How tough are your soles?

Discussion in 'Barefoot' started by Barefoot Traveller, Apr 2, 2007.

  1. Barefoot Traveller

    Barefoot Traveller Member

    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    2
    Imagine your feet are ALWAYS bare, getting exposed to everything from hot tarmac to snow and ice, from sharp gravel to thorny weed... No, that's not a foolish dream, at least not for me! I stopped wearing shoes more than seven years ago and guess what: My feet got used to it! My soles are like leather and I can trust in them, no matter where I go... You wouldn't believe HOW tough they are! Well, here are some pics - to give you an idea:


    [​IMG]

    Look at the skin! Living leather... Even my toes are tough!


    [​IMG]

    A burning match? No problem!

    [​IMG]


    Even if it leaves a mark...

    [​IMG]

    How about you? How tough are your soles?
     
  2. seohsreven

    seohsreven Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

    Messages:
    462
    Likes Received:
    2
    Hmmm. not too sure about the burning match test, but mine are pretty tough after 12 years of constant barefooting. I regularly do fairly long hikes thourgh the jungle and on rough cliffs and can even walk on reef shelves (AKA, razor coral) without much of a problem (just go a bit slow).

    My feet, however, look more "normal" than Barefoot Traveller's; perhaps because I enjoy scrubbing them so much...
     
  3. Rugged_Soles

    Rugged_Soles Member

    Messages:
    194
    Likes Received:
    0
    7 years, 12 years !!! that's great ! I need to wear shoes for my job so will never have the long periods you both enjoy. I do believe you can have tough soles from continual barefooting when not working. Others on the forums should be encouraged to push their limits and enjoy the comfort that comes from enhanced toughness.
     
  4. theshaman

    theshaman Member

    Messages:
    819
    Likes Received:
    1
    I've been going barefoot for give or take 6 months; the winter put a damper on things for a while. I discovered last week I could put a cigarette out with my foot. That makes me happy.
     
  5. Cool Spruce

    Cool Spruce Member

    Messages:
    649
    Likes Received:
    12
    Same here.
     
  6. dude23

    dude23 Member

    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    I was walking across a parking lot this weekend when I heard a sound like glass being kicked across asphalt...and that's exactly what it was. It turns out, I was walking on broken glass! Didn't even puncture the skin. I have gotten tiny glass slivers a couple times before though, so maybe I was just lucky this time.
     
  7. Barefoot Guy

    Barefoot Guy Member

    Messages:
    317
    Likes Received:
    41
    I had a girlfriend with really tough feet. She liked to stand on top of my bare feet if we were in line, etc. One time she had a small sliver of glass in one of her callouses and it cut the top of my foot. She never even felt it. I posted my favorite tough/filthy foor pics on MySpace profile.

    When we massaged each others feet it was like rubbing rough rocks....
     
  8. bfrank

    bfrank Member

    Messages:
    308
    Likes Received:
    9
    My soles are extremely tough. I keep them that way by walking as much as possible on roughest of surfaces. I love having tough soles. And I take every challenge to see how much they can handle, which in turn makes my soles increasingly tougher than before.
     
  9. jagerhans

    jagerhans Far out, man. Lifetime Supporter

    Messages:
    3,643
    Likes Received:
    2,232
    I'd love to have the chance to take all my shoes (though I bought my last pair -flipflops- several years ago) and dump them in the charity box. maybe in the future. but i do challenge my feet as hard as I can... best of all, i love hiking around , among sharp rocks and thorns . occasionally my feet swell when I push too hard but thats no big deal. about the splinter issue, do your invulnerability extend to the tissue between toes ? once i was running and i made a quick stop skidding with my feet on the asphalt, so i took a glass sliver there. it was quite painful, and i extracted a 5mm triangular piece of glass, much to the horror of my shod friends, with the swiss knife tweezeers always so handy under such occurrences. it's unlikely to harden tissue that does not usually take wear i think ...
    another thing, you live in an urban environment, right ? your ones look like city soles :H
     
