When this new barefoot brand Groundies pop up on my Instagram account, it immediatelly caught my attention. A barefoot shoe in metallic colour? Sounds to good to be true.
At first, they looked too narrow and too tapered from the picture to be a good barefoot shoe. They looked like a conventional shoes with thin and flexible sole. Althought, I wasn’t sure about the width I really wanted to try them as I loved how they look. And I’m glad I did.
Use BU15 for 15% discount (valid until 12th April 2024)
1. General
- Brand: Groundies
- Model: Ibiza Ladies
- Colour: rose
- Tested on: woman, medium-wide feet, 26.3 cm long and 10 cm wide, low instep, skinny ankles
2. Material characteristics
2.1 Upper
Groundies Ibiza’s uppers are made from a goat leather. The leather come from Spain and Portugal, from the animals that are “traditionally kept as farm animals for meat, cheese and leather” and are not are only bred for leather production.
Groundies state that the goat leather is “thin and light, but also very robust, tearproof and windproof”. The leather have somehow wrinkled look. Groundies explained to me that to a certain degree something like that is normal, because they want to produce the most flexible shoes on the market. Perfectly unwrinkled leather would only be possible if they would use hard and stiff leather. I really don’t mind this wrinkled look as the shoes are really soft and great to wear, but if your feet do not fill the shoe nicely, the shoe may crease a little bit.
The upper is a beautiful metallic rose gold colour with a little bit darker metallic bronze colour piece in back part. This rose undertone is really hard to capture in the picture, but it makes the shoes really beautiful. Such a colour is a rare gem in barefoot shoes and I’m glad that the Groundies decided to choose it.
The laces are white and they match with the white colour of the soles. But laces matching the colour of the upper would look nice too.
Heel cuffs are lightly padded and they give such a soft feeling to my feet with no pressure on my Achilles tendons.
2.2 Lining
The inner lining is made of high-quality microfibre and it feels really soft when you touch it. The microfibre works as a non-slip material and “ensures that your foot does not slip back and forth in the shoe” while walking.
If you are wearing regular socks (not toe socks), you should pay more attention how you put on your shoes. Because of the non-slip lining your socks can be pulled back and then your toes are squeezed. But once you get used to how to put them on, it can be done with no problem.
2.3 Sole
The thickness of the sole is 6.3 mm, is super flexible and gives you a good ground feeling.
Groundies describes their sole as a “non-slip and abrasion-resistant which offers a secure grip on many surfaces”. According to their description, as a sole material light TPU is used, which is about “six times more abrasion resistant than soft PVC”. As the sole “contain no plasticizers it can be 100% recycled”.
3. Sizing information
3.1 Length
Groundies Ibiza Ladies shoes are available in sizes 36-43. Their size chart gives you the inside length of the shoe and is true to size.
My feet are 26.3 cm long and I chose a size 42 with inside length measurement of 27.5 cm. This gives me a 12 mm space in front of my toes.
3.2. Toebox & width
The toebox is made to look a little bit tapered at the front which gives them a more conventional look.
I have a size 42 which is about 10.5 cm wide. The shoe width works really well for me. They probably work the best for medium wide feet, but they are really soft and the sole is not restricting my toes at the sides, therefore they could probably accomodate even a little bit wider feet.
On the picture below you can see a comparison with Peerko shoes and Wildling Suna shoes. All shoes fit me really nice regarding the width. I found all three of them very similar in the width.
Although Groundies Ibiza shoes look a little bit tapered at the front from the picture, actually the front part of the Groundies shoes is the same width as Wildling and Peerko front part. Groundies shoes are wider at the ball of the foot which gives them this tapered conventional shoe look.
3.3. Fit
I have a shallow feet and I usually have problems to get a good fit with barefoot shoes. I have to tight the laces as much as I can to make them secure enough on my feet. And that doesn’t look really nice then. But not with this shoe. They fit me really nice over the instep and around the ankles. They are super comfortable and I can wear them all day long with no problems.
4. How to wear them?
I like wearing them with my skinny jeans. They work really well with the style I have and this metallic colour makes them a really versatile shoe. They work well for a casual or casual elegant style.
5. Price & where to buy
Groundies shoes can be bought directly from their website. Full price for Ibiza model is 139€. You can get 5€ discount code by signing up for a newsletter. I bought mine with 10% promotional code which was published on their Instagram account.
6. Shipping info
Shipping cost depend on the shipping county. Europe is divided in three shipping zones (Zone 1: free delivery, Zone 2: 4,90€ and Zone 3: 9,90€). For all the other countries the shipping costs are 34,90 €. Free returns are only within Germany.
7. Where are they made?
According to Groundies, sustainability in manufacturing and the related longevity of the shoes are their top priority. To guarantee fair working conditions and reasonable wages and to avoid unnecessary transport routes, Groundies shoes are entirely manufactured in Europe. The soles are made in Germany and then shipped to the shoe factory in Spain, where they are manufactured by hand to the finish product.
Groundies company also work with an organisation Plant-for-the-Planet. The organization plants trees for them on the Mexican peninsula Yucatán. For every Groundies order they plant a tree. Therefore, a few days after your order you receive your personal tree voucher from Plant-for-the-Planet as a certificate.
8. To sum up
Although they looked tapered and really similar to conventional shoes on the first sight, I’m really impressed with them. Groundies managed to make a great barefoot shoe that is wide enough for my feet and still looks really great. They don’t look big and clowny on my feet like some barefoot shoes. They really have a modern look and I feel really great when wearing them. They are definitely one of my favourite barefoot shoes I own.
Use BU15 for 15% discount (valid until 12th April 2024)
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