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Ahinsa Bindu 2 Bare and Ananda Bare – Review

Handmade, vegan, sustainable, ethically made using highest quality materials. These are the words that describe Ahinsa Shoes. Shoes made with ‘care and love’ and with respect to nature.

Ahinsa Shoes is a Czech barefoot brand which makes 100% vegan barefoot shoes. All their shoes are ethically handmade and they are designed and tested by physiotherapists.

Their shoes are made from natural (linen, hemp, canvas) as well as recycled and synthetically produced materials. All their materials are the highest quality materials available and their shoes are excellent quality.

They are available in several different designs, colours, materials and you can also choose your very own and unique design. Almost like endless possibilities.

In general, you can choose between two different options – Minimal/Comfort models and Barefoot (Bare) models. With an extra insole in, Minimal/Comfort models will give you some cushion if this is what you prefer. I want my shoes to be as barefoot as possible, so I’m testing their Bare models here.

In my first Ahinsa Shoes review I decided to test two very popular models – Bindu 2 Bare and Ananda Bare. Both are made from black CF+ material and they can be a great option for wearing with more formal clothes too.

Disclaimer: I bought Ananda Bare myself and Bindu 2 Bare was sent to me for review. All opinions expressed here are my own. I’m also proud to be a Ahinsa shoes affiliate and I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase using my discount code BU10 or use links on my website.

Get 15% discount on Ahinsa shoes with my affiliate code BU10

1. General

  • Brand: Ahinsa Shoes
  • Model: Bindu 2 Bare and Ananda Bare
  • Colour: black
  • Tested on: woman, medium-wide feet, 26.3 cm long and 10 cm wide, low instep, skinny ankles with narrow heel, fin-shaped foot (see my how to measure guide and foot type) – wearing size 42 (Ananda Bare) and size 43 (Bindu 2 Bare)

| Made in EU | Adult | Vegan | Ship worldwide |

2. Material characteristics

2.1 Upper

Ahinsa Shoes are made from different vegan materials. Bindu 2 Bare and Ananda Bare are both made from  CF+ (Cruelty Free High Performance Material) which is according to Ahinsa ‘highly water resistant and breathable microfibre alternative to leather with excellent functional qualities with one of the most strict health safety certification.’

Bindu 2 Bare is delivered with black and yellow laces. I received two pairs of black laces, but any other colour is available on request.

Ananda Bare ballet flats have a velcro closure which helps them to stay securely on your feet. The velcro is also very practical if you want to put on your ballet flats very quickly. The prepared seams allow easy shortening of the velcro with scissors.

Fabric welt is made from different material than the upper.

Heel part in Bindu 2 has an extra layer of CF+ material, but the heel is very soft in both models allows your foot to move without any restrictions.

2.2 Lining

Both models have included insoles which are made from special CF+ ultradry lining. This is a microfiber, which feels very similar to suede leather. This insole makes shoes feel very soft and it is a really pleasant feeling having them on feet.

According to Ahinsa Shoes insole ‘is fully water-resistant and its moisture absorption capacity is eight times greater than its own weight in the water.’

Ananda Bare ballet flats are also lined with AirNet® material, which is an added bonus to the softness of the entire shoe. Like a soft pillow surrounding my toes.

2.3 Sole

Both models have very thin and flexible soles, but the soles are not the same in both models.

Bindu 2 Bare has a very thin Lifo+ outsole which is very light and flexible in all directions.

The Ananda Bare sole is also very thin and light, but I notice slightly less flexibility in longitudinal direction in comparison to the Bindu 2 model.

Still, both soles are very flexible with great ground feeling.

Also check my video for the close-up and to see how they look on my feet.

3. Sizing information

3.1 Length

Ahinsa Shoes recommends using their size chart to choose the size you need. Their size chart recommends you to choose size according to your foot length, but this doesn’t tell you anything about the internal length of the shoe, so I would prefer having internal lengths of the shoes in their size chart. I already talked about that with Ahinsa and they are working on updating it.

I followed Ahinsa’s recommendation and I chose size 42 for my foot length 26.3 cm for both models. But when I compared them I saw that Ananda ballet flats were 3 mm longer than Bindu 2 Bare in the same size and also the toebox shape was slightly different (I’ll talk about toebox shape in next section).