  10. kangtzu000

    kangtzu000 Member

    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    So what's new from a white + western barefooter like you?? You show off your "tough" soles but they and your toes look like any other western shoddie's feet. Go to India, China, Indonesia, etc. and see the soles and feet of people who go barefoot for a living and not just as an afternoon's "lifestyle" choice. They don't look anything like yours. For a start toes aren't stuck together like glue- as yours are, an obvious indication of a shoddie who's lost his toes. Then there's the absence of flat, rocky soles- much like a craggy mountain plateau. You might love your own feet; but you sure aren't a barefooter.
     
  11. LastC5

    LastC5 Member

    Messages:
    319
    Likes Received:
    0
  12. wanderin_blues

    wanderin_blues Banned

    Messages:
    1,246
    Likes Received:
    1
    i wish me feet were tough like that! someday they will be :)
    my mom has leather feet like that too, theyre invincible.
     
  13. dybert

    dybert Member

    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    2
    these are mine, i got a small cut while hiking through the woods today
     
  14. seohsreven

    seohsreven Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

    Messages:
    462
    Likes Received:
    2
    Being barefoot for me, and I'd assume from Traveller, is a permanent way of living. Accusing us of an "afternoon's "lifestyle" choice" is inaccurate, misleading and inflammatory

    Most folks in Western countries aren't given a choice while growing up; they are forced to wear shoes whether they want to or not. Sometimes shoes don't fit correctly and as a result, their feet can become deformed. Later in life, those who choose not to be shod are discriminated against, harassed, and sometimes even attacked simply because they prefer not to wear shoes.

    Here in Micronesia, most folks wear zorries, but some choose to go barefoot. In Yap, the later is more common, especially in the villages. Even there, however, splayed toes and the "flat, rocky soles" you so blithely refer to vary significantly from person to person.

    I've spent a great deal of time in Indonesia and I've seen a far higher percentage of shoddies there than here in Micronesia, or even in Hawaii, for that matter. I remember in 1996, when I hiked to the top of Mt. Merapi in Java (ever been there, kangtzu000?), the local folks were really taken aback that I would attempt such a feat (feet?) barefoot. I remember clearly that not a single local was going about unshod. The same holds true for Bali and Lombok. Even in the poorest slums, zories are the norm. of course, undeveloped areas of Sumatra or Borneo have tribes that maintain a barefoot way of life, but these represent just a tiny part of the vast population.

    In Indonesia, as well as Thailand (my wife's country, where our 2nd home is), Cambodia and Vietnam, being barefoot is looked down upon by the vast majority. "Falangs" (foreigners) who go barefoot (outside beach areas) are sometimes looked upon with amusement and sometimes shock, as the norm is to be shod. This holds true throughout most of the countryside as well as the city.

    Regarding China, I'd like to know where going barefoot is common. In all my travels there, virtually everyone wore shoes or sandals, even in the countryside.

    Like facial characteristics, the shape of one's foot is dramatically influenced by genetics. Individuals of Western European decent tend to have higher arches and tapered toes, while Pacific Islanders tend to have a lower arch and more radial symmetry. Most Thais have a moderate arch and an "inverse taper" with the toes being slightly wider than the ball girth, with a characteristic lobe on the Metatarsal-phalangeal joint of the big toe.

    The shape and texture of one's foot does not a barefooter make, but rather a dedication to not wearing shoes and a commitment to debunking falsehoods about our way of life.
     
  15. bfrank

    bfrank Member

    Messages:
    308
    Likes Received:
    9
    You are very lucky to live in places where I suppose people's feet are more "normal." Many people don't have that luxury. I agree with seohsreven. You should know that nobody has any control over where they were born, what race they are, or the culture they grew up in. So this person has "white + western" feet, so what? Your remarks are actually kind of racist, imo.

