A list of zero drop shoes with a wide toe box & cushioned soles
Also known as minimalist shoes, transition shoes, or cushioned barefoot shoes
(Last updated 1/30/25)
The brands on this list make at least some shoes that have a wide toe box and no heel elevation. Whereas many barefoot shoe brands aim to have the thinnest soles possible, the shoes featured here have soles that are about 10mm thick or more (not including the insole) to provide additional shock absorption.
Ahinsa:
Altra:
Astral:
BÄR:
Bedrock Sandals:
Camper:
Carets:
Conker Shoes:
Dolfie Paradise:
Flux Footwear:
Free Form:
GEA Waldviertler:
Most models (remove insole to make them flat; tips for ordering)
Jim Green:
Joe Nimble:
Lems:
Merrell:
Oesh:
Piper Sandals:
Proalp:
RRAT’s Outdoor Sandals:
Softstar:
Splay:
The North Face:
Skeena sandal (children’s model is flat and can fit women with smaller feet. Check size chart)
Topo Athletic:
Trippen (Zero models):
TRUE Linkswear:
Turriff:
Uncivilized Athletics:
Whitin:
Thank you for making this list! Your whole blog is a much needed resource for finding transition shoes. I’m trying to get into this whole thing and I’ve found it weirdly difficult to find even just some info on what constitutes a “transition shoe”. It might sound dumb to some but when you’ve never thought about the soles of your shoes it’s hard to know how many millimeters are fine, too much or not enough for you. The most important thing for me is a wide toe box to be honest I don’t know much about the other stuff.