Not that I mind, but… wearing shoes has a purpose… and the most important one IMO is to make sure our feet stay harms way from broken bottles, nails, stuff like that.
I’m not even gonna get into how cold it must be not wearing them in the winter… or how hot the asfalt might get during the summer. The asfalt can go up to 80, 90°C where I live during the summer, people have fried eggs on it for kicks.
It might sound silly, but different terrains tend to be „interesting“. I also feel it has an impact on how i walk and how i stand - so actually back problems and (minor) aches are either easier or gone.
I, too, travel the alps, nock mountains, katschberg mountain, Dachstein etc. I totally wear bulky hiking shoes in the mountains, though, as you definitely want the protection for your foot and ankles. However, i more often than not even hike easy trails in those barefoot shoes. I guess i just am used to it so much that those protective shoes feel too heavy and bulky, even if the bedding is comfortable.
But fir the day to day footwear you have to wear necessarily I almost always choose barefoot shoes over the few remaining normal ones. I will keep one set business shoes, one pair of winter boots and my mountain equipment, everything else will be gone quite soon.
Thanks a lot for elaborating. I can definitely imagine different terrains being interesting. Your explanation of when you would (and wouldn’t) use them is very useful for understanding the appeal. If I ever find a nicely priced pair that fit me well, I might give it a whirl!
I’d also recommend something like my “Splay” shoes if you’re going to try it. They’re barefoot shoes that also have a wide toebox so that your shoes fit your toes instead of your toes fitting your shoes!
Before I switched to the wide toebox I also used boating shoes if you find some of those cheaper.
Things like converse are of course more mainstream, but at least have the “zero drop” aspect, so you’re closer to the ground but don’t quite feel the ground.
Everyone will say barefoot is bad for your knees, but that’s really only true if you’re running or jogging on concrete without letting your body adjust.
My feet used to ACHE at the end of the day, now they can still hurt sure, but it feels much more like a tired muscle instead of incorrect exercise if that makes sense.