I bought my first pair of Vivo Barefoot shoes almost 2 years ago, and having recently acquired a third pair (the beautiful and striking emerald green pair in the photo), I am extremely happy with them

Espousing a philosophy of "minimalist footwear", the basic premise is that our feet are extremely well evolved for walking barefoot, and that traditional shoes do a great deal of damage. Vivo Barefoots are therefore designed to have a very large, wide toe box, and also to have as thin a sole as is possible (under 5 millimetres). As a result, the shoes are light and allow your feet to feel the texture of the ground. I wore one of my pairs when hiking up Arangieskop a few weeks back, and found them to be very comfortable, even over very tough terrain with steep ascents, descents and lots of clambering over rocks.

These are the kind of shoes that, having owned a pair, you will never want to wear anything else. The only downside is the difficulty of buying them in South Africa - I've had to get all my pairs in the UK, but hopefully that will change in time.

Find out more on their website: www.vivobarefoot.com