Barefoot shoes Proalp Contact was based on volition to create shoes that are extremely flexible, spacious, and all made from the first class, natural materials. Contact barefoot shoes are spacious, airy, and colorful, just like all shoes produced in Proalp.
As the name itself is explanatory enough, the new series of Proalp’s barefoot shoes enables full contact between feet and the walking ground. Our barefoot shoes protect feet from sharp stones, while the foot still gets an appropriate grip almost identical to walking barefoot.
While manufacturing barefoot shoes, one of the key principles is the notion that the feet are the engine of health. With every step, they are changing their shape and points of carrying capacity while carrying body load and sense the grounds we are walking on. These are the reasons; a natural shoe shape should always follow and enable natural feet movements. One of the main properties of our feet is that they are very durable, dynamic, and able of cushioning every step themselves. However, this is not possible in inappropriate footwear, as they became stunted. The ideal shoe, therefore, allows feet their freedom of movement as well as good contact with the grounds, which helps feet muscles to develop according to the grounds that we walk on. To people who already have major foot arch injuries and deformations, we have to advise against wearing barefoot shoes.
A natural shoe shape should always follow and enable natural feet movements.
Main characteristics of Proalp Contact barefoot shoes
- Their shape is following the shape of the feet. The rounded front part of the shoe is making it wide enough, so all fingers have enough space for all direction motion. We paid special attention to the curvature on the inside front part, which makes enough space for the thumb to be comfortable, without being cramped inside. This is also the key feature that enables fingers to act similarly to springs.
- Flexible soles enable maximal angle of the takeoff. It also enables the foot arch to act as a shock absorber.
- The shoe has a very soft and steady grip, that makes every step as comfortable as possible. This also enables feet to stand securely on the ground, using the whole foot structure, without side restrictions.
- The upper part and the lining of the shoe are made from first-class leather and microfiber (in vegan shoes). The 3 mm internal part is made out of wool felt (in our winter models has a 6 mm internal part), in which also aluminum foil is incorporated. This acts as a good temperature insulator.
- The greatest advantage of Contact shoes is definitely their 2,5 mm sole, made of all-natural vulcanized first-class rubber. It is non-slippery and very durable. Its frame is 15 mm high, which makes Contact shoes appropriate for walking even on wetter grounds.
How flexible Contact shoes are in real life you can see in the following video:
BAREFOOT SHOES FOR FREEDOM OF THE STEP
For all regular barefoot users, hiking and trekking are making a great challenge. To them, we confidently recommend using our line of Contact S2 shoes that are higher and created especially for hiking and trekking tours. For more demanding tours it is advisable to take your Contact barefoot shoes with you in your backpack and put them on in the easier parts or on top of the tours, so the feet will get all the comfort and freedom they were missing while walking in hard mountaineering shoes. Our experiences show that our feet are flexible and adjustable to most mountain terrain grounds.
With regular barefoot shoes wearing, our feet are becoming stronger and are developing skills that are needed for barefoot walking. That is very enjoyable, especially in warm seasons when we can get rid of shoes and enjoy the sensation of wet grass or soft forest ground as it is.