Our hope is that you’ll be proud of your bag because of the compliments you get and how long it lasts. But our deeper hope is that you join our community of those nurturing the vulnerable and loving the unloved. We do more than just quality leather bags; we do quality in all areas of our business.
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All Barefoot, Minimalist and Anatomic shoes, including these, are all based off of the U.S. Military boots Dr. Munson developed that make us mimic how we naturally step when barefoot. In 1912, Dr. Munson, a relative of mine, claimed they corrected almost 100% of all foot problems in the military. Hundreds of millions of boots were formed on that Munson last, just like our Barefoot Slip On Shoes are. Ours are just you actually walking barefoot on top of our thick solid leather sole.
2. A Wide Toe Box is a bunion killer because it gives the foot room to naturally spread out, up to half an inch, when we put all of our weight on each individual foot. My second toe used to be longer than my big toe because the shoes I always wore had narrow toe boxes, but it corrected and shortened back to normal by wearing my wide-toe box Munson boots.
4. Minimal or No Padding because that weakens arches too. It makes the foot muscles and nerve endings soft and studies show that it magnifies shock and impact up through the knee and to the hips. It takes a bit to toughen up foot muscles and nerve endings if all you wear is cushy shoes, but you get used to it and don’t think anything of it shortly.
8. Grounding Shoes - Not all barefoot shoes are grounding shoes like ours are. Our natural leather sole is thick enough to protect the feet when shoveling in the garden, but thin enough to allow electrons to pass through and help with circulation and inflammation throughout the body, and to help with sleep. Rubber or synthetic soles don’t let anything pass into the body.
If you don’t know about the science of Grounding yet, you’re going to thank me for this. Watch the Earthing Movie on YouTube to learn why it has become so mainstream so quickly in the medical world. It’s not just a peyote-smoking hippie theory anymore.
My 15 years of foot pain, achilles tendon, knee, and hip pain were finally gone because my arch and foot muscles were strengthened, and my toes were straightened by wearing a pair of Munson boots every day for 4 months. But I couldn’t wear these boots with shorts, so I needed something that would keep my feet strong and aligned, but something convenient I could just slip on.
In cooler weather, I used my Barefoot Sheepskin Slippers for running to the store or out to the chicken coop because they kept my feet strong, but when the hot Texas weather came, I needed slip on shoes to work in the yard and to wear around town that didn’t make my feet sweat. I even wear them to church sometimes.
Most Barefoot, Minimalist, Anatomic or Munson shoes are shaped AROUND the natural anatomical form of the foot muscles and bones, so they let the foot function, flex, and exercise the way it does when you walk barefoot (biomechanically). Not all brands do this, but barefoot shoes should be characterized by:
1. A Straight Inner Line along the inside of the foot so the shoe shape doesn’t bend and stretch the big toe in toward the second toe. That always weakens the arch, which is the root cause of most foot, knee, hip and back pain, bunions, ingrown toenails, corns, etc.
3. ABSOLUTELY NO Arch Support because arch support holds the arch in one place and doesn’t let the arches get exercise by extending and contracting all day like they were designed to do. Arch support inserts make you think you have healthy arches, but keep or make the arches weak from non-use.
5. Low or No Heel because if it’s too high, then it affects front-to-back alignment of the knees, hips, and lower back. That’s why women who wear high heels all the time have back and hip problems. Our Munson boots are only 20mm high, and they fixed my problems.
6. Flexible Toe so the toe muscles stay strong with exercise. If the toes aren’t allowed to flex, then they get weak.
7. Low or No Toe Spring so the toe of the shoe bends up enough to keep from stubbing your toe on things, but keeps your toes from being in a constant state of over-extension, which stretches the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the foot and weakens them.
I couldn’t wear the same flip flops with arch support that made my arches lazy or the slip-on or regular shoes that forced my big toes to bend in and stretch, which also weakened my arches. Shoes like those were the reason my feet got weak and damaged in the first place.
If you have soft, lazy, and weak feet from always wearing cushy shoes, you’ll need to ease into wearing any barefoot or minimalist shoes. They take a little getting used to. I walked 3 days straight around Guadalajara the first three days I owned these, and my feet started hurting. I put my normal Munson boots back on and then wore the barefoot shoes again the next day. I did that for several days, and everything is good now.
All of the barefoot shoes I could find either looked really dumb and “Special”, and I didn’t want to look “Special” too. I didn’t want my friends asking me, “How long did the doctor say you have to wear those?”
And if they didn’t look dumb, they just looked generic and boring, slapped when you walked in them or were made out of some cheap low low-durability, non-breathable, stinky synthetic fabric. I certainly didn’t want my highly absorbent feet sitting in a warm and moist chemical sauna all day. BTW, bacteria grow on synthetics and that’s what stinks.
I designed these not to sweat. Our high-quality leather breathes, and the Slip On Shoes were formed on the Munson last, just like our boots, so they are snug in the heel for control and roomy in the toe box for airflow. You’ll actually feel the leather coming in at the side of the arch for a bit of support, and that lets the side of the waist separate from the foot to let fresh air in with each step.