    But having said that, I personally don't understand why anybody would even want to post pictures of their feet on here for all the world to see (and criticize as you have done). I think you might judge my own feet a little more kindly than you did the person in your post because my toes are somewhat splayed as a result of going barefoot for many years (though unfortunately I guess, I am also "white and western"), but I'd never put pictures of my feet on the Internet. To me, going barefoot is going barefoot - putting pictures of your feet on the internet is something else - and has very little to do with actually going barefoot. Again, this is just my opinion.
     
  16. Barefoot Traveller

    Barefoot Traveller Member

    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    2
    Kangtzu, I'm quite serious about spending my life barefoot! Forr the past 6 1/2 years, ever-since I moved to India, I've been able to stay barefoot almost 100% of the time... If you're ever coming to India: Please don't hesitate to send me a message, examining my feet will for sure convince you that I'm no fake! About the "gap": Guess once the damage is done, there's not much we can do about it! I wasn't lucky enough to grow up barefoot... But still: I feel my feet became wider, and the gap between my big and second toe and between my second and third got wider too - see the pic below!

    [​IMG]
     
  17. Alan33466

    Alan33466 Member

    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Damn it Lady!!.....Why all the hate? Show us some pics of your plateau soles or some soles from India, China and Indonesia so we can be educated......Terry
     
  18. Rugged_Soles

    Rugged_Soles Member

    Messages:
    194
    Likes Received:
    0
    BFRANK WOTE
    But having said that, I personally don't understand why anybody would even want to post pictures of their feet on here for all the world to see (and criticize as you have done). I think you might judge my own feet a little more kindly than you did the person in your post because my toes are somewhat splayed as a result of going barefoot for many years (though unfortunately I guess, I am also "white and western"), but I'd never put pictures of my feet on the Internet.

    Isn't the "pictures of your feet" one of the biggest threads on the board? The photos seem to inspire others to a more avid BF lifestyle.
     
  19. bfrank

    bfrank Member

    Messages:
    308
    Likes Received:
    9
    It may well be. A lot of people like to look at bare feet - probably because they are such a rarity in real life in today's world. And there's nothing wrong with that.

    How do you know that? I'm not sure that's necessarily the case. What inspires people to a more avid barefoot lifestyle are messages from experienced barefooters that debunk myths and give factual information. So many people are afraid to go barefoot, they are afraid of what others will think, what others will say. They've heard all kinds of horror stories about diseases you can get from going barefoot and laws and health codes against going barefoot. I think when people hear the truth and read about the positive experiences of those of us who have gone barefoot in public for years, that is what inspires others to not be afraid and to get the courage to face the barefoot discrimination that exists out there. I know that pictures of bare feet on the Internet are quite interesting to a lot of people, but posting pictures of your feet don't really have anything to do with actually going barefoot. I personally think bare feet are beautiful. They were created by God in His image and were created to function perfectly in their original bare condition. But I don't participate in this forum to look at other people's feet. And I see no point in putting pictures of my own feet on here. I participate to share my experiences and thoughts with other people who are as serious about going barefoot as I am.
     
  20. knotdirty

    knotdirty Over the Rainbow

    Messages:
    1,147
    Likes Received:
    2
    Honestly, bfrank, the pictures on here did push me in this direction. Yeah, it's different for everyone...but I think a lot of people here are inspired when they see pictures.

    For me, what was really preventing me from shedding the shoes was thinking that going barefoot would mangle my feet. I guess too many lectures as a kid from my mother ingrained that into me ("Your feet will get round and flat." "You'll get duck feet." absurd, but it sticks with you. ;) ). Seeing the pictures on this site got me thinking...well, my feet already kind of look like the pictures I've been seeing on here!

    I don't think it's a big deal whether or not people post pictures...and for me it'd be odd to post pictures where people with fetishes might come and look...but I DO find the pictures here inspiring. I don't know, maybe I'm just impressionable. :D
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice