced. Well, maybe not everything, but I'd check before buying.

here's the "Joe Nimble" website:

http://www.joe-nimble.com/de/

That's their minimal line of shoes.

The parent company:

http://www.baer-schuhe.de/
 
I like this sentence on the site:
Der Fuß wurde im Laufe der Jahrzehnte immer mehr zum Schuhträger und immer weniger Laufwerkzeug, zu dem die Evolution ihn in perfekter Form über Jahrtausende hat werden lassen.
(In the course of the (last) decades, feet became more shoe-wearers and less running instrument, to what evolution made them in perfect form in the course of milleniums.)

I see it's possible to order from (European) countries outside Germany, but only by phone, which is a pity because I'm sure many Europeans are able to order something from a website written in German, but have more problems to order it 'orally' in German...
 
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Nice, Anne! my totally free interpretation: Mother Nature spent thousands of years creating a perfect instrument for walking and running and over the past few decades, it's become nothing more than a place to hang a shoe :)

Joe - Joe Kelly is great, I love him! And yes, he's one of the athletes that works for Bär. You know the other one, right?

http://www.heukemes.net/

He's been running in Bär shoes for a long time. They got him across Australia and a couple other continents,too, lol.
 
Hope they work for you Willie. My NB minimus trails arrived today, can't wait to go out and try them out.
 
Olle - I don't see any link for English at that website, but, dayum, they have some interesting footwear, wow! I really didn't know there were so many minimal shoe options over here. I found these:

http://leguano.eu/

Also Made In Germany, from a link on the Runner's World.de site. They look amazing.

Dave - will let you know if and when I have anything to report. I don't really know for sure if I'm going to run in them, I just want to try them on and see what it feels like. The only minimal shoe I've tried yet is the Merrell Trail Glove and it felt horrible in the store. They cost a lot over here, so there was no way I was going to buy them just to have a pair of shoes hanging around the place.

BF is still the only real option.
 
BF is still the only real option.

I'll be throwing a bit into the mix now that the weather's drying out and warming up a bit, but being realistic, I won't be doing my 70-miler in bare feet.
 
No, I don´t. Who is he?
.

Hi Joe - he's Achim Heukemes, one of the most incredible ultra-ultra-distance runners ever:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achim_Heukemes

Makes our friend Joe 'Nimble' Kelly look just, well, just plain awesome. Heukemes is in a category of his own.

As far as I know, every one of those kilometers was done in Bär running shoes, but in their more 'traditional' shoes. The man is incredible, and still at it. He just finished running across the USA, after biking across it, yikes! Yes, he biked from NY to California, then on the day he got there, turned around and ran back.

Running clear across Australia, from Perth to Sydney in 43 days, is one of his accomplishments that really boggles my mind. The blistering heat, omg!

Oh, I got my shoes today. They're 'more shoe' than I expected, but just what I was hoping for. I don't want cheesy ultralight shoes that fall apart after a couple hundred Km. These are a perfect balance. I wore them all day without socks, felt very comfortable in them. My feet got pretty warm while driving, but when outside walking around, they felt neutral, like not wearing anything.

The build-quality is immaculate, which I did expect from Bär. The shoes were in individual bags and had shoe trees and moisture absorbers in them. There's not a speck of excess glue anywhere, or a stitch out of place. The high level of manufacturing detail is clearly apparent in them.

The shape is perfect - they're shaped exactly like my feet. To order, I'd measured my feet, which are exactly 28cm, and ordered the corresponding size 10 (44,5), fits perfect.

The lacing system is exellent. You really can create as much or as little arch support as you want, it's no gimmick. They wrap snugly around the midfoot, and leave the toes completely free to move.

I was surprised that the insoles are non-removable. But the material looks incredibly robust and I think they'll last forever...

Well, gonny run on Sunday and will have more to report then!