Changes You Have Noticed Since Becoming A Barefooter

Whatever... The point is that for posts that others are considering too detailed or too analyzed, that might be exactly what a new barefooter or transitional barefooter needs!

So, I did detail every surface I have encountered during short or long term barefoot walks. A new barefooter who still has shoe tenderized soles is going to endure more than a small amount of discomfort to toughen their soles, and for some surfaces it might even hurt until they get used to it. They will want to know this is normal so they don't get discouraged and resort to wearing shoes all the time.

A transitional barefooter, one who goes from the coast to inland or desert areas, will have to factor in the many of the same surfaces but also with more heat during the hottest afternoon hours. Even the rougher surfaces scuff and poke heat into the soles as the hotter surfaces burn deeper into the soles, so they end up tenderizing the soles more quickly. Sometimes even the shade is too burning hot, and then the barefooter has to keep using heat relief methods until they can start walking again (sometimes on even more burned soles because the shade heat was becoming too much). This is why even blisters are more common and normal with inland area barefooters, some even have a visibly permanent white callus where they burn the most, such as just behind the little toe if they turn their soles outward too much. They care less about smooth and supple soles because they need them stiffer and dryer to tolerate longer distances on more heat.

(Now, I really don't have much experience with desert area heat, but I estimate double the burning and half of the endurance before needing a cooler surface or shade. A balance will be necessary between toughing it that much more to get used to it vs. so ridiculously hot it will 3rd degree burn in seconds.)

Again, if posts are redundant, it's because each topic is its own thread. Try actually reading the posts from the perspective or a new or transitional barefooter, especially if they only go barefoot during afternoon lunch hours during the workday, or evening and night hours after work during a workday, or close to and near the hottest afternoon hours if they sleep in on weekends. That's the majority of my inland area barefooting, and I don't let time of day necessarily limit when I go out to run errands or do walking. The only limit is when it's too hot on my soles too quickly for a shorter distance, and even then I try to increase my heat tolerance before I need a cooler surface, shade, or need to wear flip flops for a moment.

(Once again, I will share my most intense barefooting for this summer, even though not every barefooter might want to heat train this much: I found my limit between 30 seconds and up to 1 minute on blacktop asphalt during afternoon peak heat that someone noted on their car thermometer was 106 degrees F weather. I don't know what the heat index was, but the one weather website showed the initial dry heat was still at least 102 degrees F, so average it to around 104 degrees minimum heat. Anyway, that interval was the amount of time before I needed to cool the soles once I started closing my eyes and wincing, but I could have lasted even longer up to the strong soles tingling point if I knew where the shade spots were to sit and cool my soles, not just stand in shade. I didn't push that far, so I only needed to momentarily stand in shade a couple of times. One time when I did use flip flops, and because the footbed of the flip flops was black, even the flip flops burned enough that it took longer to cool the soles enough. Nevertheless, I was able to last four different lengths before I even started getting small white pre-blister hotspots. It was wearing the flip flops and overstriding that actually made blisters. Two of them on the left foot even merged, and yet... only a couple of months later and there are only smallish white callus spots where those used to be.)

Other barefooters may vary between less tolerance and more tolerance to all the surfaces and temperatures I have mentioned, but it's not overanalysis and not a waste of time. Just scroll past if it's not of interest.

Thank you.,

 

My mom tells me they could never keep shoes on me since I started walking, so no, I've never noticed any major changes. I just go barefoot whenever possible is all, and usually love every minute of it. In comparison to having to wear shoes anyway. Otherwise it's no big deal. I have a fondness for certain shoes too, when I have to wear them.

Loves my slip-on deck shoes!

 

Barefoot IS lovable!