The field journal
Fit, feel, and function. A considered look at footwear, with attention to the conditions and tradeoffs.
I would wear winter-ready barefoot shoes in snow. I would not trust a thin rubber sole on ice just because it lets me feel the ground. Barefoot shoes can work well on snow when they have suitable tread, insulation, and weather protection; on ice, barefoot design alone provides no dependable traction advantage. Wet tile, slick […]
I run barefoot-style year round, and my answer is simple: barefoot shoes can work in winter and low temperatures, but only if you stop treating them like normal insulated boots. A thin, flexible, zero-drop shoe gives your foot better ground feedback, more toe splay, and a more natural stride. It does not magically keep heat […]
I get this question a lot: what outfits or uniforms pair best with barefoot work shoes? My short answer is simple. The best match is a uniform that lets your foot move naturally without forcing the rest of your body into a stiff, overbuilt look. In practice, that usually means straight-leg or tapered work pants, […]
I?ll answer this the same way I answer runners who ask whether a shoe is “enough” for the job: sometimes yes, often no, and it depends entirely on what the workplace is trying to protect you from. If your job is mostly standing, walking, stocking light items, teaching, retail, hospitality, or warehouse work without crush […]
I tell runners and walkers this all the time: if you need help with your Orthofeet® wide shoes for men, start with fit, not pain tolerance. The fastest way to get assistance is to use Orthofeet’s fit support and exchange process, then troubleshoot the three things that usually cause problems in wide shoes: toe-box volume, […]
Can running shoes cause bunions? Yes, they can make bunions worse, and in some runners they can absolutely help push the problem along. The main issue is not ?running? by itself. It is the combination of a narrow toe box, a stiff upper that squeezes the forefoot, and a shoe shape that keeps forcing the […]
I?ll answer this the way I do with runners in real life: you can stretch some shoes for bunions, but you cannot stretch a bad shoe into a good one. If the forefoot shape is wrong, the toe box is narrow, or the upper collapses onto your big toe joint, stretching only buys you a […]
I will answer this plainly: if you are in the UK, New Zealand, or Canada, the cleanest way to buy Birchbury shoes right now is through Birchbury’s country-specific online stores, not through a local running shop and not through Amazon. As of August 29, 2026, Birchbury is selling directly through Birchbury UK, Birchbury New Zealand, […]
I’ll answer this the way I would if one of my runners asked me before a conference, client meeting, or wedding: yes, Birchbury shoes can be suitable for formal business wear, but only if your office leans business casual to standard business formal, not strict old-school boardroom formal. If you want a shoe that looks […]
I?ll give you the short answer first: Birchbury shoes are mostly built around full-grain American leather uppers, a flat zero-drop sole, a wide toe box, and a cushioned removable insole. On the models Birchbury is best known for, the materials lean more premium-casual than ultra-rugged trail-shoe tough. That means they usually hold up well for […]