Your journey into barefoot shoes can have a lot of ups, downs, and zigzags. Most people think of it in terms of the physical side – adjusting your gait, getting used to proper alignment, etc – but sometimes it’s about the shoes. In my first few months of barefoot shoes, I had these in Xero Shoes in 3 colors. I sold them, thinking I wanted something different, but a few months ago went back to my roots. These hold like a glove and I’m glad to have my most-worn color (for this model) back in action.
Disclaimer: I bought these myself but am a Xero Shoes Affiliate and Xero Hero, so if you use any of the links on my blog to make a purchase it will cost you nothing extra and will support the blog. Additional Xero Shoes reviews (Prio, Alpine, Aptos, and Aqua X Sport are available through the Reviews page).
Sections
Technical specifications
- Upper: Cloth straps
- Sole: 5.5mm
- Color – Black, with 3 additional colors available
- Made from 100% vegan-friendly materials
- Stack height: 5.5 mm
Company
Xero Shoes was started by Steven Sashen and Lena Phoenix in 2009 out of a focus on traditional huarache sandals and have grown tremendously in the intervening years to feature an ever-widening range of styles. Check out Learn More > Our Story to see videos and details about their journey.
Appearance
Xero Shoes tend to have a technical style first, though they have softened with recent models like Phoenix and the Aptos also reviewed here, and this one has no flowery additions. It’s functional and unassuming. That means you can put it with pretty much anything you want, but it won’t ‘dress up’ an outfit. These shoes are for trekking.
I have to put virtually everything with a dress at least once. I even put the snow boots, Alpine, with a shiny skirt.
You can go neutral and light like I did on a grey day:
Or vibrant (you know that’s my fav!):
Wear them with anything you want, short of a fancy party. They’ll serve you well.
If you check out the Aptos review, I used the same outfits there to show a different take.
Fit
The Z-Trek model from Xero Shoes comes in both men’s and women’s versions, and the men’s allows extra width, so that’s the way I have always gone. (Point of fact – I can’t wear the women’s at all.) Xero Shoes is very open about this difference and actively encourages people with wide feet to go men’s and people with narrower feet to go to the women’s side, regardless of gender. I’d love for them to just remove the gendering entirely as men or women can have either type of foot and it would be easier for people to zero in on what they need.
Not all men’s Xero Shoes feel wide to me, but these do and fit perfectly in width and you can see in pictures that I’m not taking up the maximum strap either, so they can go even higher volume.
Sizing is really important here (more about that below) because you need the strap to sit at a good place on your toes.
Oversize your shoes, or fail to adjust the heel strap properly, and you can bury your toes like this, which can negatively impact your movement:
On the other side, if you undersize yourself, you can end up without enough space for natural foot movement, and a big toe that’s sitting on top of the taper zone:
Aim for some extra space to allow for your natural movement and keep all your toes on the sole, without having your toes too far under the strap:
If you find you don’t like the extra at the front, you can cut and sand the soles. I’ve never done it, but the way it tapers in toward the middle from both directions makes me want to.
Back to fit: the heel strap gives you some room to play here, as I did for the pics. You should use it to set how far forward your feet are on the sole.
Once you set that, then give attention to the strap across your toes. Get this as loose as you can without letting the sandal droop, but not too loose that your feet slide side to side either. The edge flap will hold it securely with no slipping, wherever you set it.
From there, you then should set the middle part of the Z to a secure level across your feet. Don’t crush yourself, but there’s really no need for extra looseness here either.
After that, you want the strap in front of your ankles to be secured for walking comfortably with no unnecessary looseness. The buckle is very easy to slide up and down, but also holds securely, and this is how you take the sandals off and on. The rubber band is available to hold down the excess, but I often don’t bother.
Sizing
Xero Shoes includes printable templates for these sandals, which are accessible under the Sizing tab on the product pages. You must print them to actual scale for the template to be useful. If you can’t print, you can probably trust the JP length to be very close to the actual length of the sandals. That is true for the Men’s 10 (US) size that lists 28 on the chart. I find that to be true within a scant mm or two (the back of the shoe curves up, so it’s hard to be 100% accurate there). The men’s and women’s templates and charts are different, so if you’re unsure be sure to check both.
It’s unfortunate that these do not come in half sizes. I was in men’s 9s in 2019 and went with 10s this time when in reality I would best fit a 9.5 since they are open-toed sandals. Using the heel strap gives you the control to have sandals that are a little longer, but still secure.
Edit to add: I was having fits with my website when I wrote this review and forgot to add my normal information that you should always measure your feet, compare to the sizing chart, and add extra space for big toe movement. This post talks about the different measuring methods (and has good deets about foot volume and fit) and this post explains the extra space deal.
How do they feel?
The rubber underneath the Z-Treks is quite firm, and was part of the reason I let them go at first. My feet weren’t ready for absolutely no cushion when I’d been in barefoot shoes less than 3 months. 2 years later, though, and they are perfect. I could have easily gone for the thicker Z-Trail as a solution, but explored around in the meantime.
Despite the firm feeling, they are still completely flexible in every way:
Because of the 3-strap system over your foot, and a heel strap, they can be very secure. I give my toes max room, cinch up the rest, and walk around in these like I have a glove on my feet. They don’t droop at all and that feels great.
Word of caution about wet and mud, though: they have only minimal texture on the sole, and can be slippery. If you plan to use them under a lot of wet conditions, you might like something a bit more grippy, like maybe the Naboso version of the Z-Trails.
There is no break-in period or rough spots. You have complete control. While I’m generally not a Velcro fan for the sound and the potential to wear out/become unglued, I don’t find these bothersome or ever need to adjust that part.
Cleaning and Care
You don’t have to take any special care of these Xero Shoes Z-Treks. Spray em, scrub em, whatever. With the ability to literally spray them down with a hose, I don’t see even thinking about putting them in a washing machine, and I would not put them in a dryer with heat that could warp the sole.
Purchasing and Returns
There are international retailers that carry Xero Shoes, such as Cool East Market in Canada, Happy Little Soles in the UK, the .AU store for Australia, and BareFootBar in the EU.
The main Xero Shoes site also ships internationally, and I buy all my Xero Shoes there. These are currently widely available in some colors, including this black, but stock is limited in other colors and on September 1st they will be raising the price to account for increases in materials costs. Currently, these are $59.99 plus shipping.
Final thoughts
These are very functional sandals that serve me well. I’ve now bought them twice! And I think that is a pretty good indication of how I feel about them. This time, I’m keeping them.
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