©Ahinsa Shoes

I measured both shoes with Plus12 measure and the inside length of Ananda Bare ballet flats in size 42 is 27.3 cm and Bindu 2 Bare 27 cm. Ananda Bare is 10 cm longer than my feet with a very generous toebox shape. This length is perfect for me.

Bindu 2 in size 42 felt just slightly too short for me (my 3rd toe was problematic), so I exchanged them for size 43. So, in all the photos I’m wearing size 43 in Bindu 2 and size 42 in Ananda. The internal length of Bindu 2 Bare in size 43 is 27.8 cm (15 mm longer than my feet), but they don’t feel too long and they don’t cause me any problems while walking.

See post How much space do we need in shoes if you want to know more about that.

3.2. Toebox shape & width

3.2.1 Toebox shape

Ananda Bare and Bindu 2 bare models have similar toebox shape, but still not completely the same. I didn’t notice that difference from the photo when I was ordering the shoes, but I noticed it immediately when I compared both pairs in size 42 and I wondered why I feel my third toe in Bindu and not in Ananda model. Not only that Bindu was slightly shorter, it also started to slope faster.

Lets focus on my third toe in the photo. That part in the Bindu 2 model already starts to slope, while Ananda has a milder slope which results in more space for my third toe. In general Ahinsa toebox shape will fit well to a lot of different foot shapes, but it will suit the best to those with milder slopes towards the little toe or feet with the longest second toe.

If you have a longer 3rd toe as I do, take in mind that you might need more space in front of your toes too.

Ananda toebox shape is less appropriate for those with stronger slope towards the little toe as you can end up with too much space in front of your little toes.

More about different foot types you can read in my post What is my Foot Type?

3.2.2 Width

Ahinsa Shoes are best suited for medium and wide feet which also have more volume. They also have a lot of space above the toes.

But my feet are also quite shallow, so my feet don’t fill the shoes completely in the toebox part and around the ball of the foot, which you can notice on the photo when I make a step.

If your feet are shallow too, you can try to add an insole (this works well for me), but you will need to sacrifice some ground feeling. But if you have problems finding the perfect shoes for your high-volume feet, those are worth a try.

Those who need even more width, Bindu model is also available in an extra wide version (named XWide Bare Black).

3.3. Fit around the instep, heel and ankle

Both shoes fit me well around my skinny ankles and they can be adjusted well on lower instep, although they look nicer if the foot fills the shoe better in the front part too.

As I already mentioned above, the length of the velcro strap can be regulated to fit different heights of the instep. If the velcro is too long for you, you can just trim the extra with scissors.

4. Comfort

Absolutely nothing to complain. Ahinsa Shoes are a joy to wear.

5. How and when to wear them?

Ahinsa Bare and Bindu 2 Bare in black colour work well with business and semi-formal clothes and they are a great option for those with wide feet who look something to wear at work.

I love pairing them with black trousers and a blouse and both of them work well with the same clothes. They can be worn with a business dress too. If you prefer a more casual style, you can try Ananda in Bindu in other colours too or add some colourful laces to Bindu.

6. Price & where to buy

Ahinsa Shoes can be bought at the official Ahinsa Shoes website. For some countries they also have local websites. The price for both models from my review is the same – 109 €.

You can buy Ahinsa Shoes with 15% discount with my affiliate code BU10. The code is valid only on their official website.

As the shoes are handmade, not all the sizes are in stock all the time. If the shoes are in stock, they will be shipped in 1-5 working days, if not you will have to wait around 29 working days for them to be produced. If the shoe is in stock or not, you can see on their website when you pick your size.

7. Shipping info

Ahinsa Shoes ship worldwide. The shipping costs for Europe are 12 € and for international shipping 19 USD.

8. To sum up

Ahinsa Shoes has proven to be a great vegan brand with a lot of options for wide feet. They will definitely work the best for those with more volume, but with using insoles, they can work well for shallower feet too. Both, Ananda Bare and Bindu 2 Bare can be a great choice for those looking for vegan shoes that you can wear with your business attire.


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