Hello, my name’s Andrew, and these are the Mukishoes Chelsea, a lightweight insulated barefoot Chelsea boot for casual, formal, and business.

Features

For most of my life going to work or weddings meant cramming my feet into stiff, narrow dress shoes, but after six years of going barefoot I finally realized, like, oh…I could just get a pair of barefoot dress shoes.

So I asked Mukishoes to send me their Chelsea Boot to test, and, yea, I’ll let the comments section speak for itself: these things are “DAPPER.”

Upper/Inner

Because the Chelsea Boot has a wide foot-shaped toebox with a chrome-free leather upper and eco-friendly dye, plus a stitched sole, slip-in side bands, large pull tab, and warm wool insulation covering the front, back, and footbed.

Sole/Tread

Underneath you’ve got a thin 3.5mm zero-drop sole that’s ultra flexible in all directions, as well as a minimal non-slip tread that’s rounded for better durability and ground feel.

FYI, I went with the black’s, but the Mukishoes Chelsea Boot also comes in caramel, leopard, and kids styles.

Testing

At 251 grams the Chelsea Boot is one of the lightest barefoot dress shoes that money can buy and putting them on I can easily say that Mukishoes has the best ground feel and flexibility of any barefoot brand I’ve ever tried.

Walking

Naturally, this made me worry that the thin sole would be too cold for 30º pavement, but going out for a walk my feet stayed toasty warm with only a pair of Injinji merino wool toe socks.

Also, after barefoot running for six years I’ve learned that thin soles and a smooth stride are more gentle on my body than thick cushion shoes, and the Chelsea Boots were fantastic for doing a five-mile loop out to the grocery store.

That said, while they can handle a bit of off-roading, it’s best to stick with grass and dirt, because the tread will wear down faster on gravel.

Casual

Another surprise was that the space around the ankle didn’t feel cold at all and actually improved breathability, so that when I went into a store or got into the car my feet didn’t overheat from the wool insulation.

Still, the leather upper is not fully waterproof, so for extra nasty days it worked better to use a full winter snow boot.

Business/Formal

Stylistically the Mukishoes Chelsea is a great barefoot boot for business and formal, because it’s wide without looking like clown shoes, and the polished leather upper has a classic dress vibe that’s comfortable to wear all day long.

Conclusion

Overall the Mukishoes Chelsea Boot is super lightweight barefoot shoe that’s classy and versatile enough for all kinds of casual and formal use in the wintertime.

Pros/Cons

Because the upper is wide and flexible, the slip-in ankle is perfect for on-the-go living, and the thin sole provides some amazing ground feel, while still being warm enough to get you through most winter days.

However, the toebox may not be roomy enough for extra-wide feet, the thin sole will wear out faster on gravel, and the water-resistant leather can start to soak through in heavy rain or slush.

Alternatives

In terms of similar barefoot Chelsea boots…

Resources

If you’d like to support the channel you can shop with the referral links above/below or watch my Zero-Drop Transition video to learn more about barefooting.

Finally, if you have a question about the Mukishoes Chelsea Boot, or about barefoot boots, in general, let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading, catch ya next time. Peace!