Our shoes are 100% natural. The sole is leather, the upper is leather an the lining is leather. And since leather is anti-bacterial, they will always smell like leather.
I leave my hands free easy on - easy off slip on leather barefoot shoes by the door to slip on and go. The back edge of the sole helps to kick them off without bending down. So far, I’ve used them a lot for cold floors, hot pavement, mud, shoveling, yard work, the store, church, Texas Rangers baseball games and traveling around Africa and Italy. If I didn’t love them I wouldn’t wear them almost every single day.
I have many Saddleback/Love41 bags, so I was intrigued to receive the email about this new line of shoes. I hate wearing socks, so a barefoot shoe is definitely my thing! I was so excited to try these! I called Saddleback to ask about sizing since I thought they were men's shoes & I might have to size down. They arrived & were too big, so I exchanged for a smaller size & the new ones fit perfectly! Another review here mentioned the clickity-clack of the shoes sounding like a teacher in the hallway. Well...I'm a teacher & can't stand loud shoes! I took them to a cobbler today to see if he could add rubber to the bottoms to quiet them down. The old cobbler recommended adding leather to the bottoms instead of rubber, which sounded great to me. Well, this cobbler could not stop talking about these shoes! He must've told me 5 or 6 times while I was there dropping them off that these were great shoes & would last me a lifetime! When I returned to pick up the shoes, he probably told me 5 or 6 times how great they were! He spoke English as a 2nd language so when I asked him to tell me why he thought they would last a long time, he laughed & kept saying, "they will last a long, long time! Great shoe!" After knowing how my bags have held up, I have a feeling that the old cobbler is right & that these shoes will last me a good long while! Looking forward to seeing other styles of shoes that Dave might come up with!
Very relaxing to wear. Really easy for quick drive out for groceries. You feel the relaxing difference Note it’s actual sizes so no need to add 1 size
These are comfortable, well made and exactly what you expect from SBL. I look forward to future versions and an expanded footwear line! Two things I'd like to see adjusted: More colors, and a slightly softer sole. These are a great veg tan sole and have the clickity clackity sound of a teacher walking down the hallway.
I have been wearing a similar style shoe from Turkey for years and I've loved them. They work with jeans, shorts, and everything inbetween. My issue with them was that I walk like a duck and absolutely destroy them nearly immediately. When I saw Saddleback had come out with these shoes I bought them without even reading. I've owned multiple bags for them and have given them every beating I could think of and they only look better for it. I'm absolutely thrilled with what showed up at my house last week despite the fact that they make me look like a weirdo sitting on the couch smelling my shoes. They're 100 % leather and some serious leather at that. They're stiff but in a way that you can tell they'll mold to your foot and then stay there. The sole and heel are built like a nice dress shoe. They seem like they could probably be resoled if needed. When you wear them the first few times they're probably not going to be the most comfortable shoes but I just wore them around the house for 15-20 mins at a time about 3 or 4 times and after that they had come in nicely. The only thing I'm not over the moon about is that they have these small little "wings" on the back edge of the heel that probably make them good for taking off without bending over but it's not my style...it's also nothing my belt sander and a fine grit sandpaper cant take care of in 5 mins if I decide I really dont like it. Back in 2010 I was living in China and commuting around Shanghai and just wanted a simple leather briefcase/bag that I could pack with my computer and gym clothes/shoes and wouldnt get torn up. I had an exact picture of it in my mind but couldnt find it anywhere. I'm not sure how I came across Saddleback but all of a sudden there it was...exactly what was in my mind manifested in real life. The same thing happened with these shoes. I had this picture of how the style of shoes I'd been wearing from Turkey could be made that would actually hold up and all of a sudden Saddleback manifested it again. Fantastic work Dave and team! Now get out of my brain!
I just got my Tobacco slip on shoes in today and I have to say, I am super impressed with them. First, in the ordering process I had questions about whether this was smooth leather or the tumbled pebble texture. Customer service wrote back and told me that the leather actually ranges from smooth to quite textured. I explained that I was more interested in the smooth finish as I already have a lot of tobacco products that match that. They said they would let the warehouse know to pull the smoothest they could find. I was also not sure about the sizing. I wear anything from a 12 - 13 and I have VERY flat feet. I went with Dave's advice and measured my foot which came out to 11 1/4" which corresponds to a size 12 and it fits me perfectly. I received the shoes today and they came in a nice shoe dust cover bag. The smell when I opened the box was like being in a nice boot store. I also saw on the invoice in the box with the hand written note about my request for smooth leather. They did a great job selecting this pair as it has little to no texture. I slipped them on and walked around a bit. To my surprise , they actually somewhat force me to walk correctly and not have my arch fall. I have only experienced this with other shoes like my Red Wing heritage boots that have a similar type of leather insole and shape with no arch support. The look of these shoes is great and I really like the leather bottom sole as well. I think these will pair well with a lot of outfits and cant wait to start wearing them. Great job Dave and team in developing these.
